WECHO TRUST PUTS A SMILE ON CHILDREN’S FACES
KARENG Hostel, situated about 141km away from Maun in Kareng village, is home to about 231 remote area dwelling children, who have been taken away from their families to give them a chance to access basic education.
Over the weekend, Wecho Trust treated the children to their second annual sports festival in a bid to entertain and impact their lives though sports.
Speaking during the media briefing, Wecho Trust Co-founder, Tsoseletso Magang, revealed that they first came to Maun with the intention of doing Judo, however, the North West District Council suggested that they take their project to Kareng Hostel instead.
“When we got to Kareng, we realised that the children did not only need Judo but a variety of sporting codes. The children did not have any form of entertainment which made staying in hostels boring and unfulfilling for them” said Magang.
So far, Wecho has raised funds and built volleyball, netball courts and provided table tennis equipment to complement their main sport, Judo.
“This year, we have brought athletics, karate, and chess to the hostels so that that the children are not restricted to only a few codes” explained Magang,
adding that they have roped in Leungo Scotch as their Athletics Ambassador.
An accomplished sportswoman herself, Magang is confident that sport plays a major role in shaping one’s character and can positively impact one’s life if taken seriously.
For her part, the North West District Social and Community Development Officer, Kebalepile Horatious, revealed that there has been a positive development in the children since the Wecho Trust Sport For Social Impact was launched a year ago.
“They have been happy since the last sports festival. We no longer have cases of children absconding from school or we having to chase them back to the hostels when the school reopens because they finally have something to look forward to in the hostels” explained Horatius.
According to Horatious, their relationship with Wecho Trust is not only limited to sport development as the Trust brought the children winter clothes last winter.
Honourable Councillor, Limit Banyatsang, expressed his gratitude to Wecho Trust for having come up with a programme that will keep the children busy and entertained in line with child protection and development that President Mokgweetsi Masisi spoke on in his the State of The Nation Address.
Wecho Trust has a goal to engage and assist other hostels across the county.