TROUBLED GENERATION
New Centre to impact lives of youth who have lost hope
Dejected young people find themselves between a rock and a hard place after receiving poor academic results, and no option for either further studies or employment as a result of the already sky rocketing unemployment statistics.
These young people, confronted with a myriad of many other challenges unfortunately drown into depression and worse still, take their own lives.
This is the reality across Botswana, and institutions like Stepping Stones International who have been dealing with such cases for over 15 years, know the story well.
They increasingly see the importance of providing psychosocial support, among other things to prevent further degradation of communities as a result of neglect, physical and psychological abuse, growing mental health issues as well as Gender Based Violence.
With the much-needed assistance of the Japanese government, Stepping Stones International will now construct a counseling centre in their compound in Mochudi through a grant scheme called the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), at an amount of almost P1 million (US$91 457).
In an interview, Executive Director of Stepping Stones International, Lisa Jamu said the Centre would be where such young people would be hosted in group and individual counselling sessions. Jamu said it is important to realise that mental health, psychological, social and emotional wellbeing influences how people move through life and interact with others and the environment.
“It is comforting that the Japanese government highly regards the provision of psychosocial support to young people who are experiencing mental health issues and social instability,” she said.
At Stepping Stones International, they use solution-focused counselling where they focus on the strengths of the child, in addition to art and drama therapy.
While Stepping Stones International expects the Centre to be up and running within only a few months, they still await the relevant approvals from the Council as drawings have already been completed. Jamu says in preparation, they are currently hiring more counsellors and training them.
They have also brought in some consultants to train on Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), an evidence-based treatment method to heal psychological trauma, negative thought patterns, and somatic symptoms of distress.
All they want is to ramp their provision of services and that they are of the desired quality. At the moment, Stepping Stones International has 60 beneficiaries, but serves around 7 000 young people in the Kgatleng District.
The ages of the children range from 12 up to 25, however, often times they get children as young as two years old. They also work in Gantsi, Tutume, Goodhope, Otse and Gaborone.
“We hope that at some point we will also get referrals. Right now we also have partnerships with psychologists because we do not have capacity in-house to handle all the cases,” Jamu says.
In addition, they do a lot of work in different schools and support guidance and counselling teachers and refer back and forth among each other from time to time.
“We work as a team to support each other because the need is there,” she adds, adding that it is important for the whole nation to take care of the mental health of children.
The institution has also managed to put together a programme within Mochudi, dubbed a grandmother’s programme, with about 735 grandmothers in 35 groups in Kgatleng district. The grannies are trained in Gender Based Violence, in identifying victims, supporting families and holding community sessions. They have also partnered with Legal Aid that comes out once a week to help people with their cases, in addition to working closely with social workers and police.
Japanese Ambassador, Hoshiyama Takashi said at the Grant Contract Signing ceremony that the impact of empowering vulnerable children and youth is multifaceted. He said the anticipated Centre would not only positively impact them but also ultimately lead to reduced crime and increased employment in the future.
Through the GGP scheme, Japan has supported 63 projects in Botswana that address human security issues.
“This is in line with the government of Botswana’s aspiration, envisaged in Vision 2036, particularly under the pillar of Human and Social Development, to achieve a moral, tolerant and inclusive society that provides opportunity for all,” the Ambassador said.