Shelter Botswana Health Promotion
LOCATION: Maun • PRIMARY WORK: Health, education, environment and economic development • ESTABLISHED: 2011
Shelter Botswana Health Promotion is a home based care organisation serving HIV positive people and their extended families in the village of Maun. This non-profit was founded by Mr. George Steven Zulu, a former businessman, and operates in the health, education, environment and economic development sectors.
Established on 4th July 2011, they have already begun to identify and service clients specifically terminally ill HIV/AIDS and TB Patients cared for and sanitary home environment. It is after witnessing the needs of the HIV positive population in Maun that Mr. Zulu decided to found his own organisation, which provides home-based care servicing to 25 HIV positive clients in Kubung, Bombadi, Thito and Borolong Wards. These clients are visited frequently by the organisation’s 18 volunteers to ensure that their treatment is taken properly and are referred to both Mowana Clinic and Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital for follow-up. This organisation also undertakes an environmentally friendly economic empowerment program: they provide tools for their clients to farm their own vegetables and also grow worms, which are sold to local fishermen. For this program, Shelter Botswana partners with Conservation Science Africa, who trains volunteers and clients on organic farming. It also partners with the Ron’s Fresh Produce, who purchases a great quantity of the vegetables produced by Shelter Botswana. Through this program, HIV positive clients are able to sustain their living, as well as eating healthier food.
Shelter Botswana also runs a preschool, founded in 2010, which welcomes 26 students, including 17 orphans and vulnerable children. It partners with both Bana Ba Letsatsi and S&CD to ensure that the vulnerable children who are attending the school have the opportunity to acquire an education. The school also hosts a garden, which is an environmentally friendly and sustainable way to feed the pupils.
Shelter Botswana has had a great impact in the Maun community: each and every client it serves is now being followed by a doctor, taking ARVs and is much healthier today. Its preschool also allowed 17 orphans and vulnerable children to acquire an education, as well as learning English.
In the near future, this organisation intends to acquire new facilities and expand their preschool, through partnership with UCCSA Church. It also wishes to build a children’s center and hire a counsellor to provide services to the students and the HIV positive clients.
Contact Info:
Village: Maun, Botswana
Telephone/Fax: 6865759
Mail: P.O. Box 21942, Maun, Botswana
E-mail: shelterbotswana@yahoo.com
