SOS Children's Village Francistown, Botswana

The Village

The Francistown Village in eastern Botswana now has 182 children living in the 16 family houses, and 39 teenagers in the SOS Youth Homes (one for each of the teenageboys and girls, where they can take their first steps towards independence). With the arrival of the Village Educator last year, more structure has been put in place to improve the academic performance of the children and the results are already evident.

A breakthrough workshop was conducted for the SOS mothers in which they were taught how to assist their SOS children who have difficulty learning. It was welcomed by both the mothers and the children.

The village soccer team took part in the ‘Re ba bona fa’ competition. This is a competition of all small soccer teams around the country, where the best players are selected to play for the national team. The children were excited about the prospect of playing for the national team and the SOS team shone throughout the competition. 

In July the Francistown Village celebrated its anniversary. A big party was organised for the children, staff and friends of SOS. Children of all ages took part in different sports and cultural activities such as talent shows, fashion shows and concerts. The mood in the village was warm and there was a sense of pride prevailing.

This year, Bosena, one of our first SOS mothers, retired at the age of sixty. She joined SOS Francistown in 1998 when it opened its doors and she looked after 12 children in her family house.

Youth Homes

Of the 39 youths in Francistown, 25 attend formal secondary and high schools and 14 attend college, university or vocational training centres. In its 10 years, 12 children have grown up and become fully independent adults.  They work in different areas such as the hospitality, retail, construction and textile industries.

Nursery School

Of the102 children at the SOS Nursery School, 20 are from the SOS Children’s Village, 60 are from the Francistown community and 22 are from the Family Strengthening Programme (see below).  This year the Nursery took part in the Regional Nursery School Competitions that involve all the nurseries in Francistown. The activities included beanbag racing, tyre racing, and hopping. The children showed a high level of enthusiasm and competitive spirit – they had great fun!

Family Strengthening Programme (FSP)

The FSP, or community outreach programme, in Francistown supports 74 families (545 individuals). These include child-headed and chronically-ill parent-headed families. The beneficiaries are equipped with life skills such as first aid, and are taught how to run small businesses, which improves their economic independence. They are also offered supportive counselling over the loss of their family members. During the April school holidays the FSP children went camping where they were offered psycho-social counselling.