Fund Raising Update (August 8 2019)

The following blog is an update on our fund raising efforts for the project "Poverty Relief in Rural Botswana". The information can also be found on the GoFundMe site: https://www.gofundme.com/f/poverty-relief-in-rural-botswana


We (Zach, Andy and I) visited Mokgenene on August 8, 2019 to distribute clothing, school supplies and toiletries bought with 910 dollars of the funds raised. Special thanks to the Mokgenene Village Development Council (VDC) for arranging our visit, and to the teachers and staff at the Mokgenene Primary School for helping us to distribute the materials to the children. 

We showed up at the school at 1:00pm in the afternoon, and met with the principal and a member of the VDC, who explained to us that they had chosen the neediest children to distribute the materials to. They led us to the staff room where we set up all of the supplies on a long table, while they started to line the children up. They brought the children in three by three. Each child was given a bag with school supplies and toiletries. Then the teaching staff (six volunteers) helped match the clothing to the children. The children were approximately five to thirteen years old. 

Afterwards, we asked the volunteers about the kinds of things the children need (in addition to what we distributed). They mentioned school uniforms, including shoes, pants, shirts, dresses and backpacks. They also said there is a shortage of pencils and other basic school supplies in the school. 

We distributed 50 packages containing the following items:

Toiletries:
bar of Sunlight soap
washcloth
toothbrush
tube of Aquafresh toothpaste
two packs of (7-10) sanitary pads (for adolescent girls)

School Supplies:
96 page notebook
72 page scribbler
2 pencils
1 pen
1 eraser

Clothing:
hat
two pairs of underwear
one pair of sandals
sweatpants
sweater or long-sleeve shirt