Old Naledi

When you drive through the hustle and bustle of downtown Gaborone, it's easy to forget the poverty that impacts the lives of thousands in the surrounding villages. One of the communities stricken by poverty is Old Naledi, a shanty town rife with high unemployment, alcohol abuse issues, and scarce resources such as food, running water, and electricity. In fact, many residents refer to this community as "zola", a Setswana word meaning "no rules." Tirisano, a local organization run through the Catholic church,, works with children of the Old Naledi community to provide life skills, food, and social support for children ages 1-18 - a support system that is crucial for the children.

Today, our group of eight traveled to a field across from Old Naledi, swarming with children and reverberating with songs. This field is the meeting place where Tirisano holds weekly meetings for children from the community. The majority of Gaborone's orphans and children of single parents reside in Old Naledi, which indicates a strong need for an organization like Tirisano. Along with dancing, singing, and games, Tirisano also provides food and education about sexual health, HIV, and other important topics. While the organization had been funded by UNICEF for the last three years, the funding has run out this year. The local Catholic church has stepped in to help keep the program afloat, but has recently faced a budget crisis of its own, and is no longer able to provide consistent funding for food and the workers' salaries. This lack of funding has placed the program in a precarious position - there is no guarantee that there will be food from week to week, or that the educators will receive any compensation for their work.

One way that Tirisano has attempted to close the gap is to train the older children in the art of traditional African dance - both an opportunity to raise needed funds and to build friendships. This form of fundraising is homegrown and sustainable, and is one of the ways that the organization is attempting to meet its own needs. However, there is currently a lack of traditional costumes for the dancers, and insufficient funds to purchase materials to make more.

Posted by Danielle Altares, Trudy Kao, Megan Rogers, and Erin Schelar