Today we had the chance to work at Kamogelo Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s Project in Mogoditshane and it turned out to be a very fulfilling experience. We arrived at the daycare center during breakfast and were greeted by over one hundred smiling children. Kamogelo is a safe haven for children aged 2-6 years old, and the daycare center strives to meet developmental needs of the children. Many of these children have been orphaned due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and are currently living with extended family. Kamogelo works to relieve caregiver burden by offering nutritional, educational and psychosocial support as well as administering medications if needed.
After meeting the children at breakfast, Sister Margaret and other Kamogelo staff took us on a tour of their facility. It consists of a large dining hall and kitchen, administrative offices, four classrooms, a playground and a vegetable garden. Buses provided by Tirisanyo Catholic Commission, the Rotary Club of Gaborone and Unicef transport the children to the daycare center from neighboring towns on a daily basis. Kamogelo’s success and recognition as one of the leading centers of its kind in Botswana are a result of the generous funding by the Rotary Club of Gaborone and Tirisanyo, as well as its teachers’ passion and dedication to the project.
In the past two years, the UPenn nursing groups have spent time at Kamogelo assessing the children. Our purpose today was two-fold; we wanted to assess each child comprehensively while also tracking their progress from previous years. After each assessment, we updated existing charts and noted concerning findings requiring follow-up care. Our hope is that abnormal assessment findings will be communicated to these children’s families in a timely manner so that they can receive proper healthcare.
As a group, we all really enjoyed our time at Kamogelo and were touched by the sheer joy in these children despite the adversity so many of them have faced. There were times during the assessments when we struggled to communicate with the children, especially the younger ones who solely spoke Setswana. However, we quickly learned that some caring gestures are universally understood. We especially appreciated the input of Bridget and Danielle as they have just completed their advanced health assessment course. Overall, we received a warm welcome from the staff and children at Kamogelo, and enjoyed the opportunity to build upon the previous contributions of UPenn nursing students.
Posted by Linden Spital and Megan Rogers
The pic at the top of this post is awesome!
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