Visit in Mautsaudi: Construction planning with the community

Our plans for the SHARE FOR SMILES (SFS) Learning Centre in Matsaudi, Botswana, are becoming more concrete. In March this year, before the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, SFS representatives Heinz, Boitumelo and Tobias visited the community in Matsaudi.

On the way to Matsaudi, a village near Maun in Botswana (left). Aerial view of Matsaudi (right).

 

Together with representatives of the Village Development Committees, the Kgosi (head of the village), mothers of the children as well as Wabothle and Lars from our partner SAVE Wildlife, the next steps for the construction of the SFS Learning Centre in Matsaudi, on the selected plot of land (marked red in the aerial photo above) were discussed.

Meetings and construction planning on the site of the future SFS Learning Centre in Matsaudi.

The Learning Centre will include a play group for early childhood development and a youth centre. The main objective is to help children in need to develop the necessary skills for school readiness. Together with SAVE and the village representatives, it was agreed as a target to complete the Learning Centre by the end of 2020. 

Preschool children in Mautsaudi who came with their mothers to the construction planning meeting.

 

 

The village of Matsaudi

Matsaudi is a village with a population of about 900 people. It is about 40 km from Maun and is situated on the Thamalakane River and the main road leading to the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta. The inhabitants of the village are mainly farmers, basket weavers and wood carvers and earn their livelihood. 

 

Project objective

The aim is to develop a joint project that will benefit the entire Matsaudi community and especially children and young people. The project plan provides for the development of a boma (fortified covered outdoor space without the classic brick four walls) with two classrooms, an office, three children's toilets, two adult toilets, a storage room and an energy-efficient outdoor kitchen. The boma will serve as a central recreation area for the playgroup and can accommodate 80 to 100 children. Beyond the kindergarten, young people can use the boma in the Learning Centre for wood carving, basketry, environmental education activities and for cultural events or seminars.

 

Sustainability 

The land and the Learning Centre will be owned by the community so that the Centre is an integral part of the village community. SAVE, together with the village community, will ensure the operational costs of the Learning Centre. The cultural heritage of the people on the edge of the Okavango Delta is a priority for this project. Thus, the Learning Centre will promote the exchange of knowledge among the locals to preserve traditional handicraft skills such as basket weaving or wood carving. This will be combined with environmental education to implement the vision of protecting the uniqueness of nature in the Okavango Delta by sensitising children and young people to a respectful use of natural resources.

 

Untouched nature in the Okavango Delta near Mautsaudi (left), SFS-Team (right)

 

SHARE FOR SMILES in der Planung für ein Learning Centre in Matsaudi, Botswana

Basierend auf der erfolgreichen Zusammenarbeit von SHARE FOR SMILES und SAVE Wildlife Fund haben wir 2018 in Shakawe, Botswana, ein Learning Centre errichtet. Aktuell planen wir mit einem ähnlichen Konzept ein weiteres Learning Centre für die Community in Matsaudi, Botswana. Mit dem Kauf dieses Afrika-Kalenders helfen Sie uns beim Aufbau des Learning Centre in Matsaudi.

Das Learning Centre wird eine Spielgruppe für die frühkindliche Entwicklung und ein Jugendzentrum umfassen. Hauptziel ist es, bedürftigen Kindern dabei zu helfen, die erforderlichen Fähigkeiten zur Schulreife zu entwickeln. Dieses wird kombiniert mit Umwelterziehung, die die Vision umsetzen soll, die Einzigartigkeit der Natur im Okavango-Delta zu schützen, indem Kinder und Jugendliche für einen respektvollen Umgang mit natürlichen Ressourcen sensibilisiert werden. Weitere Informationen zu unseren geförderten Projekten finden Sie hier.

 

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