BOOT CAMP TRANSFORMS LIVES Terry Makgoeng reporting for BOPA from Marobela Life for 33-year-old Ms Koziba Seroba and 26-year-old Ms Chandapiwa Badiri will never be the same, thanks to a boot camp they attended. The two, who are currently studying at Boitekanelo College, were part of the 600 people who attended a six- week Boot camp at Tsetsebjwe Junior Secondary School last July. Looking back at where they were before, the two women have a hard time believing their fate. It was in the first quarter of 2013 when the Marobela-born Ms Seroba heard about the boot camp programme, which she did not heed as she initially thought it was a programme bound to waste her time. Despite the fact that she had been unemployed for some time, she only paid attention to the programme after her aunt persuaded her to apply. She said it was in March that she submitted applications at the Francistown and Tutume offices. “My aunt, who was very persuasive, encouraged me to increase my options when applying so I could stand a better chance of being admitted for the programme” Ms Seroba said. As for Ms Badiri, who is from Mathangwane, she became eager to enroll in the programme the moment she heard about it and had been applying for the programme since 2012 without success. It was only in 2013 that she was accepted. Ms Badiri said she is an orphan with two siblings and she has two children of her own to support. “When I first heard about the programme, I had no choice but to apply because I have responsibilities,” Ms Badiri said. The two women were called to report for duty at Tsetsebjwe in July and upon arrival, they camped at Tsetsebjwe Junior Secondary School. “We were just over 600 at the camp and there were people from different offices in the region” said Ms Seroba. She said she was excited even though she did not know what to expect and she just knew that something positive was going to come out of this programme. At the camp they were trained by soldiers for six weeks and the aim of the exercise was to test their patience and strength and also to discern how well they can work with people. “Two weeks into the programme, I considered quitting because the exercise was gruelling, but my mates encouraged me to stick around,” said Ms Seroba. The two women said little did they know how great the programme would turn out and their dreams became a reality in a short span of time when they were told that they were among others from the group who had been selected to enroll at Boitekanelo College in Gaborone. They said about 200 from a group of over 600 were selected. “I had always seen that college in newspapers, but never thought government would honour me with such a sponsorship,” said Ms Seroba. The two women said they were then enrolled at the school and had an option of selecting between Emergency Care also known as paramedics and public health and they opted for Emergency Care. The duration of the course is one year and they began it on the October 7, 2013. Getting to Gaborone, they were provided with accommodation and they received an allowance every month. “The experience was really beautiful for some of us who came from humble backgrounds. The hospitality was of a high standard. I personally appreciate what the government did for me,” said Ms Badiri. Ms Seroba and Ms Badiri said they stayed in Gaborone for six months learning the theory of their programme. When they completed the theoretical part, they returned to Marobela their home village, where they are currently carrying out the practical part of the programme. The duo now educate villagers on Malaria, TB, Oral re-hydration salts for stopping diarrhea. They say the aim of this education is to reduce the death of children under the age of five who may be affected by diarrhea and other diseases. “I will forever be grateful to the government for this experience. I am positive that from here I will get a job using the certificate awarded to me at the end of the programme” said Ms Seroba.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 05:29:05 +0000
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