15 Dec 2024

The chairperson of Lamodimo Foundation, Apostle Philimon Ramono has hailed the contribution of the annual Botswana Defence Force Bands in Concert Style towards the needs of charitable organisations across the country. 

Sese-based Lamodimo Foundation, which takes care of vulnerable children, received P25 000 from proceeds of the ongoing BDF concerts. In an interview on the sidelines of the performances on Friday, Apostle Ramono said the funds would be channelled towards their ongoing building project, which entailed a hostel for a total of 120 children, administration block and kitchen.

“We want to appreciate the BDF for this gesture because it will really go a long way in helping us because we are going through a building process. This project is in two phases, and this would help us to speed up the project, and also do the final touch ups such as water and electricity connection,” he explained.

He said as a non-profit making organisation, they were struggling to find financial assistance hence the donation from the concert was a welcome development that would impact positively on the vision and aspirations of the foundation.

Consequently, he appealed to the business community and individuals to emulate the gesture and support the foundation, which mostly aids street children from Sese and surrounding communities.

“We are appealing to the business community in this town to help these kids because we are also teaching them how to live within the home setup where we are teaching them life skills. We are also taking them through school since there’s lack of motivation for school from their homes,” he said.

BDF Bands in Concert Style chairperson, Colonel Ndibo Setaelo said so far, they had donated a total of P260 000 to various charity organisations since the 31^st edition commenced last month. He said each year, they strive to attract more revellers as it translated to more funds and positive impact on the beneficiaries.

“Our dream is to grow what we give to these organisations and this could be done by increasing the number of people attending our shows. As you can see last year we were donating P15 000 to each organisation but this year it has increased, and we want to increase even more each year,” he said.

He said even though they did not directly monitor the usage of the funds after donation, he was optimistic that their strategic partners, among them the office of the district commissioner and the social and community development office would do a thorough job in ensuring that the money was used for the intended purposes. ENDS