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About Tirisanyo Catholic Commission (TCC)

1. What is TCC?
TCC is the development arm of the Catholic Church in Botswana, with the mandate to serve as an umbrella body for the Catholic Church's development and humanitarian organizations in the country.

2. Vision
TCC's vision is to foster integral human development under the overall pastoral care of the Catholic Church. This is accomplished by raising the standard of living of the poor through awareness, education, mobilizing available resources and by involving the community at all stages of development.

3. Objectives
TCC's objectives are:

  • To provide training programs and to assist in the formation of human resource capabilities at all levels;
  • To liaise church social concerns with other national and international development and welfare organizations; and
  • To coordinate various development programs and social services.

4. Activities
TCC's activities to support its objectives include:

  • Parish Development
  • HIV / AIDS - Home Based Care and awareness and education
  • Games for Life I Education for Life
  • Pre-Schools (Orphans & Vulnerable Children's Project)
  • Training Pre-school Teachers
  • Pre-school sports days
  • Kids Clubs

5. Who Benefits from TCC's activities?
All individuals or communities that want to change their existing situation. There are no age limits, no religion, no gender, no colour - it is a national effort to bring about the best in everyone.

6. Achievements
TCC's achievements include:

  • TCC has raised the standard of living and promoted dignity of the poor through awareness, education, mobilizing available resources and by involving the community at all stages of development;
  • TCC has fought the spread of HIV/AIDS through various initiatives that provide education, support and empowerment;
  • TCC operates over 20 pre-school centres which provide services to over 700 three and six year old orphans and vulnerable children. Services include education, nutrition, welfare and health;
  • TCC provides training to pre-school teachers and care-givers; and
  • TCC has assisted the communities of Mogoditshane and Tsolamosese by planning, building and operating pre-school centres for orphans and vulnerable children in these communities.

The Mission and Vision of Kamogelo Day Care Centre

The Kamogelo Day Care Centre, under the leadership of the Tirisanyo Catholic Commission, serves the entire community of Mogoditshane and surrounding areas by operating a free, quality Day Care Centre for orphaned and vulnerable children. The mission of Kamogelo is to provide all orphans and vulnerable children with a safe and stigma-free environment in which they can easily access quality services, as well as to empower the caregivers of vulnerable children to compassionately and competently care for them. We believe every child deserves to have their basic needs met, including their needs for loving guardianship and a quality education. We hope that every child we serve learns to envision a future in which he or she goes on to live a happy, healthy, and productive life.

Enrolment

Currently, there are over 150 pre-school children attending school at Kamogelo. We offer nursery and reception classes for children from ages two through six. An additional 250+ children attend our weekend Kids Club.

Meals

At Kamogelo, we offer every child two healthy, hearty meals a day. For some children, the meals they receive at Kamogelo are their only regular nutrition, so we strive to provide the most nutritious meals possible. We grow our own vegetables in a large irrigated garden.

Transportation

Our combi bus provides free transportation to and from the Centre for all children residing in Mogoditshane and surrounding areas.

Sports

Our school regularly competes in sports competitions with other pre-schools.

Parent-Teacher Association

Kamogelo has an active Parent-Teacher Association, and all care-givers are encouraged to participate. The PTA meets with the school administration on-site every month.

Graduations

Each November we host a large celebration for our graduates and the entire Kamogelo community. We continue to stay connected to graduates of Kamogelo and their families through our weekly Kids Club.

Staff and Facilities

Kamogelo's staff of 18 includes paid professionals, support workers and volunteers. Children at Kamogelo are taught by four qualified teachers. Each of the classrooms also has one teacher's assistant. We currently have four spacious classrooms, three offices, a sickbay, a kitchen, a dining hall, a pantry, a store room, toilets and showers.

Health Care and Home Visits

At Kamogelo, we strive to see that all of our children stay healthy and strong. To this end, our Social Worker makes regular visits to the homes of every child. She builds relationships with caregivers and helps caregivers understand the complex needs of orphans and vulnerable children. For children on ARV treatment, we make sure that their medications are being administered properly. We also ensure that all the children have access to quality health services.

Funding

The Centre has an annual operating budget of approximately Botswana Pula 600,000 or approximately CDN$ 100,000 per annum. The majority of the funds to operate the Centre are provided by the Catholic Church, Orfund Foundation and various private donors.

Orfund Foundation also supports the Centre through the development of a garden which provides vegetables to assist in meeting the children's nutritional needs.

The centre's physical infrastructure was funded through donations from the US Government, Rotary Club of Gaborone and FNB. The physical infrastructure, which is world class, provides an outstanding environment for the children to receive high quality services free of charge.