Honourable Premier, Mr Ace Magashule;
Madame Speaker, Mme Thandi Moloi;
Mme Sisi Ntombela, MEC for Social Development;
Mme P Ndaba from Free State Social Development;
Councillor LMD Ntombela, Executive Mayor of Mafube Municipality;
Bo Mme le bo Ntate ba ratehang.
Dumelang, sanibonani, good morning.
Our former President, Dr Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela once said: "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children”. That statement is what inspired the National Development Agency (NDA) to take part in touching the lives of children in this community of Mafahlaneng.
Ladies and gentlemen, at the NDA, we strongly believe that you can make greater impact in a child’s life while he/she is still young – that sets a good foundation for future development. As a poverty eradication Agency, we also believe that education is one of the vehicles we can use to alleviate poverty.
We were very touched when we heard that this crèche, which was started many years ago by Mrs Mokoena, was full to capacity and other children had to be hosted in a separate venue – you can imagine the traffic between the two premises at mealtime as well as safety risks that these children were exposed to.
Rona rele ba NDA, re motlotlo ka ho nka karolo ntlafatsweng ya setjhaba. Re dumela hore thuto ke lefa lesa feleng ke ka hoo re ileng ra kenya letsoho ra fana ka R779 666.
Ho Mme Novika Sikhosana, eleng principal ya Moalosi, we are grateful that you kept your promise and used the NDA money to construct another building, purchase educational materials, books, office equipment and furniture, mattresses and blankets. Some of the money was put towards starting a vegetable garden, improvement of recreational facilities and for proper landscaping around the crèche – all this happened within 8 months. Re motlotlo ka wena.
This created short term jobs for 25 people (who were building the school), provided an educational facility and nutritious food for 126 children currently at this facility. I hope that teachers, parents and the community of Mafahlaneng will be motivated, to not only bring their children here, but to participate meaningfully to ensure a better future for their children.
I feed honoured to be here today. Not only is this day dedicated to the launch of Moalosi Crèche, but this week is dedicated to something that I hold dear in my heart, child protection.
Hare ka jala peo e ntle, dikelellong le maphelong a bana ba rona ka thuto, le ho fepa mmele ya bona esantseng e hola, retla kotula tse ntle feela haba se ba hodile. Tlhokomelo ya bana ke ntho ya bohlokwa haholo. Ku fanele ukuthi ingane zethu zikhule kahle, zithole imfundo ezo kwenza ukuthi babe ngabemi aba qotho ma bese be khulile.
We need to invest in the welfare of our children now and we will reap the benefits of having well raised future generations who will also respect your rights. I would like to appeal to all members of this community, especially the parents, to assist Moalosi Crèche to take care of your children’s facility, participate in the education of your children and also help them to plant food so that your children do not starve, even on a single day.
Ladies and gentlemen, a wise woman by the name of Carol Bellamy once said "...in serving the best interests of children, we serve the best interests of all humanity. When the lives and the rights of children are at stake, there must be no silent witnesses ".
Masi bambisaneni na baphathi balesikole ukuze yonke into edibene nengani zethu ihambe kahle.
Please pledge your support for Child Protection Week and your commitment towards the welfare of all children. Life can be so much better if we could work together in taking care of our children.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Mme Sisi Ntombela, MEC for Social Development in the Free State for the role she played in making sure that there is a relationship between Department of Social Development and NDA in the province. Mme maNtombela, thank you for giving us the opportunity to project manage some of your development programmes in the province.
I would like to invite the Mafube Municipality and businesses in this area to make use of our Programmes Management Unit which will ensure that they deliver the much needed development programmes to grassroots communities.
Ladies and gentlemen, development is a challenging mission, let us join hands and work together, because, together we can do more!!!
I thank you!
