Nov 5, 2021 | Events, News
Dithunya tsa Rona – a locally-produced film has won big on the global stage scooping three prestigious awards internationally. The film was recently awarded the coveted “Best International Feature Film” at the Annual Baltimore International Black Film Festival in America this past week. In addition, Tshepie Olds, a young Motswana actress on the rise won the “Best Supporting Actress” award from the Garden Route International Film Festival in South Africa. Since the film’s premiered, Dithunya tsa Rona has been making international waves with the film’s producer, Jenny Ledikwe winning the “Best Emerging Filmmaker” at The African Film Festival in America soon after its first premiere.
The film’s Writer, Producer and Co Director, Dr. Jenny Ledikwe said, “Our work combines the science of behavior change with the art of film making to produce captivating content with meaningful narratives to empower people and inspire change. “I feel grateful to have the opportunity to apply my knowledge, skills, and experience to make Botswana a safer place for our children with an amazing cast, crew and partners.”
Dithunya tsa Rona is a 1-hour docudrama which is focused on improving parenting in Botswana and creating safe homes for children, free from abuse, free from fear. The film tackles many challenging issues, including parenting and child sexual abuse. Written and produced by Dr. Jenny Ledikwe and Isaac Marumo, the groundbreaking docudrama is the brainchild of the Stepping Stones International team and is based on collaborative research with the Ministry of Local Government and Department of Social Protection among others. The film was made possible with funding from the European Union, Fonds Humanitaire de Stéphanie Lacroix and FACET Foundation.
“We are really excited about the international recognition the award is receiving and look forward to its official release. The film will be disseminated nationally through collaboration with the government and civil society and will be used as a discussion platform to create a safe environment for our children.” – Lisa Jamu SSI Executive Director
Oct 20, 2021 | Events
Leadership participants were in for a ‘tech-treat’ as they learned all about becoming a Digital Citizen courtesy of the ISACA Gaborone Chapter Foundation.
Participants acquired information on a range of topics including computer components, types of connections, circuit switching the World Wide Web as well as the responsibilities that come with being a Digital Citizen.
The day ended with fun memory quizzes with participants walking away with cool prizes. Thank you ISACA Foundation for the informative session. We look forward to building more responsible digital citizens and community engagements in future.
Oct 1, 2021 | Beneficiaries, Events, News
The month of October officially marks 15 years of serving children and youth in Botswana for Stepping Stones International! In celebration of our birthday month, we kicked off the very first day of October with the #StepItUpWithSSI Walk Challenge! Participants of the walk challenge (now known as ‘Steppers’) documented the first day of their 150km in 30 days walk challenge to empower youth and children in Botswana!
Steppers across the world united as one through this walk initiative from countries including Tanzania, Austria, Ecuador, Italy, Japan, United States of America, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Botswana and more! The #StepItUpWithSSI Walk Challenge has gone on to grow to become a powerful movement, with Steppers as young as 10 years old playing their part in youth empowerment, and we couldn’t be prouder of our Steppers community. Congratulations to everyone for taking part of thisand being a part of an awesome movement!
Step it up with SSI and make a difference!
Sep 18, 2021 | Beneficiaries, Events
Our Stepping Stones International Leadership participants funded by #FACET Foundation and our Go Green Aflateen Club embarked on a clean up campaign around the Mochudi community in collaboration with Cleanico Waste Management Solutions.
The sunny day was filled with fun activities as participants and stakeholders cleaned up litter, enjoyed marimba music and interacted with the Mochudi community as they raised awareness about the importance of preserving our environment!
Remember, to go green! Be part of the solution, not the pollution!
Jun 24, 2021 | Events, Program Updates
After an intense six months of daily sessions and six weeks in a job shadowing exercise, 47 participants from our Finding The Leader Within Leadership program graduated! The program, funded by The FACET Foundation, targets 18- to 25-year-old youth who are unemployed and or out of school living in Mochudi. The objective is to get them ready for the workplace, start their own small business or return to school. This is achieved through the following modules; Career Skills, Business & Financial Literacy, Computer Skills, Leadership Skills and Healthy Lifestyles.
CEO of VYB Digital, Mr. Karabo Letsholo delivered the commencement speech, and led the graduates in a spirited affirmation:
‘I know I can, be what I want to be. If I work hard in it, I will be where I want to be.’
He further went on to recount his personal story of struggle and triumph, inspiring the attendees by demonstrating that with the right attitude we can all achieve what we want in life.
One of the participants, Waone offered her own testimony of how the skills she learned in the program have helped her to thrive in her own life. Waone shared that when she started the program, she was reserved and lacked self-confidence. However, she quickly developed her interpersonal and CV writing skills. These landed her a job as a waitress in one of the prestigious restaurants in Gaborone.
“This was possible due to the skills I was equipped with the such as confidence, writing CVs and cover letters and preparation for interviews,” she said.
Waone is thriving in her job! She is able to fully articulate herself, which is helping her build connections and expand her professional networks that could lead to new, progressive opportunities in the future.
In addition to their program completion certificates, graduates also received certificates from the ABSA Ready To Work Program. This certifies successful completion of the four modules program designed to equip young people with the necessary skills to find employment or create self-employment. Other special awards include recognizing individuals who demonstrated excellence in different areas. Including; Most Innovative Participant, Best Role Model, Most Improved, and more. Of the 47 graduating participants, 36 gained valuable work experience through the job shadowing exercise, five are now fully employed and six are pursuing higher education. Our second cohort for the year begins in July 2021
Jun 4, 2021 | Events, News
In Botswana, many children grow up in challenging home environments. They face a risk of neglect, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Although parents play a key role in creating a safe and conducive home environment for their children and protect them from harm, child abuse most often occurs in the home. As a response to these concerning issues, we developed the film Dithunya Tsa Rona “Our Flowers” to help teach and promote positive parenting throughout the country. We’ll be premiering the docudrama on June 16th, day of the African Child.
The film aims to improve parenting in Botswana and create safe homes for children, free from abuse. TV shows and drama series have proven to be effective tools in addressing and challenging social norms and creating positive behaviour change around societal issues. The 1-hour docudrama combines drama with documentary-style discourse, and features famous local actors and experts. The plot is a fictional story about a social worker investigating an increase in teenage pregnancies in a community in Botswana. During her search to discover the reasons behind this increase, she gets to know different families that all face various struggles of their own. However, they have one thing in common: what they do and how they parent affects the safety and well-being of their children.
Key messages and Positive Parenting
The film’s tagline is “Loving families nurture and protect.” The most important messages are:
- Caregivers play a critical role in preventing, stopping and reporting child abuse
- To create nurturing environments, caregivers can give one-on-one time and attention, positive guidance and create open communication.
- Call to action: Small changes have a huge impact! You can make a difference today.
It brings forward actionable steps for creating safer environments for children as well as positive parenting tips to mitigate risk of neglect as well as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. SSI will also be sharing positive parenting tips on our website soon, so stay tuned!
Reaching every Parent in Botswana
We want to ensure that every parent in Botswana gets the opportunity to receive the key messages from the docudrama. It will be aired on national television and streamed live on our Facebook page. After the premiere, it will also be shown in communities accompanied by dialogue sessions. We will also provide viewers with the opportunity to join our Pinagare parenting training groups for anyone who wants to further enhance their parenting skills.
You can help us reach every parent in Botswana! By contributing your support, you increase our distribution and visibility to ensure this film is available in as many homes as possible. Please go to our GofundMe page to make a contribution and help spread the word about this groundbreaking project. https://gofund.me/060472fa
Contributing Partners
We’re so grateful for the many partners who helped make this project come to life! They include the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Botswana Police Service, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, CSOs, UNICEF and USAID. The project is co-funded by the European Union, Stéphanie Lacroix Humanitarian Fund and FACET.
