Project Mabu: Partnering To Celebrate New Life

By Thembile Legwaila

Starting and maintaining a family in an economy where the cost of living is constantly being stretched to its limits is no easy feat. With the rapid increase in the rate of unemployment, post-pandemic salary cuts and a vast array of societal challenges affecting vulnerable groups such as women and children, what used to be viewed as a blessing now carries with it a sense of burden for some.

In 2021, the South African High Commissioner to The Republic of Botswana, Her Excellency Thapinga Shope-Soumah identified the growing need for the culture of celebrating new life to make its return to those starting and growing their families here in Botswana. It was then she launched an initiative called Project MABU which, in collaboration with Botswana’s Ministry of Health, brings together equally vested partners to help create a positive experience for families welcoming the first babies of the year in the 18 districts under the District Health Management Teams (DHMT).

At the start of Project Mabu, the High Commissioner and Ministry of Health had managed to engage various sponsors who rallied together to make a positive contribution to 18 families by way of donating hampers filled with items for both the new babies and their mothers. The likes of CA Sales, Bokomo Botswana, Clover, MultiChoice Botswana, Choppies and Woolworths, have all committed to come together to ensure that Project Mabu recipients are able to attach at least one positive memory to the addition of new life into their families.

Speaking at a recent press conference announcing the third installment of Project Mabu, Her Excellency Thapinga Shope-Soumah had this to say about the importance of partnerships in Corporate Social Responsibility:

“Through Project MABU, the collaboration between the Ministry of Health, all our sponsors and the South African High Commission, we aim to add to the great joy of those families, whose little ones are the FIRST to come into the world at the dawn of each New Year. These are families for whom we know, every little contribution will make a great difference to their lives.”

While our project is focused on the ‘first babies to be born per district in every new year’, we intend to also use it, to bring our attention to the urgent areas of need in our communities.”

Her Excellency Shope-Soumah went on to celebrate the onboarding of new sponsors for the 2023 installment of Project Mabu, “We are very grateful for the support we get from the Ministry of Health, and for all the contributions that we receive from our sponsors. Together we will make a difference.”

Raising awareness of the challenges faced by mothers

With most mothers of the Project Mabu babies being minors, unemployed and in vulnerable living conditions, the initiative has exposed large corporations to the growing threat of poverty within Botswana’s communities. This exposure has led to many of the participating sponsors identifying an extended need for donations which has led to additional support being given.

SA High Commission’s Project Mabu initiative has aptly displayed the power in strategic partnerships when executing impactful Corporate Social Responsibility projects. With Corporate Social Responsibility often being a tick-box exercise for organizations who long to be seen to be doing outstanding work for individuals in need, it is rare to see large entities putting the ultimate purpose of their exercise before their need for recognition.

Through the existing sponsors on-board, Project Mabu has been able to make more of an impact each year than they would have alone. Organizations such as Woolworths Botswana have increased their annual donation in-kind since the beginning of the initiative, whilst new sponsors have joined the collaborative effort after seeing the level of impact it has had on changing lives.

The SA High Commission, Ministry of Health and its Project Mabu sponsors are currently in the planning stage for their annual hamper handover which is set to take place towards the end of winter 2023. This year the project will provide relief in kind to 20 babies across Botswana.