Bosele House

A KEET sponsored project developed in partnership with the Laxey community and the Bojelakgomo Primary School.

About

Laxey is one of the small hamlets in the harsh environment of the Moshaweng Valley where, under apartheid in the 1970s, Tswana people were forcibly relocated. It continues to be one of the poorest regions in South Africa. The Kalahari Experience Education Trust (KEET) connection to Laxey derives from the long association Australian members have held with the primary school.

In the Tswana language “bosele” means a new day – a new beginning. The weekly boarding house was planned and constructed over several years and opened in 2014. The goal is to enable the most disadvantaged and orphaned learners, who fail to attend school regularly, to optimise their educational opportunities and increase their chance to escape the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

Nutritious meals are provided that ensure the children no longer have to go to school hungry. Their learning is further supported through supervised after-school homework sessions and assistance with learning difficulties. The staff also focuses on developing life skills, from interacting with others, cooking, cleaning, gardening and when funding permits, learning various crafts such as knitting and sewing.

The selection of children that reside in the house and contact with parents or caregivers is carried out by Bojelakgomo Primary School. A local Committee of Management is responsible for the employment of staff and oversight of the Bosele House operations.

Facilities

Bosele House is located adjacent to the Bojelakgomo Primary School. The modern brick building allows for up to 16 girls and 16 boys accommodated in eight bunk rooms and for two live-in carers. There is a large dining and living area with a separate kitchen, internal bathrooms, and toilets.

A separate building contains a bedsit, laundry, and storeroom. A reverse osmosis water treatment plant ensures that the bore water supply to the Bosele House meets World Health Standards. The laundry building was funded by the American School of Paris.

Since the house opened in 2014 over 100 children have resided in the house. In the majority of cases, the children are cared for by a sole grandparent/great-grandparent who has to make do with the meager aged pension. Being the “poorest of the poor” has usually meant poor school attendance, poor nutrition and health leading to failure from an early age. As one of Bosele House’s former residents wrote “I was a street kid, penniless, doing bad things just for food…. I hated school.” Now at age 20, he is completing Year 12, an achievement he attributes to the “help, care, and love” he received during his three years in Bosele House. We hold great hopes that he will go on to receive a university education and in his words, ensure he can “aid my family in the future.”

Fundraising

Fundraising by KEET members to construct the boarding house began in 2011. The South African government has to this date provided no funding to the program. The impoverished nature of the Laxey community has meant a continued reliance on overseas funding from families, friends, and several overseas schools who have participated in KEET programs and continue to value the impact these projects had on their lives when they returned home to their countries.

Fundraising covers the cost of three full-time staff, a casual handyman, and the cost of utilities including the maintenance of a water treatment plant and food. Specific donations have further enabled the construction of raised garden beds and clothing to be provided for the children. Donations can be made directly to the KEET Bank Account in Kuruman, South Africa (SA), or to an account held in Melbourne Australia. Tax deductibility is available for Australian donations. All expenditure is audited each year according to SA regulations.

For further information contact: penelope.mceniry@gmail.com

Support Bosele House

Donation

Please email - penelope.mceniry@gmail.com - if you have made a $$ transfer with details of your donation so it can be acknowledged, tax receipts organized and so that we can keep you informed. OR email Penny for bank details for a direct deposit to our South African bank account.

DONATIONS OVER $20 ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE (with thanks to Australian Marist Solidarity).

Bank Details

Bank Name: Commonwealth Bank - Brighton
Account Name: Penelope McEniry - Bosele Hostel
BSB: 063145
Account Number: 10328251

Read Our Newsletters

No. 1. September 2011: Fundraising to build the Kalahari Weekly Boarding House

No. 36. October 2021. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

No. 38 March 2022. Endings and new beginnings

No. 39 June 2022. "Love was all they need".

No. 40 November 2022. Sharing another Milestone

No. 41 December 2022. Christmas

No. 42 February 2023. Standing Proud and Tall

No. 43 June 2023. Future Proofing Bosele House

No. 44 October 2023. A special coming together

An electronic newsletter is produced three to four times per year. The first issue was circulated in September 2011 and by the end of 2022 forty newsletters documenting the project will have been circulated to provide accountability to donors

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Who We Are

Penelope McEniry
Australian Project Manager
+61 0438 900097
penelope.mceniry@gmail.com

Diana Patterson OAM
Australian Project Manager
+61 0417 345994
diana.patterson@gmail.com

Yolandi Strydrom
Local Project Manager
+27 083 414 3132
yolandistr@lantic.net