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April 23, 2018Planting a Seed through Suffering
It is often through great hardship that something positive grows into existence. Queen Monareng experienced such hardship when she became pregnant and had a baby when she was a teenager. Queen did not lie down and succumb to the pressures of life but instead used her struggle as inspiration to start an initiative that would help others in the same predicament. She launched an organization called Botjha ke Palesa in 2012 with the aim of creating awareness of teen pregnancy and the underlying causes such as alcohol abuse, gang culture and unemployment.A Blossoming Organization
Botjha ke Palesa (Look at the Flower) was founded in 2013 and employed 4 personals: Queen Monareng, founder and director, Monnapule Mosala: deputy director, Jeanock Monareng: treasure, Motsheao mokotla: secretary and Nthabiseng Makhubu: marketing. "Things has not been easy for us" says Nobeni Qza the head of the young women department in the organization. Challenges like parents who deny their children's from participating in our events to raise awareness for example. "We find ourselves going door to door offering help and raising awareness. Some of the girls are missing basic hygiene products because their parents are not providing" says Nobeni. Registered in August 2014 and since then, despite a massive lack in funding, has been continuing with various initiatives geared for positive change in young lives. Through the years the organization has partnered with the Department of Sport, Art & Culture, Matjhabeng Municipality, and with the South African Police Service in a variety of initiatives. The organization has been involved in activities and events like World Population Day, Sports Against Crime, Save the Children SA and Mandela Day – which has thus far been their largest and most successful initiative. In previous years Mandela Day was celebrated by getting the local community together to clean up the environment. In 2017 Botjha ke Palesa celebrated Mandela Day at Seabo Primary School with Oupa Khoabane the MEC from the Department of Agriculture & Rural Development. Queen and Botjha ke Palesa gave away 120 food parcels at the event. Their motto is: Keketso ya Meutloa Paleseng (Increasing Thorns of a Rose), and they are based in Welkom, South Africa which is also known as the City within a Garden.Flowering, Despite Challenges
Queen’s efforts were recognized when she received an award at the Inspirational Women Awards in August 2016. But regardless of this recognition and all the good the organization is doing, they are still facing major challenges, the biggest one being a lack of funding. Although Queen says, “It’s not about the money” every organization needs financial backing, no matter how humble it is. Botjha ke Palesa has been knocking at all possible doors seeking help but hasn’t been able to secure regular funding. And still, they continue their work towards helping young people with a wide array of activities and initiatives including youth camps, drama productions and food gardening programs. They even have their own female soccer team! Queen and her organization are not resting while there is still positive change to bring about (with or without financial help.) "we are happy that most of the teens are still in school and that we can provide them a sense of community and encourage them to be the leaders of tomorrow" Visit their Facebook page and support now!