Community-based organizations (CBOs) in Botswana are still developing but some like SOS and GHBC have significantly helped with development efforts. By decentralizing assistance, CBOs can more efficiently identify and help those in need without government bureaucracy and better utilize community resources and volunteers. While facing challenges like limited funds and management skills, CBOs like SOS and Gabane Home Based Care have contributed greatly by assisting orphans, the ill, and vulnerable at low cost through community support.

1.  The impact of Community Based Organisations in
Botswana is difficult to measure because most of them are
still at an infancy stage.
 However, Community-based Organisations that have been
around for sometime such as SOS and GHBC, just to
mention a few, have proved to be very helpful to the
development of Botswana.
 Firstly, we know that the government alone can not
succeed in assisting people who are in need.
 We need everybody to be involved in the development of
our country.
The impact of Community Based
Organisation

2.  If supported by the community, these CBOs might be our
best solution for the development of our backward and
underdeveloped continent, Africa.
 They save time, money and are better placed to deal with
their local problems without burdening the government.
 SOS has assisted abandoned children and orphans by
providing clothes, shelter, food and education with the
little donations they get from the public.
 This has helped the government to save a lot of money
because people are now involved in assisting their
communities.
SOS Children

3.  SOS also gets money from international and national charity NGOs
who are their donors.
 Thus, this helps the government save lots of money.
 Most importantly, SOS has shown that the decentralisation of
power, which allows Community-based Organisations to function is
effective and very economical or financially viable.
 Besides, the communities are better placed to identify those who
are in need than the government ministries centred in Gaborone.
 This allows those who need assistance to be identified and helped
without delays as there won't be a need to wait for long to get help
as is the norm with government bureaucracies, which takes a very
long time http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/where-we-
help/africa/botswana
SOS Children cont.

4.  The Gabane Home Based Care and other CBOs have also
contributed a lot to the development of our country at
very low costs.
 This is so because most of the members of such
organisations are volunteers and are not paid which saves
money.
 This, learner, should be encouraged as we need more of
such organisations than ever now because Botswana has a
shortage of health personnel and requires more volunteers
to assist the growing number of HIV/AIDS patients in the
country.
The Gabane Home Based Care

5.  It is important to note that there are several
Community Based Organisations not mentioned in
this lesson,
 and many of them have contributed positively to the
development of Botswana through educating,
imparting skills, administrating and mobilising the
communities for purposes of development.
Other CBOs

6.  some of the CBOs have failed either because of lack of
funds or due to mismanagement.
 This stems from the fact that most of the CBOs rely much
on donations and because their numbers increase daily,
they end up having competition for scarce resources and
donations.
 Moreover, most of the CBOs lack well skilled managers
and this results in the mismanagement and loss of money,
eventually leading to the collapse of such organisations.
Problem faced by CBOs