Care, Planning, and Teamwork That Make Every Week Possible

Community Development（https://lehikeng.org/en/blog/tag/community-development）

Care, Planning, and Teamwork That Make Every Week Possible

Time reading: 1 min read

By

Goitseone Ketlhanyegile（https://lehikeng.org/en/blog/author/goitseone-ketlhanyegile）

Goitseone Ketlhanyegile

Lehikeng contributor sharing practical capacity building and development insights.

When you see children laughing, learning, and enjoying a healthy meal at Lehikeng, you are witnessing only the result of a great deal of preparation. Behind every successful programme is a dedicated team of volunteers, careful planning, and countless hours of hard work to ensure that every child is safe, welcomed, and allowed to thrive.

Every week, our mission is driven by one simple goal: to serve every child with excellence, love, and care.

Every Morning Begins with Preparation

Before the first child arrives, our volunteers are already hard at work. The day begins by collecting and transporting all the essential equipment needed for our programmes.

This includes:

Chairs and tables

Books and learning materials

Pens, pencils, and chalkboards

Lesson resources and teaching aids

Games and activity materials

Any additional supplies required for the day's lessons

Every item is carefully checked and packed to ensure that children have everything they need for a productive and enjoyable learning experience.

Careful Planning Makes Everything Possible

A successful programme does not happen by chance. Every week requires detailed planning and coordination.

Our team carefully plans:

Transportation routes for picking up children.

Volunteer responsibilities.

Lesson plans and learning activities.

Meal preparation and distribution.

Equipment transport and setup.

Timetables for every stage of the day.

Volunteers work together to make sure that no child is forgotten during home pickups. Every pickup is coordinated carefully because we understand that many children depend on us for safe transport to Lehikeng.

Teamwork is at the heart of everything we do.

Safety Always Comes First

The safety of every child is our highest priority.

Before children arrive at Lehikeng, we inspect the entire environment to ensure it is safe and welcoming.

This includes:

Clearing overgrown grass.

Checking the playground.

Making sure the surrounding areas are clean and ready.

Ensuring water is available.

Inspecting both indoor and outdoor areas for hazards.

Preparing a safe learning environment for every child.

We believe that children learn best when they feel safe, valued, and cared for.

The Challenges Behind the Scenes

While our programmes continue to grow, we also face significant operational challenges.

One of the biggest challenges has been the rapid growth of grass around our property. Keeping the grounds clean and safe requires ongoing maintenance year-round.

Another challenge has been vandalism.

Some of our property and infrastructure have been damaged, including parts of our water supply system that were installed to water the trees we planted earlier this year.

This has caused water shortages and slowed the growth of many of our young trees, creating an unexpected setback for our environmental efforts.

Transportation has also been one of our greatest difficulties. For the past three months, limited access to transport has affected both our operations and our children's pickup programme. Reliable transport is essential for bringing children safely to Lehikeng, and these challenges risk reducing the number of children who can participate in our programmes.

Despite these obstacles, our commitment to serving children has never changed.

Success Through Determination

Although we have experienced water shortages, our tree-planting project（https://lehikeng.org/en/blog/tree-planting-day-at-lehikeng-with-safari-essence） has continued thanks to the incredible dedication of our children.

Every Saturday, before attending their classes, many of the children help water the trees by hand. Their willingness to care for the environment reminds us that trees give us life, and protecting them is everyone's responsibility.

Another milestone we are proud of is our meal programme.

To date, we have successfully delivered more than 15000 meals（https://lehikeng.org/en/blog/feeding-100-children-in-maun） to children across Maun, ensuring that families receive support when they need it most.

We have also completed more than 100+ home pickups , helping children travel safely between their homes and Lehikeng every week.

Perhaps our greatest achievement has been watching our programme grow. What began with approximately 35 children has expanded to around 100 children who are now transported from their homes to our centre. This growth reflects the trust families have placed in Lehikeng and our volunteers' dedication.

A Community That Steps In When Needed

One of the most inspiring parts of our journey has been the kindness shown by members of our community.

During our transport challenges, a local taxi driver chose to help us. He paused his normal work to assist with delivering meals to children across Maun, ensuring that no child missed out because of our transport shortages.

His generosity reminds us that changing lives is not the work of one organisation alone;