Over 80 children living in the Bobonong area in Botswana recently took part in GIA’s (Gemmological Institute of America) fun, educational GemKids program, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The GIA GemKids program educates children on the fascinating elements of gemmology, showing the connections between nature, human industry, arts and culture.
Four schools were targeted in the campaign – Bobonong Secondary, Mosethla Secondary, Molalatau Secondary and Matshekge Senior High School.
“We taught 20 students per session and the program was well received. Students were engaged and asked a lot of questions about gemmology,” said GIA representative Elizabeth Bokaba. “Several teachers were able to stay for the entire program and also thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Bokaba says they will return to Bobonong later in the year to offer the GIA GemKids program to one of the schools they could not visit during this trip, and follow up with the children they interacted with.
“The Nelson Mandela Foundation will send students who took part in the Gemkids program a package that includes Nelson Mandela comic books, and as part of our Trek4Mandela campaign to keep the girl child in school, sanitary towels so that their education is not interrupted,” says the Foundation’s Yase Godlo.