Kagiso David Morebodi
Social Development — Kagiso David Morebodi
Founder of Remmogo Youth Organization
email: [email protected]
Kagiso David Morebodi is the founder of the Remmogo Youth Organisation, an NGO which focuses on issues of road safety, alcohol and drug abuse, through educational campaigns. Remmogo drives change amongst the youthby addressing social ills such as alcohol and substance abuse.
Launched in 2011, Remmogo creates awareness of road safety through their ‘Kgweetsa Ka Kelo tlhoko’ campaigns. Morebodi says he targets this age group in Botswana with his road safety awareness campaigns because theyouth constitute 60% of the country’s population and can therefore make an impact to achieve that road accidents are reduced by 50% by the year 2020.
A radio and TV personality annex businessman, Morebodi uses platforms such as social media, music, radio and television as ways of communicating withroad users – drivers, pedestrians and passengers.
“I saw the need to educate road users on issues of road safety as we lose an average of about 8 people every weekend in Botswana, which deeply affects our families and the country’s economy,” explains Morebodi.
The organisation, through its affiliation to the Botswana National Youth Council, also holds quarterly workshops throughout the country. The ‘Kgweetsa Ka Kelo tlhoko’ road safety campaigns target national holidays such as Christmas, New Year, Easter, Independence Day and President’s Day to educate road users.
Remmogo has a 30-minute weekly youth talk show on radio RB2, which provides a platform to spread information and to have a dialogue on issues that affect mainly young people. The radio show engages its listenership through live call-ins, mobile text messages and feedback on social-media platforms like Facebook.
With more than 10 000 likes on its Facebook page and more than 6 000 friends, Morebodi is confident that Remmogo reaches more than 16 000 people. They also have more than 40 000 people visiting and viewing their awareness musical videos on YouTube. In addition, Morebodi’s personal Facebook account has more than 11 000 followers and more than 4 500 active friends, which gives him a vibrant social media platform for sharing crucial information.
Morebodi is also the founding chairperson of the Morebodi Foundation which aims to assist children born with rare medical conditions. He says the project will concentrate on children from disadvantaged families who cannot afford medical treatment. He expressed concern that there are children who end up with permanent disabilities because their families do not have the means to pay for specialist medical attention. – CHARMAINE REVAKA