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We created this fundraiser to raise BWP 50,000 (~$3,622) to better understand and support childcare services for informal women workers in Botswana.
Women in Botswana’s Informal Sector
According to UNDP, Botswana’s informal sector employs as many as 191,000 workers. The majority of them are women and youth who face high levels of poverty and other vulnerabilities due to low earnings, unsafe working conditions, and poor job security. For instance, a recent study by the Botswana Informal Sector Association, estimates that women informal workers generate between BWP1000—P3000 (~$72—$217) per month on average. In surveying 300 informal women workers, we found that:
- Mothers reported significant food insecurity for themselves and their children
- They make significantly less income than their formal sector counterparts, leaving fewer resources for childcare;
- The public spaces where they set up stalls/workstations are unregulated, which can be dangerous, hazardous, and unhealthy for children;
- Most mothers with small children cannot fully operate their business during the winter season;
- The majority of women had to stop working for at least 2 months after the child’s birth, which severely reduced their earnings;
- Some have had to leave their businesses and source of income to care for their children at home;
- Most mothers in the market are elderly and in need of their support;
- The long work hours leave little to no time for child care;
- Most informal economy workers cannot afford to pay for private pre-schooling rely on family members to take care of their children while working; and
- The difficulty and inconvenience of taking children to schools away from the market.
As such, these women and children are often left in dire and uncertain circumstances. Therefore, we must continue to understand how these forms of work impact childcare and ways we can remedy these concerns.
Our goal is to:
1. Develop better measures to understand informal childcare effects on:
- Efficiency and productivity,
- Quality of life and well-being for both caretaker and children
- The tangible and non-tangible costs of poverty and weak social policies
2. Establish partnerships to help support these women and children and alleviate the challenges faced,
3. Inform policy on childcare services and the informal sector broadly.
Where will your funding go?
- Nutrition: Capacity building and training for nursing and expecting mothers on ways to enhance their family nutrition through dietary education and support to start at-home gardens in partnership with Seedco;
- Productivity and multitasking: Training on how to juggle family, motherhood, and running a business through management and skills development;
- Health: General health screening for mothers and children in partnership with the department of health
- Resources Awareness: Awareness campaign on the services mentioned above, and others resources related to gender-based violence.
For any questions regarding our work or additional information on how the funding will be used please feel free to contact us through this platform. We thank you in advance for your support and consideration!
Organizer
