Mothers for All

Welcome to the website of Mothers for All, a non-profit organisation that supports the women in Botswana who are caring for children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. The trust's primary focus is teaching income-generating skills to the orphans' caregivers - mainly women, often with little means, often caring for more than one child - thereby providing a sustainable means of support for them and their charges.

Mothers for All also aims to provide a social network through which the orphan caregivers can share their experiences, challenges and knowledge. Ultimately, the women will be taught permaculture and food gardening, and will be given environmental awareness training. Browse this site to learn more about our projects, to view the first prototype craft products which will soon to be available for purchase from the website, and to read more about the extraordinary mothers.

First craft workshops underway

Wednesday, 09 July 2008 00:00

While our first craft-training projects are still in a piloting phase, many of the mothers are already earning a living from the sale of their exquisite paper bead jewellery. In fact, we cannot keep pace with the demand but hope to soon offer it for sale on the website with the creation of more groups around Botswana. The initial workshops, run in Selebi-Phikwe and Serowe, have been so enjoyed by the mothers that they now regularly meet in each others' houses to make their beads together. They have benefitted from the social interaction, sharing their problems and the excitement of turning throwaway items into objects of beauty.

Inspiring 'Mothers for All'

Wednesday, 26 March 2008 08:30

Catherine Makhubedu, along with seven other inspirational 'mothers' in South Africa, won a national award in 2004 for helping to make a significant difference to the lives and futures of AIDS-affected children in their country. These eight women provided the initial inspiration for Mothers for All. By reaching out and caring for the orphans in their community, in spite of having so little themselves, they embody the spirit of the organisation.

An orphan herself, Catherine vowed to help make sure that no child suffered the same fate.

Growing up without a mother is growing up with your eyes full of tears every day, but you can’t explain why you are crying... you don’t even know that you are looking for someone to lean on. You need someone who can hug you, catch you and pick you up. But as a child you can’t explain what you are longing for.