Speaking at the event, FNB Botswana Deputy Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mbako Mbo said the initiative was about investing in Botswana’s future. “Today is not simply about refurbishing schools. It is about reaffirming our collective belief that every child deserves an environment that inspires learning, aids potential, and gives them confidence to dream beyond their circumstances,” he said.

Dr. Mbo said classrooms were more than buildings where lessons take place. “A classroom is where confidence is developed, where curiosity is encouraged, where resilience is nurtured, and where the next generation of leaders begin to discover their purpose,” he said.

EIMC Board Chairperson Tebogo Sebego welcomed FNB Foundation as the campaign’s first private sector partner, saying the partnership marked an important step in improving public schools. He said the campaign had deliberately selected schools with the greatest infrastructure needs to ensure resources reached learners who needed them most.

Sebego said the campaign belonged to communities as much as it did to its partners. “Development is best achieved not by doing something for communities, but by working with and through communities, for communities,” he said, adding that volunteers, artisans, school leadership and local communities would all play a role in transforming learning environments.

Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education Nono Kgafela-Mokoka welcomed the partnership, saying the campaign would help mobilise resources to improve school infrastructure through collaboration between government, businesses and communities.

She thanked the FNB Foundation for joining the campaign and encouraged more organisations, development partners and citizens to contribute through financial support, technical expertise, construction materials and volunteer service. She said every investment made in schools today would help build a stronger education system and create greater opportunities for Botswana’s future generations.