Deadlines for applications to be received by the U.S. Embassy:

Fulbright Junior Staff Development Program: The program is designed for applicants interested in pursuing Masters or PhD degrees in the U.S.
Deadline: August 13, by 1:00 pm.

Hubert H. Humphery Fellowship Program: A non-degree program designed for applicants interested in enhancing their leadership skills and field/work experience with counterparts in the U.S.
Deadline: September 10, 2004, by 1:00 pm.

Interested applicants are encouraged to pick information packets about these programs from the US Embassy’s public Affairs gate from the security guards anytime between 7:30 am and 5:00 pm. For more information about these programs please visit the Embassy webpage http://botswana.usembassy.gov or contact the Cultural Affairs Specialist at KelesitseN@state.gov or telephone: 395-3982 ext 5422 or contact Mrs. Bagaisi Phaphe-Mabilo, at BONASO office.

BONASO has entered into a partnership with CANOVA Botswana, a company that locally makes Canova medication. Canova is a new form of immune modulator therapy used to suppress HIV/AIDS. Canova history can be traced from Brazil, and has been in utilization in countries such as Europe, USA, and several and Latin American Countries. The introduction of Canova into the market will improve and prolong the quality of life of People living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana.

You are invited to a briefing meeting at
M Joan Cousins Women and Youth Empowerment Hall in Thema 1 Township,
Plot no. 395/396 Lobatse,
from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., on the 18th August 2004.

For more information please feel free to contact Ms. Bagaisi Phaphe-Mabilo at BONASO offices.

This serves to bring to your kind attention that BONASO is organizing the above mentioned workshop on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 June, 2004 from 8:00am to 5:00pm at the Centre for Continuing Education of the University of Botswana.

Kindly be informed that BONASO has received funding from the Southern African Network of AIDS Service Organizations (SANASO) with the office in Harare, Zimbabwe. Funds are also expected from the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to facilitate a workshop, a capacity audit, and Training of Trainers (T.O.T.) on HIV/AIDS, Gender, Human Rights, Leadership and Development.

This workshop will be an interaction process to share experiences and challenges evolving from various gender inequality issues. Women and children suffer inequality because of discrimination on the basis of health, education, and employment. Men and women are different in terms of biology, sexual behaviour, social attitudes, economic and social power relations as well as being exposed to various situations of vulnerability. People need to understand the socially constructed aspects of the male-female gender relations.

Botswana is not an exception to the unequal power relations between men and women. Women have less legal rights and less access to education, health services, training, income and property. Women also have limited control over decisions pertaining to sex and reproduction. From the lessons learned from Uganda, gender mainstreaming is one of the most efficient and equitable way to combat HIV/AIDS.

The goal of the workshop is to have a network of committed organizations who are practicing and promoting a gender transformative and human rights approach to address HIV/AIDS in Botswana.

Through the workshop, it is anticipated that the participants will:

(1) Have an increased understanding and awareness of gender concepts and issues surrounding HIV/AIDS.
(2) Be able to demonstrate an ability to do a gender analysis and work towards developing gender policies
(3) Be able to identify strategies to increase male involvement in HIV/AIDS activities
(4) Have an increased understanding and awareness of a human rights approach in HIV/AIDS programming
(5) Discuss the role of leadership in moving forward a gender/human rights approach in relation to HIV/AIDS
(6) Be able to identify different networks and different types of networks in order to share skills and information

There will also be ideas and plans generated on how to move forward. Participants will be able to identify a plan of action with follow-up steps. This process will be accelerated if participating organizations bring materials about themselves to share with others (brochures, reports, etc.). In addition, each participant is invited to bring the idea of one project that they are either currently working on or are planning to implement with respect to gender, HIV, development, human rights, leadership and development. Part of the workshop will be geared towards highlighting these different projects and exploring how other workshop participants can contribute and/or participate in the project.

For more information please feel free to contact BONASO at 3170582, 3908436