Gaborone city council spotlight Retreat promoting mental health

The Social and Community Development Department in the Gaborone City Council held a three-day Retreat for all Social Workers. The retreat was held under the theme “Fiery Fun and Mental Health at the Big Valley, Lobatse. The officials have shared some glimpses of the event on their social media accounts.

The officials of the Gaborone City Council shared some glimpses of the retreat on their official social media accounts. The Social and Community Development Department is working on providing mental health support to the people in the community. The retreat served as an opportunity for all the social workers in the nation to come together and relax.

The retreat organizers have arranged for the participating members to engage in several fruitful and fun activities, such as:

• Quadbikes
• Zipline
• horse riding
• swimming
• waterslide
• game drive

The participants also got the chance to learn about financial literacy during their retreat through a lecture on the topic.

During the retreat, the Chief Social and Community Development Officer, Segopotso Dikai, spoke of the department’s significance. The department offers care to clientele through various initiatives. They are committed to supporting people through their mental health struggles. 

The department’s social service workers provide this support through:

• Provision of Psychosocial support counselling 
• Assessments of clientele needs 
• Provision of training and empowerment for clientele to become self-reliant and make better independent choices for their daily living. 

The official added that there are many social ills that Officers address in their casework. She revealed that this can often be distressing to Officers. Chief S&CD further said officers work as carers, but they also need self-care and emotional support for optimal workplace functioning.

She said the staff retreat is meant to relieve officers and help them recover from burnout from regular handling of various cases. The social workers associated with the S&CD Department often have to handle situations and or clients with difficult and demanding circumstances. 

She highlighted that the retreat helps them to refresh, unwind, relax, reflect, refocus and recharge their energies for better service delivery. Dikai said they intend to hold the retreat annually to promote self-care for staff.