Olga Ditsie is the mayor of Jwaneng Town, a mining town in Botswana. She is the first female mayor of the town in 40 years and the only female mayor in the country. Olga is a trained Environmental Health officer. Upon assuming office in 2019, she came up with a roadmap for progress, and one of the issues she wanted to address was gender-based violence towards women and children. 

IVLP Impact Award Project: Combating Gender-Based Violence in Women and Children

The project educated the Jwaneng Town community about gender-based violence (GBV), including how to identify it and how to report it. Twelve women were empowered through a skills training session where the participants learned baking and business management skills, allowing them to become financially independent from their spouses. In a separate women's empowerment session, 46 women were encouraged to take on more leadership roles. Through outreach to six soccer teams and their fans, information about GBV prevention was disseminated to broad audiences. An informational workshop was conducted for social workers, police officers, other public officials and church leaders and chiefs to strengthen the community's capacity to reduce GBV. A 16-day campaign against GBV was launched to raise awareness about the issue. Twenty five children from five different schools were educated about the prevention of gender-based violence, empowering them to become “Gender Champions” and peer educators in their schools.

"Today I stand before you as [a] representative of a group of empowered students who have undergone a transformative journey under the guidance of exceptional mentor and IVLP [Impact] Award winner. It is with immense gratitude and [a] heart full of inspiration that I express our appreciation for the incredible opportunity we have been given to raise voices against gender-based violence.” - Project Participant

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Olga participated in the IVLP Project Summit for Democracy IVLP Initiative, organized by the U.S. Department of State and Meridian International Center, in partnership with WorldDenver and Global Ties Arizona.

Olga's exchange experience led to the development of her IVLP Impact Award Project: "During our IVLP experience, we focused on three pillars: Democracy, Fighting Corruption, and Protecting Human Rights. With all the knowledge I gained, I wanted to bring a change and make an impact in my community."

U.S. Communities Visited

Phoenix, AZ; Denver, CO; Washington, DC

"My country and my town have a pandemic of gender-based violence, especially towards women, which is a human rights issue." - Olga Ditsie

Country: Botswana

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