HISTORY

Young people (non aligned) at the time concerned with the gap between the then youth groups and the sodalities probed the church to allow them to have a group that will bridge that gap. The group was not to only keep them in the church but also acknowledge and create opportunities for young adults to share their joys, aspirations and struggles whilst preparing them for adult life and deepening the Catholic faith of its members. They later embarked on a journey to South Africa to bench mark on the youth groups there, and discovered a group initially called YAO( Young Adults Organisation) formed in the late 1990’s for young Catholics who are in a transitional stage between youth and adulthood. The name of the group was later changed to Young Adults Catholic Organisation (YACO) and launched in Botswana at Christ the King Cathedral in 2006. The organisation currently exists in 6 parishes in the Gaborone Diocese. The group ‘s motto is “shall conquer through peace” and its Patron Saint is St Francis of Assisi.

CHARISMA AND WORK

As the group has Saint Francis of Assisi as their Patron Saint, it embraces the charism of St Francis which is simply to live and follow the life of our Lord Jesus Christ especially his poverty. The group has interpreted this by having a commitment to being an instrument of God’s peace in the world, helping the vulnerable and eradicating poverty which over the years the group has done by active charity work and serving the Church in all means possible. At the beginning YACO played an active role in taking care of priests and later on involvement in giving time and donations to hospices and helping the less privileged. The group continues to give back to the community with projects like the “Always Protected “project through which the group collects sanitary pads and donates them. The project was initiated by one of the parishes and later adopted by the whole Diocese. The group also donates stationery to one of the Catholic schools on a yearly basis.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT OF MEMBERS AND THE CHURCH

The group takes an interest not only in the spiritual development of its members but also other aspects of life. The group is currently working on officially putting to work the Marriage, Family Life and Vocations office as a response to the needs of the members and young adults as a whole. The office will focus but not limited to acknowledging the young adults needs or challenges they face outside church thus in their everyday lives. The office will engage young adults on life issues: marriage, vocations, health issues and financial literacy. The group has already had parishes organising wellness day to raise awareness on health issues.

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

The group normally gets members who have at some point been inactive in church, because of the challenges they face at this stage in life, non aligned and those joining the church at an older age. Therefore it needs focus on the rehabilitation and exposure of members to Catholicism and the teachings of the Christian faith as a whole. The group has hence started having formation classes, have Liturgy committees both at parish and diocesan level that work hand in hand with the Liturgy Committees in their respective parishes to achieve this.

CURRENT LEADERSHIP

CHAPLAIN: Fr Andrew G. Makgetla

CHAIRPERSON: Katlego Chantelle Mokgatle

VICE CHAIRPERSON: Emmah Mmileng

RECORDING SECRETARY: Maria De Lurdes Ngonga

ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY: Akanyang Isaac

TREASURER: Rati Keitire

PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER: Moses Tshetlhana

ADDITIONAL MEMBERS: Thapelo Lesole, Temogo Motlhaping, Amo Raloka,Setshwano Gaboutloeloe,Refilwe Moatshe, William Sebopo