About The Botshelo Initiative

'Botshelo' means 'life' in the South African languages of Sepedi and Setswana. It even extends beyond this to mean a life force or the energy that makes up a person. Through The Botshelo Developmental Science Initiative, nurturing the entire life and psychological growth of a child in the healthiest possible way is a priority, especially for those who grow up in adversity.

The Botshelo Initiative is a ground-based way of embarking on a greater mission of intervention, but also of bringing Developmental Science and its understandings more to the minds of South Africans. The Botshelo Initiative is the official website of Developmental Scientist and Aspiring Social Interventionist, Vutlhari Joy Tlakula. It serves as a repository for all of her resources and resources from other practitioners and organisations which are valuable to this topic.

Vision

The Botshelo Developmental Science Initiative possesses a broader vision of impacting childhood holistically in South Africa. By expanding Developmental Science knowledge and practice in South Africa and working together with community members and caregivers to protect and support their children, the Botshelo Initiative hopes to improve the developmental outcomes of all children, especially those living in adversity and vulnerability.

This vision came out of seeing how so many children living in adversity had not had adequate psychological support from childhood, as well as the lack of general knowledge on the science of child development and how to support it well. These 'oversights' creat myriad developmental, social, and psychological issues which disadvantage the entire lifespan and society as a whole when left misunderstood and unaddressed. The Botshelo Initiative seeks to address this by beginning at one of the many roots of the problem.

Purpose

Taking a community-focused and community-led approach to supporting and encouraging healthy, holistic child development is central to the initiative. This aims to provide something of lifespan/holistic care for children and those surrounding them. Besides spreading Developmental Science knowledge, the importance of taking a person-in-context approach to understanding and encouraging child development education and intervention is central to the vision. This initiative is concerned with emphasising the interaction of multiple different systems (especially community factors) in the life of the child to understand their development and childhood. It is multifaceted, seeking to appreciate and impact on the wholeness of childhood, with a heavy psychological focus.

The beginning of a broader vision, it currently serves as a home for the Ntsakoblog Newsletter, a child development education newsletter, as well as a repository of helpful resources from other organisations and sources known to be doing fantastic work in this space. It is also the official place through which all of my work and activities are stored and accessed. The Botshelo Initiative ultimately seeks to make child development knowledge accessible and understandable to the general public, especially caregivers and community members.

Practical Mission

Botshelo seeks to achieve this vision and purpose through:

1. Providing accessible community education to caregivers and anyone involved with children about their development and how various elements interact, through the Ntsakoblog Newsletter and other methods of community engagement

2. Conducting community-based and directed research, and lab-based research with African children and their caregivers, especially those in adversity

3. Books and other publications aimed at both children and adults

4. Providing a collection of other valuable resources by organisations and individuals working in this space

About Developmental Science

Developmental Science is a specialised branch of Developmental Psychology which takes a holistic approach to understanding psychological child development. It explores psychological development, biological development of the brain (neurodevelopment), genetics, and the environment (people and things surrounding the child), and examines how these various aspects interact to create the individuals we see and experience.

Developmental Science takes a full childhood approach, beginning from conception, well into adulthood. It emphasises how the environment (both inside and outside the body) affects outcomes of development for good and bad and seeks to understand outcomes and trends of typical and atypical development. The child does not exist just as an individual, but is heavily influenced by what goes on around them from very early on.

Given the history of South Africa, as well as the high burden of disease made worse by social circumstances which disproportionately affect certain social groups more than others, Developmental Science is important in this context. It can provide insights into specific factors of vulnerability and how they affects the developing child's brain. From that understanding, we can begin to explore how we can work together to safeguard the most vulnerable children from such consequences.

The Mind Behind

Vutlhari Joy Tlakula, creator of the Botshelo Developmental Science Initiative is a Developmental Scientist and researcher with a masters degree in Brain and Cognitive Development from Birkbeck, University of London. She has a background in Psychology and Anthropology, and extensive experience in community engagement. She is passionate about educating African communities on the intricacies of child development and how practitioners can work together with communities to serve, protect, and support children holistically in a way that is effective, healthy, and sustainable.

Trained in researching and delivering effective, lasting social development impact into various social contexts, she has volunteering experience spanning more than eight years of working with vulnerable individuals, particularly young children, in multiple and varying social contexts. She also has extensive academic research and social leadership experience. Psychological neurodevelopmental research and sustainable community intervention affecting policy for children living in adversity in Southern Africa. Her main age group of speciality is 0-8 and she studies how displacement, trauma, community, play, adversity and disability affect development. The health, education, and social empowerment of children and their communities and how policies around these matters can be addressed is key to her.

Contact and Partnership

If you have any queries or are interested in partnering with or supporting any part of The Botshelo Initiative's vision and mission, working on a project, or providing support, please contact below