Our breweries are helping retailers, parents and teachers form the front line in combating alcohol-related harm.
As Botswana's leading beer producer, our business Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) is acutely aware of its responsibilities in the fight against alcohol abuse. Its mainstay alcohol responsibility program called Ikgalemele! (which loosely translates to ‘restrain yourself') was developed as a holistic alcohol responsibility campaign, guided by the belief that the power to act responsibly lies with every individual.
To steer clear of a one-size-fits-all approach, the program has six key focus areas: responsible traders, responsible youths, parent-teacher engagements, consumer responsibilities, environmental responsibilities, and responsibility roadshows.
KBL created targeted initiatives to educate the trade about responsible retailing. The first stage involved responsible trader workshops for retailers, to increase their awareness of the harm that alcohol abuse can cause and educate them on the part they can play in combating the problem. At these workshops retailers were encouraged to think of serving alcohol not as an impersonal transaction, but rather as a social interaction that they should engage in responsibly.
Parents, teachers and other community leaders also join the workshops and work together with retailers on common concerns. Topics covered include legislation, the harmful effects of alcohol abuse, dealing with customers who may be misusing alcohol, underage drinking, drinking while pregnant and drink-driving.
In November 2015, to widen the program's reach and further amplify its message, KBL launched the first in a series of alcohol responsibility roadshows. Developed to directly engage with over 10,000 youths from communities across Botswana, the roadshows encouraged them to take greater personal responsibility for their behavior. Public participation was key to the roadshows and such was their success that national radio stations gave them extensive daily coverage. KBL plans to continue with these roadshows, which have proved to be a fun medium of youth engagement that is also fast and effective.