Gaborone Cultural Walk

What better way to spend one's last Saturday in Gaborone than a 20 km walk around the city to see the historical sites and raise money for a 'charity'? That is what I did this morning, meeting a group of other walkers at the Three Dikgosi Monument at 6:30. It was very cold for the first few hours; indeed it has been in the mid 30s the past few nights and there was frost all over the ground this morning! Most of the other walkers were from two companies, DTC Botswana and BSB. The idea is that their companies pay for them to participate (a hefty sponsorship fee) and in the process demonstrate corporate responsibility and provide their employees with a team building opportunity. We followed a loop and it was lots of fun though I have seen many of the sites already. From the Three Chiefs we went to see the grave of 'El Negro' in Broadhurst then to Village (where we live) to see the fort, the prison, the graveyard and the botanical gardens. From there we walked to the Notwane Suspension Bridge which was built in the BP days to allow Batlokwa to cross the Notwane River to visit the Village of Gaberones. From there it was into town where we took in the residence of the Prime Minister, that is of Seretse Khama who was PM for one year before becoming President at independence. From there on to the statue of Seretse Khama and to the Morula Tree both of which are featured in our blog. And then the long haul back to the Three Chiefs. Fortunately, we took a short cut along the railroad tracks and behind the Attorney General's Chambers and the Ministry of Health. No one seemed particularly phased by the long walk; I think people are more used to walking. It was a great way to spend the last Saturday in Gaborone.

And the rest of the family? Mave and Kuno were both busy nearly all day (and all night in Mave's case) with birthday parties; so they are together with friends. Moses will go with his friend Masters in the evening to a Herero celebration in a nearby village (there are Herero in Botswana too though mostly in other parts of the country).

2009 National Women's Expo

The 10th annual National Women's Exposition is taking place this week at the Ditshupo Hall on the Fairgrounds in Gaborone. It is sponsored by the Women's Affairs Department and offers women entrepreneurs the opportunity to share and exchange experiences, ideas and skills related to their businesses. Nono, fashion designer and dressmaker and friend from Kanye, had her Herero dolls and some skirts on display. Also to be found were many gorgeous baskets, Thamaga and some other pottery, jewelry, leather goods, traditional foods, wedding cakes and other baked items, and more. It was well worth the visit when Sethunya and I went through this morning.

Birthday Party

June 20 was a milestone birthday for me and I decided I must celebrate appropriately. First, we went to a Music Festival at Botswanacraft sponsored by the Alliance Francaise. It was wonderful: all kinds of music and dance from local bands: traditional, classical, hiphop, afropop, heavy metal (!), hard rock (!), blues, kwasa kwasa, afrojazz, rumba, and more. It was really fun; as the afternoon wore on it got cold of course (it is still winter here) and so bonfires were lit. Around 7 we moved to the Red Lantern Chinese restaurant in Broadhurst. I had invited several friends, mostly from UB, for dinner. (I also wanted to thank them for being so supportive of me and my research over the past six months.) We closed down the restaurant and had a very good time, including moving speeches. Another of my friends here noted that reaching this birthday is 'an achievement.' I am not sure people in the US see age-ing in the same way, but here, where life expectancy is falling but also where elders are honored, one would see such a milestone in this way.

Ntlo ya Dikgosi

Botswana has a unicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly, but there is also a House of Chiefs known since 2005 by its Setswana name Ntlo ya Dikgosi. It has very limited powers, acting almost entirely in an advisory capacity. Currently there are four women chiefs among the 35 members, and one of them lives in nearby Ramotswa, capital of the Bamalete. I had the privilege of interviewing her today which was quite fascinating. I liked her very much. We recognized the Chief's and other offices as being just like those in Serowe, and also adjacent to the police and kgotla.

Kgari Sechele I Museum

Sadly [and we are all very sad about our imminent departure!], we took our last Sunday excursion out of Gabs today - at least for this stay in Botswana. We went to Molepolole, otherwise known as Moleps, onetime capital of the Bakwena. It is not far, past the bus station and Gaborone Hotel, then the Grand Palm, and Mogoditshane, the car sales capital of Botswana, and about another 40 km. Many people were out, probably enjoying a nice day after our several days of 'after the harvest' rains. It looks like the road is in the process of being widened which slowed things down a bit, but will make for a much nicer drive some day.

Our goal in Molepolole was the Kgari Sechele I Museum. Unfortunately it was closed even though all the information says it is open Sunday 1-5 pm. Molepololele seems a sizeable town. We also saw the LMS church and Scottish Livingstone Hospital, once closely related though the latter is now a government hospital. In any case, it turns out that these small museums that we have visited are considered 'regional' museums and there are five of them in Botswana (with the National Museum in Gaborone, which administers them all, a sixth museum). Early on in our stay, while on the UB Cultural Excursion, we visited to the Phutadikobo Museum in Mochudi and while in Serowe recently we visited the Khama III Museum. Two that we have not visited are the Nhabe Museum in Maun and the Supa-Ngwato Museum in Francistown. The Kgari Sechele I Museum is a fifth.

2009 General Election

This is an election year in Botswana - and in several other countries in the region - perfect timing for my research. National Assembly and local government elections will be held some time in October though the exact date (we know it will be a Saturday) has not yet been set. The president is not directly elected in Botswana, much to many people's dismay. Basically whichever party dominates the National Assembly will select the president. In Botswana one party alone has dominated parliament since independence and that is the Botswana Democratic Party, or BDP, though its support has fallen markedly over the years. But the BDP is ever so much better resourced than the two main opposition parties, the Botswana National Front, or BNF, and the Botswana Congress Party, or BCP. That is evident in the billboards all over town and the fancy trucks adorned in BDP slogans and megaphones. By now I have interviewed women politicians from all three parties, leaders of the women's wings of all three parties and (male) leaders of all three parties, many of whom are also candidates for parliament or local council. At this point I am really keen for the election results to see who makes it through. (Dumelang Saleshando is currently the only BCP MP in parliament; he is 'our' MP given that we live in Gaborone Central constituency.)

Zebras 4 Life

Moses, Mave and Kuno went to watch the Botswana senior national team, the Zebras, in an international friendly match against the New Zealand senior national team, the 'All Whites,' as they are apparently 'affectionately' called, at the University of Botswana football stadium this afternoon. The National Stadium, which is close by UB and the UB Stadium, is being upgraded at the moment and so the game was held at the UB Stadium. It almost wasn't held there either because that stadium is also being upgraded and it wasn't clear it was going to be ready in time. In the end it all worked out. The game was a 0-0 draw, the second 'loss' for the Kiwis who were beaten last week by the Tanzania national team in Dar es Salaam. They are in the region for this month's Confederation Cup in South Africa. Botswana, of course, is hoping to benefit in various ways from next year's World Cup in Cape Town.