The three neighboring villages recently held an inaugural inter-village cultural empowerment initiative geared at improving the economic livelihoods of their communities through the use of readily available resources in the very same communities.
The event comprised 10 activities; sporting such as horse riding, donkey racing, Hamba bicycle racing, donkey cart racing and cultural games such as among others, nxai, ku-dzata, and “mmino wa motshe”.
The Assistant Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Buti Billy who was also the Guest Speaker at the event, commended the communities on realizing the importance of culture development and preservation. He stressed that it is a specialty of his Ministry and will be looking forward to a much firmer partnership next year. The Minister of Basic Education who is also the Member of Parliament of Shashe West, Fidelis Mmilili Molao, shared the same sentiments on such a noble initiative. “This event is not only meant to entertain but unites the three villages to collaborate in various projects which will sustain their residents,” Minister Molao said. “The winners of the various activities will get prizes which improve them economically.
“Use this initiative to bridge gaps for the benefit of the people of Jamataka, Makobo and Natale. See how you can put these villages on the map, be it through farming, tourism, education or other means.” Molao noted that historically these villages are part of the CHAMABONA (Chadibe, Makobo, Mathangwane, Borolong and Natale) concept. Over the years these villages have partnered so well with the government in developing their villages. Consequently, this partnership led these villages in putting their ideological and financial resources and built the Chamabona Junior Secondary school in Mathangwane. Tlhalogang Junior Secondary school in Chadibe village was sought through a similar village collaboration and partnership. These three communities tapped from the aforementioned experiences.
The three communities partnered with the Tonota Sub Council to start this community development initiative and raised over P34 000. Part of this money was raised from registration of participants in the various sporting events and cash donations from well-wishers.
The Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Morgan Masalila, told The Business Weekly & Review that the main aim of the cultural event is to empower the people of the three villages. “Winners of the various competitions got cash prizes,” Masalila said. Another incentive is to partner with LEA and empower winners through workshops in small business initiatives.
He further observed thus, “They can use the money to buy themselves something to generate an income for themselves. In short, it was to empower our people, young and old, so that we don’t depend on the government for everything because we can help one another through constructive ideas.”
At the end of this festival Jamataka won the toss to host the next inter-village cultural event that will be held annually on a rotational basis. The leaders of the three villages have agreed to empower their communities to tackle complex social problems and attract investors from Botswana and beyond.
“Makobo wants to improve computer literacy among young people and to have a daycare center to ensure education from the grassroots. Because of its scenic beauty, Jamataka wants to promote tourism. Natale village envisages to be an agricultural hub. And also intends to partner with the other villages and the government to build a bridge across the Mphane river to realize their agricultural dream of food security. The objective is to use resources readily-available in our communities to sustain our families. ”
The Jamataka, Makobo and Natale inter-village cultural event was held in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth Empowerment Sports and Culture Development, Botswana Tourism Organization, Makobo BDF Camp, Botswana Police Service and Tonota Sub-District Council, Tlhalogang Community Junior Secondary School (CJSS) as well as the Botswana Police Service (BPS).
