KALAHARI SAN
VALUES-BASED
Cultural
Empowerment & Educational Training Centre
BOTSWANA
This is a short overview of the plight of the struggling forgotten
tribe and first people of Southern Africa, the Kalahari San (Bushman).
There is an urgent need and responsibility for humanitarian aid/assistance and
intervention to establish a Values- Based Empowerment plan to assist
many isolated hurting and needy San communities.
San Communities themselves have realised that only through
community-based training and skills development networks and structures will
they be able to turn the tide to acquire a lasting sustainable future and
livelihood. They have begun with a Business & Empowerment plan for a Values-Based
Cultural & Educational Training Centre in the Ghanzi District,
Botswana. The Training Centre will work towards offering business &
empowerment opportunities to isolated San and other communities in SA, Namibia
and Botswana by offering easy accessible, on the Kalahari doorstep, education
& training facilities in Values-Based Teaching/Training, life
skills, sustainable farming, tourism & hospitality, arts & culture,
business management, sport development & training and various other fields.
Why Values-Based Teaching and Training? Health,
Education, Job Creation and Arresting Corruption are some of the international
community, as well as isolated San community’s priorities. All over the world
Governments and NGO’s are desperately trying to address these problems.
However, there is a growing consensus that all these interventions will amount
to nothing unless we urgently address the very fabric of humanity: the
basic human values that are the foundation of successful families, companies
and countries.
WE NEED AN RDP (Reconstruction & Development
Programme) OF THE SOUL.
Heartlines in South Africa have started the very
successful Heartlines Values-Based initiative and perspective - read more on
www.heartlines.org.za. Values are core
beliefs or desires that guide or motivate attitudes and actions. Values also
define the things we prize and value and therefore provide the basis for
ranking the things we want in a way that elevates some values over others. Thus
our values determine how we behave, or in other words, they are the drivers of
our behaviour. All communities need Values-Based Training. Focus and training
must be given on values such as responsibility, service, perseverance, humility,hope, unity, diligence, courage and compassion.
The philosophy of a values perspective will change
disadvantaged hurting and needy San community’s outlook towards a better
future. In the case of the San and over many centuries, various efforts and
initiatives to help these communities have tended to tackle behaviour change
from a legal and human rights perspective. A value-based teaching challenges
people irrespective of race, gender, age or religion to live out positive
values in a way that will build people, families, communities and nations.
The vast majority of San communities, in spite of their
dire circumstances, aspire to a set of
good values and live it. Given
further and dedicated support and teaching opportunities it will positively
transform them even more. God is the authority of all
good values. These
good values form the basis of much of the teachings of our major faiths, to
which 80% of the world population claim to belong.
Even the traditional San
culture and spiritual believes and value systems aspire to God’s authority of
good values.
The
San Values-Based Empowerment & Training Centre
will offer courses / teaching and training to San peoples and all other
communities. Equipped with value-based skills, teachers and students will
return to their communities targeting;
Ø
Values education, in schools, faith-based organisations,
prisons, local government and business
Ø
Youth development, with specific emphasis on developing
ethical young people
Ø
Building and empowering isolated San communities
The first suggested Values-Based Cultural
Empowerment and Educational Training Centre would be established in the
West of Botswana in the Ghanzi District, which forms the heart of the
Kalahari Desert. The Training Centre should be considered as a place for
empowering and training isolated Kalahari San and other communities. An
estimated 100 000 marginalized Kalahari San live in isolated settlements in
Namibia, South Africa and Botswana (the majority in Botswana). The site for
the training centre will be centrally situated in the Kalahari dessert and
offer a solid network and structure base to afford the surrounding communities
and countries where they live, the opportunity to send students/trainees for
easy accessible and affordable education and training.
The Ghanzi District, Botswana is nearly as big as the
Netherlands and measures 117.000 km2 and only has a population of +- 40.000
people. The area is very sparsely populated (1 person per 3.4 km2). The
population is culturally very different 45% belong to the San, who are
divided in 5 language groups: Naro, Sekaukau, Qg”oo, Dxana and Dcui (of
these groups the Naro people are the most prominent group); the rest of the
population consist of Bakgalagadi, Baherero, English, Afrikaans, Coloureds and
other nationalities.
Most of these people live in Ghanzi Township (29%),
other
villages and settlements (39%) and the rest live on farms and cattle posts.
These are very difficult to reach, as there are no good roads to the farms and
cattle posts. At many places you will find no FM reception and only a very weak
AM reception.
40% of the population can be categorised as remote area
dwellers. Most of them are dependent on government handouts and support
programs. Unemployment is very high, especially among the youth as there is no
real economic activity in the settlements apart from commercial cattle farming.
60% of the population is younger than 30 years and as education is not
compulsory school drop out rates and illiteracy are very high, especially on
farms/cattle posts/settlements.
Alcohol abuse is very high, poverty, transactional sex,
teenage pregnancies, sexual transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS are the biggest
problems. The Government, NGO’s and concerned organisations/business have
implemented various concerted prevention and behaviour change actions,
communications and interventions that are starting to show positive change.
Overview of NGO’s, Faith-Based Organisations,
Missionary, Church and humanitarian aid movement in the Ghanzi District.
Although Religion has spread all
over Botswana and there are a very few un-reached groups, the San are still
in the majority of “un-churched people groups” who do not have a faith-based
organisation/church/missionary or educational training facilities where they
can learn/train/practice their life skills/faith/religion/worship in their own
language. The growing influx of people from Asia and other countries to far
of villages/settlements also allows access to many other religions/influences.
The Town of Ghanzi is the largest in the area and there
are many faith-based organisations, Missionaries and Churches. In the city of
Ghanzi there are more than 80 registered denominations. These
organisations/churches can be categorised in African Instituted Churches (60%),
Mainline Churches (30%) and Evangelical Churches (10%). Most of the San settlements
in the Ghanzi District are still “un-churched” Even with all these faith based
organisations, missionaries and churches and as mentioned before, there is a
growing consensus that all these efforts and interventions will amount to
nothing unless we urgently address the very fabric of humanity: the
basic human values that are the foundation of successful families, companies
and countries.
WE NEED AN RDP (Reconstruction & Development
Programme) OF THE SOUL.
Over the years many faith-based
organisations, churches and missionaries have done most of the
evangelical/humanitarian work in the Ghanzi region with specifically San
Villages or Settlements and there are currently 6 permanent San missionary
churches in small San settlements in the Ghanzi district. These organisations
try to work in the other 22 remote San settlements and many cattle posts as
well.
Where there are permanent faith-based
organisations/missionaries/churches in villages or settlements they are
sometimes very weak and the lack of support or healthy and strong
following/congregations can be contributed to;
remoteness of the places, long distance in the District,
transport problems, bad roads, isolation, illiteracy, poverty, lack of
communication, lack of commitment, drugs and alcohol abuse, sexual immorality,
lack of knowledge, lack of skills, lack of vision, lack of strategic planning
and thinking, lack of cooperation, lack of resources, lack of perseverance,
inconsistency, cultural beliefs, worldview, mindset, tribalism, dependency
syndrome, lack of leadership, jealousy, materialism, lack of focus,
competition, developmental issues, apathy of the people, generation gap,
education, language, cultural differences, unwillingness etc.
There are approximately 26
Naro San Villages/Settlements in the Ghanzi District alone, with at
least 20+, more San Villages in the rest of Botswana (many uncounted cattle
posts). Namibia and South Africa also have various similar San Settlements with
various San languages. The aim
of the Values-Based Empowerment & Educational Training Centre will be to
identify local San leaders in existing
communities/settlements/business/organisations/churches (mostly San) and
through network and structures assist and equip them with various skills and
training programs in Values-Based Teaching/Training, life skills,
sustainable farming, tourism & hospitality, arts & culture, business
management, sport development & training and various other fields.
Land on a farm in the Ghanzi
District has already been obtained to start the first phase of the Empowerment
and Training Centre and building on a campsite and basic infrastructure will
start in January 2013. We need support/donations/funding to continue with this
vision.
Please feel free to contact us
for more information or if you want to get involved.
Martin Erasmus
Email;
martin@art-me-africa.com
Mobile
Botswana: +267 738 73730
Mobile
South Africa: +27 79 605 1049
Information
obtained from various sources by Martin Erasmus, OCS San Missionary Field
Worker, based in Botswana,
In spite of this extremely difficult situation the old
bushman is the most devoted Christian I have ever met. He always attends church
and always thanks Jesu for all he receives. “I am my Fathers son! My Father
looks after me! Thank you Jesu!!”
