A mixed race couple, Percy Thaba and his American wife, Ashley Thaba have become a household name following the premier of their exciting Talk show, ‘Talking with the Thabas’ on Botswana Television (BTV).
In an interview with The Voice this week, Talking with the Thabas co-host and writer, Ashley said they started the show to make a positive impact on marriages and relationships in the country.
“Our core mandate is to help people from as early as 15 years to as old as 90 years of age realise the importance of healthy and happy relationships and the reception from the people has been exceptional so far,” said Ashley.
She further highlighted that the talk show addresses Gender-Based Violence (GBV), finances and other pertinent issues affecting modern day relationships.
“ We try to vary the audience so that there is new energy and the type of questions asked in each episode,” she explained.
Ashley came to Botswana 20 years ago as a volunteer within communities in the northeast district and ended up marrying a Motswana.
“I voluntarily taught youth during lunch and study hours in government schools in Francistown for two years every day 20 years ago.
Since then, I have voluntarily taught youth at Sunday school,” said the staunch Christian woman.
Quizzed about working hand in hand with her husband, Percy Thaba, who she has been married to for the past 16 years, Ashley said that part from being her co-host; Percy is also the Project Manager.
“ He comes from Tutume Village and I am from United States of America (USA),” she quipped.
The two single-handedly engineered, scripted and produced the show.
“We have self sponsored this show, and we are left with 11 episodes for the first season. We however hope to get a corporate sponsor for the second season and our fans are already calling for a one hour show instead of the 30-minute slot we currently have,” she said.