Christmas came early for some residents of Boro 1 last Friday as the struggling settlement received food hampers worth P10, 000.
However, it was not Father Christmas they had to thank for their full bellies but rather Hollywood actress, Blaire Baron.
The Los Angels based star, best known for her role in the 1992 film ‘A League of Their Own’, organised the donation through a safari guide she met on a recent trip to Botswana.
Explaining how the unlikely coupling came about, the tour guide who instigated the whole thing, Brooks Kamanakao, told Okavango Voice, “She [Baron] came to Botswana in 2018 and 2019 to launch a Shakespeare program at Motopi Primary School.
“That is how I got to know her. I initially met her friends who had visited the country and eventually I got to meet her when she launched Shakespeare in Motopi.”
Kamanakao, who has a farm in Boro, revealed he sought help from friends abroad after realising just how tough life in the area has become since Covid-19.
“I was cutting trees at my farm when I was approached by one very angry deaf woman. She thought I was stealing her poles, but on closer inspection, she found out that hers were still in the bush. Her excitement when she found her poles touched my heart and she asked me to drop them at her yard, which I did,” narrated the professional tour guide, who also runs his own safari company.
It was at the woman’s yard that Kamanakao discovered the true extent of poverty and hunger in Boro.
“She had nothing. I knew before that there was poverty in Boro but I was not aware of how extreme it was. You know if you want to see it, just send someone to ask for sugar, they will reach more than seven households and they will not get it!”
His desire to help has had a huge impact on the community.
“Finally we will have a good meal. We haven’t had a decent meal in a long time and we really are grateful for the gift!” gushed Kehakgametse Samati, who had been surviving through informal employment at the government’s poverty alleviation program, Ipelegeng.
However, with the program suspended since the outbreak of Coronavirus back in March, Samati and her friends have had their only source of income taken away.
“Things became very tough. We were given some food hampers by government but that was about six month ago and they have long been depleted. We are starving here!” states the 53-year-old mother-of-six.
As for Gakethata Nteselang, 38, having no job means she and her five children depend on her brother for support.
“He does not earn much, but he cannot watch us starve to death. Whenever he can, he buys us food combos. That is how we survive.”
Nteselang maintains that staying in Boro is a challenge because, with the closure of safari camps due to Covid-19, work opportunities have greatly diminished.
“We relied on handouts from tourists, and sometimes we would get piece jobs from Safari camps, but that is a thing of the past. We are left to fend for ourselves in a village that does not have any openings for employment,” notes Nteselang, with a resigned shrug of her thin shoulders.
Another resident, Loganyang Nteselang talked about the hunger pains that give many of Boro’s residents sleepless nights.
“When you are hungry, sleep does not come easily. You will just toss and turn throughout the night, desperately hoping that the next day will bring opportunities. That is what we eat and survive on, hope, and faith.”
The 54-year-old subsistence farmer says although he has a few goats and cattle to his name, he is equally needy because he has not been able to sell his livestock.
“It is hard. For one to sell, there has to be transported, but I have none. When you sell to the butcher, they take months before paying.”
Although their woes are far from over, for now, thanks to the kindness of a US TV star, Boro’s citizens will at least be able to sleep on full stomachs.
