Grethe Anderson (Group 13) has been in Zambia almost three years. She is a Laboratory Assistant in the Nutrition Project at the University of Zambia (U.N.Z.A.). She feels that the Area Studies programme is very dependent upon the project that you have. This makes a great deal of difference. The greatest problem during his course was that they never got started. The whole time was spent discussing what they should do. She has felt very much that a local language is necessary and should be on the programme.
With regard to the Area Studies programme, she says “Let people decide for themselves what they would like to do.” “Don’t make assignments, let people read about what they are interested in.”
Sten Thorgensen is an instructor at mathematics in the computer department at the University of Zambia (U.N.Z.A.). His programme was rather special, as he was the only volunteer for Zambia on the training course. His programme was one of self study. He felt that his programme was very useful; he had plenty of time to read about Zambia. He said “I was not surprised about anything.” He felt that he had gotten a pretty good idea about the country. He suggests that any programme should be more of a study session than anything else. He comments, “Don’t teach, but discuss.”
Sten has one suggestion; that we keep in contact with an organization called “Africa 2000.” This group has created a newsletter called News From Zambia. Several volunteers, including him, were participants. The idea behind the newsletter was to summarize and supplement the newspapers. He has agreed to keep us supplied with this periodical.
Mongu
I flew from Lusaka to Mongu on June 21, via Kaoma. I stayed in Mongu four days from the 21st to the 24th. During that time I was able to see the projects of all of the volunteers stationed in and around Mongu.
Mongu is the district capital of Western province (formerly Barotseland). Mongu has a population of approximately 10,000 people, located on the edge of the Zambezi flood plain about 150 miles from the Angola border. In physical appearance, Mongu is a town of dust and sand, scrub vegetation with some forestation. The community is often heard that if it were not for the Zambezi River the whole of Western province would be part of the Kalahari Desert.
The population, being traditionally pastoral, does very little subsistence farming. Among the crops produced are cassava, sweet potatoes, a bit of maize, and “the occasional odd person growing some fresh vegetables”.
Research in the Field: Archives and Interviews
Madison, Wisconsin, August, 1972-November, 1974
Southern And Eastern Africa, 1974-1976
London, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Gaborone, Botswana 1975
During the calendar year 1975, I carried out field research in London, Botswana and Tanzania for my PhD dissertation financed by a dissertation Fulbright. The focus was district administration and local government in Eastern and Southern Africa. Tanzania and Botswana were my two case studies. Money was tight and my research diary for 1975 is filled with notations about the cost of gasoline, food, and other basic goods. Lene and I were together for the whole trip. It was a difficult year.
London, England, December, 1974-January, 1975
Six Weeks at the Salisbury Hotel, Templeton Place, Earl’s Court. Research in the Public Records Office, Chancery Lane. A Dickensian experience. The Hotel was dim, dingy and full of alcohol fueled Australians. The PRP was a delight to do research in.
Botswana: More Than a Bit of a Culture Shock.
January, 10975- September, 1975
Mathew Sarpong
Mathew was recruited to serve as an advisor and trainer in Botswana. He was a former Ghana administrator and had significant experience in the colonial period.
Derek Jones and Botswana Liberalism
Power and Religion are often portrayed as in conflict. However, the two live views are often complex and each example is different. What follows is a story of one pattern of religious life.
Derek Jones arrived in this country in 1954, accompanied by his newly married wife, Joan to take up the post of District Superintendent of the London Missionary Society in Maun. He might then have assumed or perhaps even wished that his role would be no different from those of the many LMS missionaries who had preceded him. Yet within 12 years, and in startling contrast, he was Mayor of a national capital, Gaborone, which had not previously existed, and dancing with Princess Marina in the Independence Ball.
Derek died in England last week aged 85. Something like 56 of those years (1954 – 2010) were spent in Botswana. Paradoxically, however, any attempt to convey some idea of his lifetime of service and achievement cannot begin with him, as is customary, but with her. After Derek had done his compulsory two years of national service in the Royal Air Force, in Egypt, he achieved a degree in Oxford University in PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) and was then ordained in the Marlow Road Congregational Church in Wallasey on 21st May 1954. He married Joan and for the next 49 years, until her death on 15th September 2002, the two were inseparable. Yet they were opposites. She was voluble, unabashed, uninhibited, and exuberant and always relishing life; he was reserved, quietly spoken, detail conscious, undemonstrative and wary of extravagant opinion. Without her, he could only have been a very different person. But then without him, so might she! When she died, their four children and their extended family life helped to fill what must have been an awful void.
Derek’s life falls into four distinct categories. His time as an LMS, later UCCSA pastor from 1954 in Maun – which then, as far as the LMS was concerned, included Ngamiland, Ghantsi and Chobe – in Kanye, Gaborone and finally, in 2003, Gabane. These years included his membership, during its earlier years, of the Botswana Christian Council and his role in the negotiations which brought related churches within a new umbrella organisation, the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa. Inevitably, however, it was his years at Trinity (1965-72) in partnership with Fr Alan Butler which will be remembered by older people.
With Independence, the country needed a new, first time ever capital. It also needed to create a new kind of society. In church circles, it was believed that a rare opportunity had been opened up and that they too could and should provide a lead, showing that if change was needed, they were ready. The result was that four churches,
Congregational, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist together with the Society of Friends agreed to create a unity (not union) church, Trinity, with facilities that all could share and enjoy.
The appeal document for the £27,000 that was needed to build the new church was set in the context of what Jones and Butler brilliantly described as ‘an awakening country’. Those two, showed how historical division and theological difference could be set aside and how both could also make very significant contributions to civil society.
With the first national elections imminent in 1965 Derek was asked by the new Vice President, Quett Masire to stand as a BDP candidate for one of the Gaborone constituencies? Derek declined, insisting that this would be inappropriate. But would he agree to stand as an independent – in which case the BDP would not field its own candidate to stand against him? He agreed, was duly elected unopposed to represent the South Ring constituency, and almost immediately was chosen to be the new capital’s first Mayor.
When telling me about that first election, Derek was insistent that I should not divulge what had actually occurred and I was, of course, bound to respect his wishes. But others have noted that his candidacy represented the one and only time that the BDP has not opposed an independent candidate – and must have assumed that this was somehow by design, rather than accident. Now the need to respect those sensitivities is gone and the effect is surely to raise Derek’s stature, rather than diminish it.
Derek was Mayor for the first two of his years as a Councillor but thereafter made way for Grace Dambe to succeed him in that office. He did not stand in the 1969 election. For his services to the new country and new capital during those first early years, the British honoured him by awarding him an OBE. Here, surprisingly, he was honoured neither then nor later.
Thereafter Derek renewed his earlier involvement in the church’s publishing role. He had previously converted all its previous Setswana publications into the newly accepted orthography, with the exception of the hymn book. When the Pula Press was established, Derek, working with Moabi Kitchen, oversaw the increase of the boswa jwa puo series from two small books, to fourteen. Then with Martin Morolong, as principal editor, he coordinated the revision of Wookey’s 1908 Setswana Bible. But during one of the many meetings that had to take place, he managed to outrage an offended Sebotho Modise who cried out, ‘but this man has only been in the country for ten years!’
With Zak Mathumo, Derek then set about revising the English-Setswana dictionary which was eventually to be published by Macmillan. And again with Kitchen, he revised the Padiso Setswana series which was later to be further revised and expanded by Mae Johnson. In addition, he was involved in editing and publishing Alfred Merriweather’s three books and in partnership with the Botswana Society, three other major publications. When the Botswana Society ran short of an editor, he accepted the challenge and published three volumes of its remarkable, long standing Notes and Records series.
In 2005-07 I like to believe that the two of us saved a Botswana Society which was teetering on the edge. During that very difficult time, he played a key role in pushing the Alec Campbell-led book on Tsodilo which had languished for many frustrating years. For the record he served the Botswana Society, in one or another capacity, for many years as he also did as a member of the two service agencies, the Lions Club of Gaborone and the Rotary Club.
But it was as Manager of the Botswana Book Centre, more or less from 1972 to 1993, succeeding Rev Small, Brian Hagyard and Johnston Russell that he came into his own. In so many ways, the church owned Book Centre was Gaborone. If the new town could boast of excellence, it was the Book Centre which was rightly famed far and wide. But the book trade worldwide was undergoing huge change, and possibly inevitably, a business run by an ill-equipped church owned Trust was unlikely to weather the storms. After his 1993 departure, Derek would have had no choice but to watch as the Book Centre slowly and humiliatingly sank. It must have been heart breaking for him, but I heard from him not a single word of regret or recrimination.
Derek’s was, in so many ways, a most remarkable life. He wasn’t the last missionary to travel by ox wagon – this being, I believe, Rev. A. Sandilands – but he did arrive here when Seretse (and Ruth) was still in exile, when Tshekedi was still a dominant power in the land, and when the country was a desperately poor backwater. He was lucky enough, however, to be here when it all began to change and when the country began ‘to awaken’. Preferring to stay in the background, Derek quietly but consistently demonstrated, especially during the more recent years of change, that there would always be a need, perhaps greater than ever, for the old fashioned notions of reliability, personal integrity, accountability and common courtesy.
(5/3/13: MORUTI DEREK JONES (12TH APRIL 1927- 26TH FEBRUARY 2013)
Obituary Prepared by Sandy Grant. Citation and Permission needed).
Alex Campbell and the Botswana Museum
Alexander Colin Campbell (1932-2012)
Alec Campbell was a founder of the Botswana Society in 1968 and a director of the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA), a non-profit organization based in Nairobi, Kenya, which works throughout the continent of Africa. Educated at Rhodes University where he received a BA in Ndebele and Social Anthropology, he spent much of his career in the Republic of Botswana. Alec was a founder of the National Museum and Art Gallery in the 1960s. He served in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in the then Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Botswana in the 1960s and early 1970s, and became Director of Wildlife in 1971.
Alec began his career working in Southern Rhodesia as member of the police and later worked there as tsetse fly control officer. He traveled in western Zimbabwe and northern Botswana in the early 1950s and became deeply interested in San (Bushmen, Basarwa), about whom he wrote in the 1960s. Alec later did extensive work on San issues, starting in the Central Kalahari with George Silberbauer in the early 1960s and later, doing consulting work for the Accelerated Remote Area Development Program (ARADP) and the government of Botswana.
When he first came to Botswana Alec worked for the Bechuanaland Protectorate government as a district officer, was the director of the 1964 Bechuanaland Protectorate census, worked with George Silberbauer on the Bushman Survey in 1964 and helped run the Bechuanaland drought relief program of 1965.
Alec was deeply interested in archaeology and prehistory. He carried out extensive research and development work in archaeology, national monuments, anthropology, and many other fields. He was the author of The Guide to Botswana(Johannesburg and Gaborone: Winchester Press, 1980), The Nature of Botswana: A Guide to Conservation and Development (Gland, Switzerland: International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 1990), with David Coulson, of African Rock Art: Paintings and Engravings on Stone (Harry W. Abrams Publishers, New York, 2001), and with Mike Main, Guide to Greater Gaborone(Gaborone, Botswana Society 2003), and with Thomas Tlou, History of Botswana(Macmillan Botswana, 1984, 1997, in press).
Alec loved the Tsodilo Hills, where he spent enormous amounts of time. He was the c-editor, with John Cooke of The Management of Botswana’s Environment(Botswana Society Workshop Report No. 1. Gaborone, Botswana: The Botswana Society, 1984) and Developing Our Environmental Strategy(Botswana Society Workshop Report No. 2. Gaborone, Botswana: The Botswana Society, 1987). He was also the co-editor, with Larry Robbins and Michael Taylor, of Tsodilo Hills: Copper Bracelet of the Kalahari (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press and Gaborone: Botswana Society, 2010). He collaborated extensively with archaeologists, anthropologists, ecologists, historians, artists, photographers, and journalists in his work.
In many ways, Alec represented the best that Botswana has to offer as a government official, scholar, consultant, and advocate. He is survived by his wife Judy, sons Colin and Niall, and daughter Heather and her husband Johan. His brother Richard visited Alec and Judy in September, 2012. He will be laid to rest at his home in Crocodile Pools, Botswana, on December 2nd, 2012.
Obituary provided to me by Robert Hitchcock. Citation and Permission needed.
Tanzania: Like Home Again
September-December 1975
As early as 1972, I had come to have two interests from an African history perspective. The first is the role of what I call bush bureaucrats and the role of the British District Officer and the essentials of power at the community level. The relationship involved chiefs, (Kings), field officials and patterns of sub-imperialism.
The second was the role of the European residents of Africa, and particularly those who stayed on in Africa after independence. Botswana and Tanzania were good places to look at both.
Derek Bryceson
The British primatologist Jane Goodall had left the comfort of her home in England to pursue her dream of studying chimpanzees in Africa. Her dream was further supported by her second husband, Derek Bryceson. While pursuing a career in the male-dominated field, Jane Goodall became known as the world’s biggest expert on chimpanzees and is still recognized today for her work. Goodall dedicated her life to the animals and has completed an over 55-year study of their social and family interactions.
While many films and documentaries have been made about Goodall, she was apparently a little hesitant about another movie based on her life and how she stepped out of her comfort zone to explore and study the world of chimpanzees.
Derek Bryceson
Throughout her career, Jane Goodall has been the subject of several movies, articles, books and documentaries. The most recent one was National Geographic’s documentary, Jane, which aired on March 12, 2018. The documentary centered around Jane Goodall, as the woman famous for dedicating her life to studying chimpanzees.
Goodall went after her dreams and has zero regrets. Her second husband, Derek Bryceson, was very proud of her accomplishments, and he supported her in every way possible Most people focus on the many achievements of Goodall. My interest has long focused on her husband. I interviewed him in late 10975.
Derek Bryceson was born on December 30, 1922, in China. He served in the Royal Air Force during the warDuring World War II, Bryceson was shot down in his fighter plane over Egypt. His legs were partially paralyzed because of the damage to his nervous system at the base of his spine. Bryceson was told that he wouldn’t ever be able to walk again, but he didn’t give up hope. With a great deal of determination, Bryceson was no longer confined to his wheelchair and started walking with the help of a cane. After the war, graduated from Trinity College in Cambridge, England, in 1947, with a degree in agriculture.
After completing his studies, Bryceson moved to Tanganyika, Africa, in 1952 because he “wanted to farm, and the opportunities for that were in Tanganyika.” In 1957, Bryceson was appointed Assistant Minister for Social Services by the colonial government. He was later named Minister for Mines and Commerce in 1959.
In 1961, Bryceson helped Tanzania win its freedom. He was an example of the kind of settler colonial who came to support the ideals of independence and in Beycson’s case, socialism. He became a member of Tanzania’s National Assembly, as well as a parks director.
Bryceson divorced his first wife in 1974. Their separation was not an amicable one. His son, Ian Bryceson, who was at the time a marine biologist , teaching at the University of Dar es Salaam. After Derek Bryceson’s divorce, his son stopped talking to him.
Bryceson and Goodall’s first meeting was a story straight out of Hollywood. In 1972, when Goodall became a part of the group for the creation of a national park in Tanzania’s Gombe region, she was a little hesitant to meet Bryceson. People told her that the Tanzanian Parks director was, “mean and unsympathetic” to scientists.
However, Bryceson stated that he hardly even remembers their first encounter! “But I distinctly recall when Jane came to parliament later to show her film on the chimpanzees. She made a very definite impression,” he explained.
In 1974, Goodall also divorced her first husband, Baron Hugo van Lawick. She then married Bryceson in 1975.
Because of his position, Bryceson was able to safeguard Goodall’s research project. Derick Bryceson died of cancer in 1980 and his death was a major blow to Goodall. After Derek Bryceson’s death,
January 1, 1980
Back to Botswana
Gladys T.K. Kokorwe
Gladys attended the Local Government Certificate course that I set up and Managed at the Institute of Development Management in Gaborone, Botswana in 1981-82. After she finished the course I nominated her for the one year diploma course at the University of Connecticut in Development Management. She takes up the story from there:
“After doing your course and getting A+ I went to Hartford Connecticut for the Diploma Course, although I was recommended to proceed to do a Masters the Ministry decided I would come back to head the then ULGS Training dept and run both Induction and Admin Courses throughout the Country at all the Town and District Councils.
To cut a long story short I was a Civil Servant in various capacities until 1994 when I retired and joined politics. Member of Parliament for Thamaga Constituency during which time I served as Assistant Minister, Local Government, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Minister for Youth, Sport and Culture.
In 2009 I retired from Politics and thought I would go home to my small farm 30 kms from Gabs and relax, but that was not to be. H. E. appointed me Botswana Ambassador to Zimbabwe and that is where I am. My contract ends next year October and that’s when I will go home.”