The settlement of Phakwe, which residents refer to as a village, is reeling in misery. The settlement has literally got nothing to offer. The situation is made worse by the drought-scorched environment. There is no life just from the turn-off where the road to Phakwe branches from the main road leading to Tsetsebjwe.

Only a sign of dry vegetation and pale soils without any grass constitute the landscape of this settlement, which is situated 10km from the main road. Scattered grass-thatched mud  huts are the only structures one can see when entering the settlement that derived its name from a nearby hill. Animals are not spared the biting effects of drought and poverty as  we could literally count the ribs on a few grazing cows, sheep and goats.

 The settlement has not only been struck by the poverty,  but it is also threatened with extinction as most of its residents continue to relocate to Tsetsebjwe in search of a better life and social amenities. Hence only about 14 scattered homesteads are visible, while the majority are dilapidated and abandoned.

There are no bars, shebeens or any social gathering that can bring life to the settlement and no one appears outside the house until you knock. In response to the knock a high number of people would emerge from the mud huts. It was apparent that a single family would have more than a dozen people. The mud huts are too small and yet that is the reality of the situation.

After an exchange of greetings in a home where there are more than 12 family members, the Mmegi team was directed to Kgosi Gaopale Chepete's house. Before heading to Kgosi it was  evident that the family was surprised to have an unexpected visitor in their home and they started making requests after requests ranging from clothes to even money.

There is proof that the family is not Babirwa and they appear to have their life confined in Phakwe and have never had a taste of any life outside the settlement.

Poverty is so pronounced that the elderly members of this family are employed as farm workers only to be paid with four bags of sorghum that forms their meal for a certain period of time. The majority have never been to school and despite their age, each one of them is carrying a baby or two on their backs. Those who have been to school  did not go beyond standard seven as they dropped out due to pregnancy and are unwilling to go back to school after delivery.

The 'dropouts' help family members with information such as birth dates of their parents and other siblings. "Nna ga ke itse gore ke tshotswe leng botsa ngwanake ke yoo, ke ene a tseneng sekolo", chips in a woman who indicates that she is only helped by the social welfare officers about her date of birth.

 The other woman on the other hand is busy pounding sorghum she earned as a 'salary' doing work as a farmhand. It constitutes the monthly food basket that the old woman in the home is getting and is only enough for two weeks.

The family is free to share their daily experiences with a stranger as they reveal that six of them in the village are HIV positive and get anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) and that they walk to Tsetsebjwe for fresh supplies  every month.

As a form of entertainment the young women join the male villagers who have been paid as cattle herders and farm labourers and travel to a cattle post called Mmadipitse for Chibuku drinking sprees. They indicate that they find no point to demand financial support from their children's fathers because they are locals who are also unemployed.

Upon entering the chief's homestead, the poverty situation is very pathetic and Mmegi's arrival comes as a blessing as he pleads for P1 to buy snuff. Though poverty-stricken as he is, as evidenced by his clothes and house and desperate face that pleads for help, Chepete has vowed that he will die in the land of his forefathers than to relocate.

He is troubled by the fact that the majority of his people have migrated leaving him with only a population of 40 people. This defeats his efforts to call for government services in the settlement. "Rona re itsiwe fela ka nako ya ditlhopho go tsweng foo ga re batho(People only remember us during elections time and after that we are as good as non-existent)," said the chief in a weary voice cutting a sorry face.

 He states that those remaining in the settlement are the ones who have vowed never to abandon their ancestral land. It appears very difficult for them to just leave the place as a historical site because they originate there, therefore they have nowhere else to go.
 He believes that all the surrounding main villages like Tsetsebjwe came after Phakwe and wonders what sin Phakwe has committed to deserve such a cold shoulder from government.

He notes they have been ordered to bury their dead in Tsetsebjwe. They used to bury the dead in a traditional way by wrapping the corpse with a cow's skin. Last year's funeral conducted in a traditional way was the last funeral they held.

"I do not know how we are going to handle our next funeral if any family dies under the new arrangement. We do not have the means to take our dead to Tsetsebjwe and the associated funeral expenses," he notes while tying an empty snuff plastic to his finger to show that he has nothing left.

Currently, the mode of transport is donkey carts, no portable water except that they rely on two privately-owned boreholes and the telephone and radio reception is very poor. He indicates that though they have never experienced a critical situation where they had to ferry the terminally ill who need urgent medical attention or pregnant women on donkey carts to Tsetsebjwe, donkey carts remain their mode of transport. "I still cannot make sense out of the fact that I will have to be buried in Tsetsebjwe. Ke ya go tsenngwa mo ntung ya ga mang gone kwa."

 He notes that still it is going to be impossible for them to be allocated plots in Tsetsebjwe because the village is already full, except only to be allocated land in other people's cattle posts and it will take us back to the situation where we will be starved of developments under the pretext that we live in cattleposts.

He is mostly disturbed by the fact that despite heaps of responsibilities bestowed upon him as a traditional leader, he is not paid even a thebe for the responsibility.  He indicates that he mostly tries cases of assault and that he is not provided with transport to attend official meetings in places like Tsetsebjwe nor does he receive official correspondence, a privilege enjoyed by other traditional leaders.

 He, however, notes that social welfare officials do come to Phakwe monthly to help the beneficiaries. The only government trace in the settlement is a  health post that he said only operates once in a while by a nurse from Tsetsebjwe. "It has been a long time since it was open. We just go there when we see it open."

 He said they have succumbed to a situation where they had to abandon their culture because of the situation they are made to live under. "Re tshela hela, ga re sa tlhola re setse ngwao morago." They also hardly worship because the church that used to exist in the settlement only known to the chief as Godfrey is no longer active.

 Kgosi notes that though with just a handful of residents, Phakwe is already overwhelmed by school dropouts due to pregnancy in most cases. "We always talk to them about the consequences of teenage pregnancy but they continue to fall pregnant. Our efforts to order them back to school also fall on deaf ears." He notes that others explain that they drop out of school as a result of ill- treatment by the so-called modernised students. Most of the residents attend school and access services from Tsetsebjwe.

Bobirwa Sub-District Council Secretary, Tjango Gulubane, stated in an interview that to their knowledge, Phakwe is just a cattle post and its residents do not get any services from the council except a mobile clinic like it is always done with other cattle posts.

He indicated that the council does sometimes provide them with water though there is no justification as to why the arrangement is like that. This, however, is not regular because the council that is also tasked with bowsing water to Sefhophe village is resource constrained. "We have always encouraged the people there to move though we cannot force them. We try to show them that they can access services easily when they are in Tsetsebjwe or any place of their choice other than the cattle post." The council also finds itself in a position where the cattle post owners complain that the council encourages these people to settle permanently around their cattle posts by providing them with services there. "Phakwe is a cattle post not a village and residents are aware of that. I am not aware that there is a headman there. Maybe the Tribal Administration Department knows better."