Mokubilo village wallows in poverty

KEABETSWE NEWEL
Correspondent | Monday January 24, 2011 00:00

It is apparent in the inhabitants themselves through their worn-out clothes, bare feet and the aimless loitering of people without much to do to fill-in their days. A number can often be seen indulging in the popular Chibuku as a pastime.

Mostly comprised of people of Sesarwa origin, the village is situated 120 kilometres west of Francistown. It stands between Letlhakane and Francistown, surrounded mostly by cattle posts and smaller villages. The likes of Matsitama, Jamataka and Mabesekwa are along the road approaching Mokubilo.

Most of the youth are said to have migrated to nearby towns in search of jobs and a better life. Old men and women as well as young children occupy the greater part of the population in this village. Very few customers can be seen frequenting the two shops that are there. Gakenaope Gosalaope, an old man who does not seem to remember his age said most of the people in the village are very poor.  'In Mokubilo we live in poverty, we cannot even support our children. Unemployment is a major challenge in this village,' he said.

Gosalaope said for most of them eating is a luxury and he personally relies on ploughing fields, but this is also a challenge as he needs money to plough and to clear the bush in the fields. Gosalaope who lives in a mud house because he cannot afford anything better said his home is often destroyed by rain leaving them without shelter.

Keabetswe Gaolathe, 36, lamented the lack of jobs in the village. 'We are rescued by piece jobs, cleaning fields and the likes so that we can at least have something to hold on to at the end of the day,' Gaolathe said. He said that he is forced to do hard labor for very little money, and he has no choice since he cannot live without eating. 

'Most people also rely on drought relief piece jobs (namololeuba) currently going by the name Ipelegeng projects, which are also not available in Mokubilo.' Yet others, says Gaolathe have been forced into criminal activities because of the poverty.

Gaolathe said because of poverty many people have resorted to indulging in alcohol, which does not make their situation any better.  He says that there is too much drinking in Mokubilo, and unhealthy home brews like mokokoonchebile, setopoti, monati and khadi are everyday food for villagers.  Village Development Committee Chairman Pini Gaorapelwe said the majority of villagers are of Basarwa origin with limited literacy. 'There is nowhere you can find a job in Mokubilo, not even a single industry is here to create jobs for us. We cannot even build houses for ourselves because building materials can only be accessed from Francistown or Letlhakane which would cost us a fortune,' Gaorapelwe said.

Another elder in the village, Bernadette Fungwane said around 1987-1989 Mokubilo village was hard hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which killed the majority of women in the village. Because of this the village has a high number of orphans and destitutes. The HIV/AIDS pandemic also made things worse for the village as it left many children with no one to take care of them.

Fungwane also explained that there is also a high birth rate in Mokubilo village and support of these children is a challenge to the single mothers who are also very poor. Lawrence Chibane, councillor for Mokubilo area said: 'One thing that concerns me the most is lack of toilets in this village. Majority of villagers have no toilets, which of course they cannot afford to build for themselves. You can imagine what life is like in a village with no toilets,' Chebani said.

He said that although young people are encouraged to invest in businesses, as the village is electrified, it lacks infrastructure which the youth could use for setting up small businesses like hair salons. Youth in the village he said, are not interested in government programmes, because their level of education is low. Further he said that alcoholism in this village is very high, amongst both elders and young people.

'We, however, are trying to address the issue of alcoholism to encourage people to be accountable and responsible for their lives. Although we realise that unemployment and doing nothing everyday may drive people to alcoholism, it also contributes largely to poverty,' explained Chebani. According to Chebani farming in Mokubilo is also difficult. He said although some youths would like to be involved in agricultural projects, the challenge is the lack of boreholes where they could source for water for animal rearing. Chebani appealed to the government to construct a borehole for them since there is no river in the village.