BOOK REVIEW
Friday, November 06, 2009
Little Giant of Bechuanaland is the story of pioneer missionary Reverend William Charles Willoughby (1857 to 1938) and his dedicated wife Bessie Willoughby. He is most famous for his role with the "Three Chiefs" when they went to London in 1895, something that has been written about extensively, but not completely. Professor Neil Parsons called Willoughby a "pathfinder" in his book King Khama, Emperor Joe, and the Great White Queen (1998) and the Three Kings (the Dikgosi Khama III, Bathoen I and Sebele I) his "reluctant followers".
Willoughby is remembered by many older Batswana for a number of other significant contributions he made to Botswana over the 24 years he lived in Southern Africa as a missionary, an educator, a linguist, a researcher, writer and author of five significant books, and a photographer.
For too long, the state of many public schools has been a source of shame. We have all seen the pictures and heard the stories of broken windows, unreliable water and electricity, topped by classrooms that are not fit for proper learning. The establishment of the Education Infrastructure and Management Company Ltd (EIMC) signals that authorities are finally ready to take this problem seriously. We must commend the government for this initiative....