It is quite uncommon to easily hear places like Zutshwa talked about. Hence my being informed of an imminent transfer to Zutshwa made me shudder. I told myself over and over again that my letter must have had an unforeseen typing error, and with all the goodness of my heart, I thought, will gladly forgive them for that error.
“Miss, you are being transferred to a settlement called Zutshwa, in the Kgalagadi North Region.”
I should have collapsed before the lady completed her statement, but there I was, gasping for breath. I was shocked, disapointed, feeling cheated.
I wondered: “Why should this happen to me? Why couldn’t it be somebody else?”
It seemed I had limited options, I had no choice but go to the settlement. The fear of not knowing what to expect grabbed me; I wondered how life there was, and if people there would accept me? What about the language barrier?
As I learned, Sekgalagadi and Sesarwa were mainly the languages spoken there.
The day of reckoning came.
I helped myself into the truck that ensured that Zutshwa had me all to herself. Having left Hukuntsi earlier, in around an hour and half minutes, we were in Zutshwa.Now,having been born and bred straight in the heart of Gaborone, stayed and schooled there, I was therefore afraid of the wilderness.
I never before saw plenty of game, hence I was perplexed, the driver quipped, “do not worry, there are so many wild animals around, you will know all of them, all in good time!”
I looked at him talking so proudly.
Come what may, I said pitifully to myself, sure the animals we passed on the way were breathtaking.
Ostriches, Impalas, Wilderbeast and so on, but I was worried about the king of the jungle! To this, the driver attested that lions do not like coming closer to people, though at times one will hear their roar at night!
Really, I thought, this is not my kind of place. I am not an adventurous person, so a date with the animals, especially lions, was way out of my plate!
Arriving in Zutshwa, I looked around frantically, like a lost school girl. In my heart, I prayed that we have not arrived yet, the environment around us was just not what I expected. Of course, I was told it was a settlement, to which I have never been before, but I truly anticipated something better!
To my utter horror, the school head said to me with a smile, “Welcome to Zutshwa miss.”
I doubt if I ever said anything back to her, my head was spinning. I really felt cheated. I had worked hard at school, I had dreams, ambitions of securing a sponsor and maybe work towards a second degree. I am an academic at heart, but in Zutshwa, I saw all my dreams vanish like dew in the morning times. I could not even think of distance learning, mmh, no post office.
It was as if the other teacher was reading my mind.
“You know, going to Hukuntsi sometimes becomes a dream, you can actually sleep by the road side as there is no transport. No combis, taxis or buses, it’s just Zutshwa.”
However, I was not exactly moved by the notion of no transport in Zutshwa,in any case,Hukuntsi has no combis or taxis, so in that accord, I expected no miracle in Zutshwa.
I noticed that the mode of transport here was donkeys and horses, because of the sandy environment. So, one of the good days, I may as well ride it too! Remember the old adache, if you cannot beat them, join them!
Being a Coca Cola addict, it crossed my mind that it is time to ‘open up happiness’ with a coke can and drown my sorrows as I noticed there was electricity, at least, I can find a spaza, and have my Coke.
“Maam, may I have a glass of cold water, hei, se a chesa sekaka, ke nwe metsi, o bo o mpontsha shopo motho a tsee Coke’nyana.”
The woman gave a very sympathetic look and said to me,’ao ngwanaka, ga gona metsi a tsididi mo, the electricity we have is powered by the sun, solar.It is only for lighting our houses. It cannot power a fridge’.
I sat down, even in Hukuntsi I never drank water from a tap, it is salty, but when cold, it is better. I recalled the story of evolution, survival of the fittest. Animals that failed to adapt died; I did not want to die in Zutshwa, so I told myself that I will have to adapt, change my attitude and tolerate this area and the people. Man must live, if other people ba nama le madi like me can live here live, surely I can too.
A change of attitude liberated me.
I began to see the difference between the people of Zutshwa and city life. In Gabz, humane (botho le setho) have gone extinct. You pass other people without a simple ‘hello!’This is the attitude I brought to Zutshwa. I passed people without greeting them, and they stopped every time to greet me, young and old, and they did it with warmth and respect.
That surely taught me something.
They did not bring me to Zutshwa, they respected me as a teacher of their children, and surely I could return the favour, couldn’t I? In no time at all, I fell in love with Zutshwa and the people of Zutshwa.They are very warm people who live simple and modest lives.
Life here is different; it is hard, but the people do not seem to complain. There is no electricity, no water taps in people’s homes, hence the donkeys come in handy drawing water from wells. In most homes, the houses are not built with cement, but they use logs, carefully knitted together, and top up with ‘boso’,I mean cow dung, mind you, I am learning the language!So,it is not called ‘boloko’ as it is called in Setswana. There are no shops where one can get their neccessities, only a spaza or two, selling the basics.
There is poverty in Zutshwa, one need not ask, but see it.
The young people, who complete schooling and are not lucky enough to climb the educational ladder, further stay in Zutshwa and do nothing. There are no job opportunities here, except for the Ipelegeng scheme. There are no leisure activities here except, of course, if you are a good donkey rider then,’ o ka ya go tlhoma le basimane ko paneng’.
Now,’pane’ is a huge chunk of land where there is absolutely no tree or rather vegetation that grows there. I am reliably informed that the soil there is extremely salty hence no vegetation at all. However, the ‘pane’ is a marvel to watch.
One thing about the people of Zutshwa is that they know so much about wild animals. They can look at a snake trail and be able to tell you more about the snake! They will tell you if it is dangerous or not, if it is dangerous, ‘you determine its left side and track it from there.’ ‘Why? I asked,’Because it will not be able to strike you from the left side, you should not be afraid of snakes, noga e tshaba motho thata.’ ‘Ao! ‘Ee, the old man stated, if you see a snake, coming from its behind, quickly pull it by its tail and hit it hard on the ground, it dies instantly of schock.’Now, that is scary, really.
You see, I stay with the genius in Zutshwa, I love the place. It is a real getaway from the hectic city life. There are no annoying car hooting in the morning times, but the chirping of birds and the ever captivating sounds of mother nature. There are no industrial smokes, but just clean unpolluted air. The essence of communality and sharing is still so rife, hence it is common to see a child bringing you eggs, meat or a chicken.
If they killed a goat, for example, I would sit gleefully and await my share, maybe a hind leg!
So, I am living the life here, and as I sit on the stoep, listening to the beautiful sounds of nature, I reckon to myself, ‘this is a beautiful area, and, as I overlook the salt pan while busy indulging in ‘moriso’, now that’s’ milk in the local lingo I tell myself, that I have fallen in love with this settlement, and I just love it.
Zutshwa is a land of plenty, and I have come to enjoy life here!
