The Unites States (US) Embassy has sponsored the production of Francistown History documentary to the tune of P115 000.
The documentary titled: “Untold Stories: A history and diversity of Francistown” aims to celebrate the History and Cultural Heritage of the second city. Francistown which began as a booming gold mining town in the 19th century comprises of predominantly the Bakalanga and other tribes. Supa Ngwao Museum is currently the custodian of Francistown history and surrounding areas.
The documentary film is sponsored through the United States (US) Ambassador’s Fund (AFCP) for Cultural Preservation. The US embassy has also in the past injected over P400 000 to help Supa Ngwao Museum in Francistown to preserve and protect ethnographic and historical collections documenting the history of the Bakalanga and other tribes found in the area.
Giving a brief overview of the project during the launch of the documentary last week the Manager at Supa Ngwao Museum Jeoffery Matheakgomo said the documentary seeks to celebrate the rich history of Francistown and its diversity.
“When I first came to Francistown on the 3rd of August, 2021, I was very intrigued by the rich colonial buildings that are scattered in the city. I began to do my own research and I found out about the history of the city. What is also very interesting is that the first Gold-rush in Southern Africa began here in 1836 – 1870. I was also intrigued by the history of Bakalanga people,” he said.
He said that he tendered a proposal to the US embassy to document his research in a film documentary and was approved. Matheakgomo said the documentary will promote heritage tourism in the second city. Among other important issues he said countries across the world are continuing to benefit from heritage or cultural tourism and have booming economies.
Speaking on behalf of the American Embassy, Cultural Specialist Naomi Tshosa showered accolades on Supa Ngwao Museum which is the custodian of Francistown history for its tireless efforts in preserving the culture and heritage of the second city.
“The museum has collections of ethnographic and historical collections of the history of Bakalanga who are the dominant tribe in the city and other tribes,” she said.
Tshosa also said through the AFCP the Embassy managed to renovate an old government veterinary facility that shared its premises with the Supa Ngwao Museum. She added that AFCP support allowed the museum to transform the structure into a facility suitable for safe storage, office and gallery space. She also said through AFCP the US government empowers Batswana to share stories of cultural heritage and values, to increase community capacity to document and share these stories, to strengthen US – Botswana cooperation on architectural and projects of mutual benefit, and to preserve cultural heritage as a demonstration of US respect for other cultures.
“This year the US Department of State celebrates 20 years of successfully implementing over 1000 of these projects in 133 countries and 650 communities around the world,” she added.
Tshosa said seven of the projects have brought nearly 300 000 USD to Botswana to restore and preserve historic sites like the Old Palapye Church; to train specialists in the preservation of ancient rock art that ties modern Botswana to its ancient past; to preserve important artifacts from the San Community at the Kuru Cultural Centre in D’Kar and others.
Meanwhile the launch of the documentary was complemented by the visits to some of the heritage sites in Francistown such as the WENELA Hangar which is also the old Francistown Airport, Francistown historic prison and the grave of former veteran politician Philip Matante.
