Botswana Marks 50th Anniversary of Independence
OLA Sisters have had a presence in the southern African nation since 2008.
Srs. Cynthia (second from left) and Colette (right) with teachers and students in Maun, Botswana.
On September 30th, Botswana hosts a number of events across the country to celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence which it attained from Great Britain in 1966. Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Just over two million inhabitants live in the landlocked nation, which is almost the same size as France in terms of land area. Over 70% of the country is covered by the Kalahari desert, which in turn influences the primary colour of the national flag – light blue was chosen to represent the precious and scarce resource of water. Rain - ‘pula’ in the local setswana language - is seen as a blessing and recognition that without water there is no life. The black and white stripes on the flag represent the peace and harmony which exists between people of African and European descent who live in the country.
Botswana is one of the countries which suffered most from the HIV/Aids epidemic over the past 30 years. Three OLA Sisters arrived in Maun - the fifth largest town in the country, located 850km north of the capital Gaborone - in the latter part of 2008. Responding to the HIV/Aids epidemic has been one of the main apostolates for the Sisters over the past eight years along with focusing on education and pastoral works. In recent years, the Sisters have set-up a second community in Francistown in eastern Botswana, close to the border with Zimbabwe. Francistown is the largest urban centre after Gaborone. Here the Sister's main apostolate is education.
Sr. Bernadette McCarthy with young adults from Maun during a craft workshop.
The Botswana flag. Picture courtesy of www.wikipedia.org.
