13 Jan 2016

 Life is not a bed of roses, but a bumpy road that has thorns and bends. People can only make it better by doing things differently.

 After losing all the goats she acquired through LIMID, Ms Tshwaragano Setlhare did not sit back and fold her arms but she approached some government departments to seek assistance.

The youthful mother of three children, lost the goats due to predators such as hyenas in May last year and reported the matter to the department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP).

The 32-year old and Maun born youth  reared livestock at Komana, 26km from Maun along Maun/Ghanzi road.

When she met her ordeal, many villagers discouraged her from reporting the matter to DWNP because hyenas were not among the wildlife animals compensated for damages but she went ahead as she believed that she had a case to be looked into.

In an interview, she explained that she applied for LIMID in 2001, after she heard about it during a kgotla meeting. 

Her proposal was successful and she was given 13 goats to kick-start her project. 

Ms Setlhare pointed out that her project was doing exceptionally well as the livestock multiplied and she managed to supply other LIMID beneficiaries in the village and the surroundings.

“When I approached the DWNP I was welcomed by an officer Mr Israel Nato who listened attentively to my story and I was happy with the way he handled my issue even though I was not compensated,” she added.

Since she benefited through a government programme, she said Mr Nato decided to write a letter to the department of agriculture stating what happened and also declared the situation a disaster.

In addition, he wrote to Go Wild Botswana seeking assistance on how the woman could be rescued. 

Go Wild Botswana is a trust and its main objective is to promote long term conservation of environment and advocating for co-existence between wildlife and humans. 

Ms Setlhare said the department of agriculture agreed to assist her again with 13 goats while Go Wild Botswana bought her some materials to construct a strong kraal which could be used as a demonstration to other farmers to appreciate what they could do as a proactive prevention intervention to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.

She was over the moon when she received the predator proof kraal from Go Wild Botswana Trust in collaboration with DWNP in Komana in December. 

She expressed happiness noting that she had regained her life and hoped her project would thrill again and take her out of poverty. 

She said the project was ideal as she managed to support her family and send children to school with the money that she got from selling her livestock.

“I believe that I would become a successful entrepreneur in the village and supply other beneficiaries as I used to do,” she added.

Ms Setlhare advised young people to focus and move forward despite challenges encountered. 

She also encouraged them to take advantage of the available government programs and reduce dependency on government.

Meanwhile, Go Wild Botswana Trust programme director, Mr Seoganetseng Boeng raised a concern over human/wildlife conflict, adding that a study had revealed that the numbers of some species which cause damage to farmers’ properties was going down.

He said they had realised that farmers did not construct strong kraals to stop predators hence they decided to construct demonstration kraals in areas like Ngamiland and Boteti so that other farmers could benchmark.

For his part, principal wildlife warden Mr Cosmos Rathipana stated that incidents of human/wildlife conflict were on the rise in the district because of its vastness. 

He said efforts were being made to address complaints citing lack of transport as a challenge because they need to use boats in some areas.

He noted that his department has come up with interventions to arrest the situation. Some of the interventions, he said included translocation of problem animals to the reserve, usage of scaring devices and experimenting the use of chilli pepper.

Mr Rathipana thanked Go Wild Botswana for playing a vital role in promoting conservation. Ends