27 Jan 2014

On a hot Saturday afternoon in Lesoma, about a dozen children of school-going age suddenly come rushing through the bush as if pursued by a vicious animal. 

That would not be surprising if that were the case as Lesoma is home to a wide range of wildlife, especially lions. Strikingly, half of these children are either stark naked or in their briefs and some have mud all over their bodies.

BOPA team soon establishes that these children were caught swimming at the infamous ‘3 meter’ pond - a drinking spot for lions, hyenas and residents’ livestock among others. The water is muddy and dark with the usual aquatic organisms that you would expect in stagnant water.

Yet these boys come here to cool off from the scorching and unforgiving Chobe heat, almost every other day, including weekends.

From their explanation, some even take their baths here. One of the boys, standard six pupil, Ntesang Lesoma said some of them bring Vaseline and body lotions to apply to their bodies after their ‘bath.’

He reveals jackals, dogs and cattle often drink from the pond but that does not seem to bother any of them as they still sneak from their homes for the dangerous refreshment.

The boys even joke that they have come across one or two tortoises which reside in the pond, naively unaware of just how big a danger they are putting themselves into. Ntesang says that they do this because they are bored and there is nothing else for them to do for entertainment.

Some claim that their parents do not have money to buy coupons for water at public standpipes so this is the only place where they get to access water in abundance.

The boys routinely convene by a big motsentsela tree, which is just a few meters away from the pond. From there, they strip and dive in.  “Our parents do not know about this,” another boy Tseleng Lesoma reveals. Girls are not immune to this practice as the boys spew the names of some of the girls they swim with.

However, some residents are clearly concerned. Today the children came bursting through the bushes because two gentlemen caned the boys and seized their clothes to use them as evidence when reporting them to their parents.

 One of the gentlemen, nineteen year Thando Lesoma who also happens to be an uncle to three of the boys says that he has caught the boys at the pond several times and warned them against this practice, but to no avail. 

“They do not listen, their parents stay at the cattle-post and they are still unaware of this practice,” he says. He remains the boys’ guardian for now.

Another resident, Evelyn Banda confirms that she has seen the children several times when she goes to the pond to fetch water for her garden. She also says that she tried to warn the boys but to no avail.

As the boys get their clothes back, they promise to desist from this practice but nobody is convinced. “I know they will be back again in the evening,” Thando says in frustration.

The principal of Lesoma Primary school where the boys attend school says she is not aware the boys are engaging in such dangerous play.

Lesoma is home to 613 people according to the latest population survey. The village has been hit by severe shortage of water for some years now. Like a lot of other small villages there is hardly any form of entertainment here. ENDS