03 Feb 2014

Henry Ford once said “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is a progress and working together is a success”.

These words seem to have been an inspirational force behind women in Macheng areas who united and formed a burial society called Shegotjamolelo sha Macheng.

It started in 2012 during a funeral of a relative of a certain woman of Hukuntsi who was married in Letlhakeng, where the group originates. This group of women from Letlhakeng helped in burial expenses with groceries and money.

Amid the grief, Ms Lydia Moncho saw the opportunity to assist other women as she later recruited them to start their own burial society under the umbrella body Shegotjamolelo. The umbrella body consists of members from Letlhakeng all the way through Motokwe, Tsetseng, Kang and Macheng areas.

Ms Moncho who is the chairperson of the group, said in an interview that the society has 300 members who contribute P50 each month. The money provides funeral cover for the whole family, including father and mother-in-law. However she emphasised that they don’t cover partners who are out of wedlock.

“We don’t encourage cohabitation therefore only married partners are entitled to our benefits in case of death” she emphasized.

Ms Moncho said just like other registered women’s groups, they have the requirements of admission of new members. The society, she stated is open to every Motswana woman who is aged 21 and 70 regardless of her employment status. Aspiring members spend three months on probation and assessment must be done before approval.

She said the spirit of unity that prevails among members made them victorious over the challenges that they had been meeting because they believe in the old adage: “United we stand and divided we fall”. She added that team work, cooperation and respect for one another had been pillars of success for the group.

The future seems to be bright for the society as their plans include building their own administration office and a private mortuary where departed members would be kept awaiting burial. Shegotjamolelo’s coffers are with the Botswana Building Society where it sometimes gets low-interest loans to implement plans.

Ms Moncho, who is also the head teacher of Ledibela Primary School, urged women to join their burial society because it was affordable compared to insurance companies in Botswana. Apart from being a women’s society, they are also a family where there was exchange of ideas to enhance the lives of women because they were disadvantaged compared to men.

However, Mr Jackson Lenkopane of Ngologa Ward in Lehututu also acknowledged the importance of a burial society during the funeral of her sister last year. By virtue of his mother been a member, the burial society brought grocery worth P3000 and P1 800.

He encouraged other women to use this opportunity by joining the burial society because it was good for them.

Another Lehututu resident, Ms Constance Molosiwa, shared similar sentiments concerning the provision made by a group of women during the passing of loved ones. She said the women helped her family with groceries and cash during the funeral of her sister. Ms Molosiwa applauded the burial society and advised other women, especially those who had no funeral cover, to join. ENDS