By Anna Yu, of Colby College
Time flies so fast! It is really hard to believe that our time here in the Delta is gradually coming to an end. Reflecting on the whole semester, it is such a rewarding experience to participate in field conservation work, learn from the vibrant nature, and share this beautiful journey with every student and instructor in the program. I am especially grateful to have met so many amazing local people, who always greeted us with the brightest and warmest smiles whenever we passed by a village or came into a community campsite. Inspired by the “Humans of New York”project, I would like to introduce some of our lovely local people, aka “Humans of Botswana”, in a few sentences each, to all of you who are reading this blog right now.
Fig.1 Mmapula, cr. Sergei Bluman
Mmapula is the first escort guide that we have met through the program. She is such an amazing, independent, and strong lady who welcomed us with delicious food when we arrived, impressed us with her expertise during the transect drives, and showed us her leadership in managing the campsite while we were there. We learned how to make pap, a traditional food in Botswana, from Mmapula, and she makes the most beautiful bread in the world.
Don and Proctor, Mogotlho Campsite, Khwai, NG19
Fig.2 Don, cr. Sergei Bluman
Don and Proctor were a bit quiet and shy when we first met, but their joyful personalities lighted up those days in the constant rain at NG19. Both coming from the Khwai village, they have known each other since childhood, and have been working at the Mogotlho campsite five and three years respectively. During the computer training workshop in Maun, Proctor wrote that his favorite bush experience was the transect drives with Round River students. Thank you Proctor!
Inno, Kaziikini Campsite, Sankuyo, NG34
Fig.3 Inno showing us traditional herbivore traps, cr. Sergei Bluman
Inno previously worked as a guide in the safari hunting industry for a long time and thus has very unique and in-depth perspectives on the hunting ban in Botswana. I enjoyed Inno’s music playlist so much, presented to us by Kaggie. We even have a transect named “Inno’s transect” because he is the only one who knows the exact road and every turn without any help of the GPS!
Joseph, Kaziikini Campsite, Sankuyo, NG34. Inno, Kaziikini Campsite, Sankuyo, NG34.
Joseph worked at the Kaziikini Campsite as a hospitality and tourism attachment intern for his professional education. He is very curious and is always ready to learn new things. Many of us had the best and most in-depth computer training sessions with him and we even started to develop a resume for him together. Best luck to Joseph for his future!
Connie, Kelly, and Rita, Kaziikini Campsite, Sankuyo, NG34
Fig.4 Rita demonstrating traditional Batswana games, cr. Sergei Bluman
Connie, Kelly, and Rita are the staff members at the Kaziikini Campsite who take care of the whole camp every day. During the Cultural Village event, they showed us the vivid culture of Botswana through beautiful singing and dancing. These ladies also make such delicate and artistic baskets. While they each have very distinct and personal styles, all of them are so talented in pattern design and color matching!
KG, Kaziikini Campsite, Sankuyo, NG34
KG is absolutely our king of birds. He has such profound knowledge on all different birds, tells their calls when no one else even notices, and literally never makes mistake in bird identification. What a bless for us to have him on transect and learn from him! KG is also really smart and learned all the card games we play super fast! I am especially grateful for him sharing his very personal perspective on the hunting ban. I have learned so much from his telling and I hope that our hunting ban debate didn’t let him down.
Bone and Gene, Dizhana Campsite, Mababe, NG41
Bone and Gene have the sweetest and warmest smile that I have ever seen. When we first arrived at the Dizhana Campsite, I heard their beautiful and bright laughters even before we met them in person. Both of them are such brave and amazing ladies. The fact that it is very uncommon for women to become escort guides in Botswana makes me respect them even more. By the way, I love Bone’s fashion style so much!
Owni and Foe, Dizhana Campsite, Mababe, NG41
To some extent, Owni and Foe are like the ice and fire together. Owni looked like a tough and quiet guy at the first glance, and to some extent, he actually is. I will never forget him saying “hi” to all of us with his strong and tough voice every time he walks over to our tent area. We met Foe at Cosmos’ housewarming party in Maun and were impressed by his dance moves even before we knew him as our guide. He always wears his signature sunglasses and sassy smile, and describes himself as a “town boy.” Through our three weeks in Mababe, they were for sure our masters of tracks and transects! Guess who can spot elephants from hundreds of meters away every single time? Not me.
If someone asks me what is the most beautiful thing in the Delta to me, I will answer “the local people and their smiles” without any hesitation. There are so many other amazing people that we met during our time here, including but not limited to Rasta, Ron, Neke, and Ona. I sincerely appreciate meeting and knowing every single one of them and firmly believe that our program would be so incomplete without their presence or help. Conservation science is such a complicated subject that requires collaborations from multiple parties. And these humans of Botswana are the reason that we are here and that we still hold hope for conservation.
Fig.5 Joseph (back row, 4thfrom the left), KG (back row, 5thfrom the left), Inno (back row, 2ndfrom the right) and us, cr: Sergei Bluman
To everyone who have helped us in the past three months:
Ke a leboga thata bomma le borra!