June 4-5 Trip to Gaborone and Francistown Botswana, mtg with stake pres and PA

Hotel in Gabarone, Botswana

Because of various issues in Botswana that require Public Affairs attention, we scheduled another trip to Gaborone. We also wanted to attend the neonatal 'Help Babies Breathe' training in Francistown, Botswana. So we started out by flying to Gaborone. We got to the hotel, checked in and went to our room to get out our notes and materials for the meeting. We checked with the hotel to see if they had the room set up.





When we booked the hotel, we booked a meeting room, but when Elder Kyle followed up right before we left they told us their meeting rooms were all booked and we didn't have one. Elder Kyle spoke to management and they apologized and said they would take the bed out of one of the rooms and set it up like a conference room.

We went up and checked on the room to make sure it was supplied with water, notepads and pens. I then made a few signs and adjusted others so those attending would know they had to go up the elevator to get to the meeting room. We put three digital cameras (new in box) in the center of the table and did not mention why they were there until later.

Elder Kyle conducting Public Affairs meeting in Botswana

We were expecting ten people, so we had a round table set up for ten, which included our national Botswana PA Council, Elder Kyle and I with the Stake President and his wife expected later on in the meeting. We were introduced to three new members of the PA Council that evening. They were all mature women. Brother Thebe (National Director) said that he decided he needed more mature members on the council who would get things done and be able to be there when needed. All three ladies were very nice and were obviously taking their callings seriously. We were very pleased with the extra members.

During the meeting, we discussed the future government relations plan for Botswana and discussed all the things that still needed to be done and who was supposed to do them. We had some very good discussions and then told them our plan for the cameras. Three people would be assigned the cameras with their responsibility to provide one photo and paragraph description per week. They were excited to get the cameras...We are hoping to yet turn them into reporters.

This chef was really friendly and asked ? about our group

The next morning we met with the Mission President and his wife for breakfast to discuss the things we spoke about in the meeting the previous day. We listened to his concerns and suggestions to help with the issues in Botswana. We also talked about the Consumer Fair coming up in August, of which the Church has a booth. We have been suggesting things they can use at their booth and providing whatever help we can to Sister Wilson. The Chef at the left is making my omelet. He is a member of the Church and a very good cook.

Common sight in Botswana

After breakfast, we packed up our stuff, checked out and headed by rental car to Francistown. Sean told us it would be a good idea to drive instead of fly, because there would be lots to see along the way and we were tasked with taking photos of Botswana for a Photo Essay being done by SLC. Well, we didn't see all that much on our 4-5 hour trip, but there were some interesting things to see on the road.

We saw some pretty interesting wagons being pulled by donkeys. The guy on the right got a real kick out of my taking his photo, and he started posing. Here he is pretending to take a photo of his own...pretty much mimicking me.







And then, of course there were some interesting things to see out the front windshield, like strange looking make-shift trailers with all kinds of things in them, like a cow and goat. Notice the goat has a leash...one emergency stop or sharp turn and the goat is hanging from the tailgate.

I don't know how they fit it all on without tipping over

But the best things were the imaginative packing techniques. I really didn't think this guy was going to make his turn without turning the van and trailer over, but he miraculously made it.









This guy had a lot of metal drums in the back of his vehicle, but they do a great job of securing everything with ropes...lots of ropes. They are masters at roping on everything from all angles.

And, the trailers themselves don't look all that sturdy. The tires look worn out and the axles look bent...definitely lots of rust, but they must use them until they fall apart, because they all look this way.




We finally stopped for gas. Here in Africa you do NOT pump your own gas. Every petrol station has several guys waiting to pump the gas for you. They ask if they can check your oil and water and clean your windshields (blast from the past). Of course, a tip is expected.


The gas station was located near a strip mall where a man had set up a table and was selling his wares, which seemed to be quite a variety, including a bag or oranges. He wasn't too concerned about making a sale and was reading the paper as I took his picture.

We never thought we would ever drive by this sign

Eventually, we passed the sign TROPIC OF CAPRICORN. How many people can say they went through the Tropic of Capricorn? Sometimes it is hard to believe we are actually in Africa...a world away from where we have lived our whole lives and other times it seems like we have lived here forever.

Two ladies in white with babies tied on their backs

Finally we entered Francistown. It's a quaint town. We traveled down the main street and the sidewalks were bustling...people were out and about. The photo here shows two women in white. See if you can spot the little feet at the sides of the first lady. All small children are carried by using a strip of material tied around them. I am always amazed the children don't fall off their backs, but these women are pros when it comes to wrapping the cloth around their babies and tying it at the front. The babies seem perfectly happy with this arrangement. We've never see one crying.

We were surprised to see a palm tree here

We looked for our hotel that we booked online and we about ran out of downtown when we saw it. It was in a not so nice section of town and looked like a very run down Motel Six. We did not like the looks of it, so we drove back to the main street and doubled back to stay a the hotel owned by the casino. It wasn't fancy, but we felt comfortable there.

Having a bite in the hotel restaurant 

As it turned out, the humanitarian people that were doing the training the next day were staying there too. We saw them in the restaurant that night. We didn't do much after that. We were tired from the drive, so we turned in early to get ready for the big day tomorrow!