Joint initiative promotes cultural identity of the Batlharo Boo Tokwana Ba Ga Masibi

AfriForum and the office of Kgosi Mogakolodi Masibi of the Batlharo Boo Tokwana Ba Ga Masibi cultural community of Disaneng, west of Mahikeng in North West, collaborated to erect sign boards welcoming community members and travellers to the area of the community. The Setswana sign boards read “Batlharo Boo Tokwana ba ga Masibi ba lo amogela mo Disaneng” which means “The Batlharo Boo Tokwana ba ga Masibi welcomes you to Disaneng.”

“Our community has a saying: ‘Morafe o senang ngwao, ga o iketse, e bile, leina tsela’ – which means a nation that doesn’t observe and practice its culture and traditions is lost and that if you know a person’s name, you know his origins. We are proud to have signage in our mother tongue that welcomes our community members and travellers to the place we call home,” says Kgosi Mogakolodi Masibi, Kgosi of the Batlharo Boo Tokwana Ba Ga Masibi cultural community.

“Peaceful co-existence is possible when cultural communities act in mutual recognition and respect towards one another. A healthy cultural self-image and self-respect lies the foundation to also be able to respect other cultural communities. It is therefore a privilege for us to do projects like this, that promote cultural identity, in collaboration with Kgosi Masibi and the community he leads,” says Nantes Kelder, National Project Coordinator of Intercultural Relations and Cooperation at AfriForum.

“AfriForum is building a network of cultural communities that collaborate to ensure a future for all communities here at the southern tip of Africa. The mutual recognition and cooperation agreement between AfriForum and the Batlharo Boo Tokwana Ba Ga Masibi and this project that flows from this agreement shows how this network is taking shape on grassroots level,” says Barend Uys, Head of Intercultural Relations and Cooperation at AfriForum.