28 Apr 2014

Years ago, when he was still aged 16, his parents used to give him an assignment that the first thing in the morning during weekends -- when not at school -- he had to walk to the family’s masimo, 10 kilometres away. The bare-footed walk always started at 5 a.m.

Mr Goitseone Letlakela, now aged 28, graduated not only out of his junior certificate programme in 2002 but also the 10-kilometre weekend walks, with attendant chores at the masimo. His new assignment is that of an assistant pastor with Grace Church at Khudumelapye in the Letlhakeng Sub-district.

Apart from also operating a family business, welding and steel manufacturing became Mr Letlakela’s new passion after he completed his junior certificate education.

“It was the only business which put food on table for our family at that time, so I had to do the hard work of welding as I had a bit of knowledge from my design and technology lessons at school,” he said.

Letlakela was a creative and technology loving youth at that time. With a trade test B in bricklaying and plastering he did at Takatokwane, a technical drawing certificate he was awarded for best student in 2005 and an architectural draft certificate he obtained from Tswelelopele Brigade in 2010, Mr Letlakela visited the Department of Youth in Letlhakeng for a grant.

“I liked these two courses because they are partners,” he said. “I can at the same time do technical drawing then do house building at the same time.”

His wish was to create his own business of architectural services and secretarial services. The grant he wanted from the youth department was to enable him to upgrade his business of drawing house plans that he did with his only computer and a desktop printer he had at home in 2010 after his courses. He said that he drew plans and had to travel to Gaborone to print them but that was not profitable.

His mother, Ms Ellinah Lesonya, said Mr Letlakela grew up as a technical partner. So for his business, Ms Lesonya said that she always had thoughts that her son would never make it out of his dreams but something touched her to help him even though she had no money.

“I always argued with him as who is to go to the cattle post as he is always on his computer the whole day,” she said. “I believed that only cows we had can put food on table.”

Mr Letlakela’s grant came in 2012, a year after he applied for it. In November that year, his architectural and secretarial services business, named Da Penuel Da Silver Investments started operating. “My business is my favorite even though it’s rare in Letlhakeng,” he said.

As both a managing director and a laborer for the business that operates in a caravan at his parents’ home, Mr Letlakela described his venture as challenging. One of the handicaps is that Letlhakeng residents are not used to building their houses out of computerized plans. As a result, clients are often people from Molepolole, about 60 kilometres away.

“Some of my clients visit me but they can go back as they believe house plans are just papers, so they can’t buy a paper at a high price,” he said.

Mr Letlakela explained that that he drew and print house plans with a plotter -- a machine that prints, enlarges photos in papers ranging from sizes A4 to A0,typing and printing and photo framing.

When clients come to buy plans, he would also ask them for tenders to build the houses. As he is worried of a possible shut down, he puts faith in God that his business would one day be profitable.

“This business is very vital in Letlhakeng, and I will never pull out of it because at a point, it will make millions for me,” he said. “If SHHA would give me tenders to draw plans, I could make some money out of them.”

Letlakela has also helped some of his clients in Letlhakeng like, Mr Kablay Motseonageng whom he drew a multi residential plan in 2012, whom he said he was happy of. He also drew a pre-school plan for Bommenkokodi Support Group.

A new challenge came last year when a plotting broke down. This means that he had to resume to trips to Gaborone to print his works. However, he declares that he is determined to bit the odds. Ends