19 Jun 2014

Indeed courage does make a difference and sets a clear boundary between mediocrity and excellence. Mr Kealotswe Mokgatitswane (63) was inspired by the biblical story of David and Goliath to dare to dream.

While many before him allowed themselves to fizzle out and be overcome by the challenges of life, Mr Mokgatitswane remained steadfast and struggled on with zeal and sheer conviction against the strongest tides of life.

His biggest weapon as he traversed the hardships of life was education. Growing up in Goo-Lobeko ward in Kanye, Mr Mokgatitswane always wanted to be well educated.

He revealed that he started sub A in 1962 at Motsatsing primary school before proceeding to Matsaakgang where he completed in 1967.

After a one year break from school, occasioned by a recurrent eye problem, Mr Mokgatitswane was admitted at Lentswe II secondary school in 1969 where he was in the same class with Kgosi Bana Sekai of Bakgatla.

He later transferred to Kanye continuation class, where his eye problem persisted and made him obtain bad results in his final year. But that did not dampen his spirits as it fuelled him to fight on. As with other Batswana of yester-year, Mr Mokgatitswane left Botswana in 1974 to work in the mines in South Africa. He came back home at the height of the political turmoil in the country.

Upon his return to Botswana he was employed by the Kanye Tribal Administration as a Court Clerk under Kgosi Edward Makaba. He also worked in Pitsane and Digawana as a court clerk before retracing his steps back to South Africa two years later. In South Africa he worked for nine years as a Personal Assistant at the Department of Labor, responsible for the welfare of workers.

Once again, political unrest exploded in South Africa as the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) launched a massive strike that eventually forced him to return home. He was immediately snapped up by the Botswana Postal Services where he worked from 1990 to 1993.

At this point, his childhood love for education once again resurfaced and he sat for his junior certificate examinations. In 1998, at the age of 48, Mr Mokgatitswane enrolled for a book keeping course through the distance education program. In 2001, at age 51, he sat for his junior certificate examinations and passed them with flying colors.

In 2002, Mr Mokgatitswane enrolled for Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) courtesy of Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL). He was fascinated by business courses, especially Commerce and Accounting. Upon completion, Mr Mokgatitswane enrolled for a freelance diploma course with the Bureau College of Journalism in the United Kingdom and graduated with flying colors in 2009.

“Today I am a fully-fledged professional writer who contributes to a number of local newspapers,” he said. Mr Mokgatitswane’s hard work and love for education has trickled down to his children who have followed on their father’s footsteps and are now highly decorated academics in their own right.

“My first born has a Masters degree from University of South Africa, the second born has a Business degree while the third born holds a Diploma in Finance from Malaysia and is currently pursuing a degree in the same discipline,” he said.

He added that the fourth child is pursuing a degree course in radiation at the University of Botswana while the last born, aged 17, is doing her Form 5 at Mogoditshane secondary school.

 Like her elder siblings, Agnes Mokgatitswane, was greatly inspired by her father’s tenacity, hard work and love for education. “He is my fountain of strength and he inspires me a lot,” she said.

For her part, Mr Mokgatitswane’s wife, 55 year old Ms Aratwa Mokgatitswane, said she was also inspired by her husband to study hard and eventually graduate as a teacher. Mr Mokgatitswane has a never say die attitude that drives him to always aspire to achieve more.

He still harbors an ambition to pursue a degree in journalism. With his characteristic hard work and tenacity, one cannot count him out just yet. ENDS