24 Apr 2025

In the monotony of a quiet, rural village of Molalatau, about 20km east of Bobirwa’s capital Bobonong, Ms Kagelelo Mosimanegape, a 42-year-old community development officer and others have devised a remedy to unshackle themselves from chains of boredom, ignorance and darkness through a reading club. 

Birthed in February last year, a brainchild of Ms Mosimanegape, the yet to be registered Molalatau Reading Club promotes reading and literacy amongst the community. 

A catalyst for the community members to develop mentally through reading, the club offers a refuge to those longing out of ignorance, according to Ms. Mosimanegape who testified during the World Book and Copyright Day in Molalatau on Wednesday. 

The event was held under the theme: Indigenous languages: Read your way. Inspired by her uncle to pursue lifelong education, Ms Mosimanegape said she had been a constant feature at every library she lived closest to, and felt duty-bound to organise readers to establish a club that would assist the community in lifelong learning whilst simultaneously helping some to acquire new skills. 

“I believe in human development and everywhere I went, I’ve encouraged people to read, whilst also helping start some reading rooms,” she said. 

In Molalatau she found a community library resourced with books and free internet, a relish she dubbed central business district, otherwise CBD. 

Couple that with a loving community where the old and the young see the vision behind a reading club, Ms Mosimanegape got herself a pleasant shocker. 

Although yet to be registered, the reading club already has plans to broaden its scope and produce authors who could partake in local and international shows and or competitions. 

“We envision a library and a community akin to nirvana, where young ones would broaden their scopes and develop their minds concurrently,” she added. 

Inspired to write a book on law and identity of the people, buoyed by her working at and with people from remote area settlements, Ms Mosimanegape would like to document the challenges the remote areas faced and subsequent solutions. Speaking at the same event, Mr Moreri David lauded the existence of a resourced community library, which he said has shone light on his paths ever since accustoming himself not only to frequenting the facility, but also to reading with purpose. 

“Reading empowers one’s mind with knowledge and takes juveniles off the streets,” Mr David said and added that post reading, the books live on in one’s mind and challenges one to regurgitate it instead of roaming the streets in wander. 

A self-confessed creature of reading, Mr. David is now studying to become a tourist guide, a trajectory that has been spurred by constant reading. 

The International Book Day is an annual event commemorated worldwide by authors, publishing houses, illustrators, booksellers and or distributors and information repositories like libraries. 

This day was set aside by the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1995 to be celebrated on April 23 annually. 

The celebrations are meant to promote reading, publishing and copyright around the world. In Molalatau, kids were awarded certificates and monetary prizes for their outstanding performances in debate and spelling. 

Speaking during the day, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Mr Jimmy Opelo said the day encourages the public to value the importance of books and reading. 

The day recognises the significant contribution played by those who write books, poems, stories, fairy tales and all literary works that serve to promote unity and cohesion among communities and nations. 

The Molalatau book event was the fourth to be celebrated in Botswana. It was first commemorated in Gaborone in 2019, Sehithwa in 2023, and Thamaga in 2024. 

The Sehithwa and Thamaga events were attended by 2 500 and 1 700 people respectively. This year’s theme has been adopted by UNESCO to bring emphasis to the importance of embracing indigenous languages in the promotion of reading. ENDS