When you think of Botswana, the first things that come to mind are probably vast deserts and wild animals, but the country has more to offer than just that. In a groundbreaking new documentary, viewers get to see beyond the postcard images and into the real lives of the people who call this place home.
Chaidi, Monty, Mareko, and Sekere are just a few of the people struggling to keep their jobs, support their families, and survive in the heart of Botswana. With fine sand everywhere, it’s impossible to move around without a four-wheel drive, and with tens of thousands of wild animals on the roam, breaking down is not a reassuring prospect.
Normally, the Okavango delta provides a little relief from the endless desert once a year, but this year, the water never came. The drought is posing a serious threat to the lives of people and animals, and with global warming making things worse, the struggle for survival is getting more intense.
In the documentary, viewers see a merciless war over water being waged between elephants and farmers like Monty. Taking domestic animals to water becomes a way of the cross and flocks are dying. In what looks like an apocalyptic setting, Lake Ngami has changed appearance to become a vast puddle of mud.
The struggles are real, and every member of the community, from the Bushmen, the oldest representatives of southern Africa, to farmers like Monty, is under threat. But amidst it all, there are still those like Sekere and his mother Mogatlanyana, who remember how to live in harmony with nature by using water from roots and dew.
In the documentary, we see the resilience of the human spirit and the indomitable will of people determined to survive and thrive in this harsh environment. It’s a riveting look into a world that’s all too often overlooked, and a must-watch for anyone interested in the intersection of human survival and global warming.
If you’re interested in learning more about the real lives of the people of Botswana, check out the documentary today.
