THUSANYO FUNERAL UNDERTAKERS OPENS IN MAUN

In its continued efforts to take its services to the people, BOSETU Funeral Scheme (BOFUS) have opened a Thusanyo Funeral Undertakers branch in Maun.

The mortuary, located in the tourist town’s Thito ward, brings the number of Thusanyo funeral Undertakers in Botswana to five, with further branches in: Francistown, Bobonong, Tonota and Palapye. Thusanyo’s policies are open to the public but they also have policies specifically for BOSETU members. Officially opening the new branch on Saturday, 8 April 2023, President of Association of Non-aligned Teacher’s Union of Southern AFRICA-ANTUSA, Mkhuseli Dubula, commended BOFUS for its show of empathy and humanity. “It shows you are safe in life and in death, ‘trust in us we care’. It takes the burden off the shoulders of your loved ones during difficult times,” noted Dubula, who encouraged BOSETU members to join the scheme and cover their family members including extended family. BOFUS was formed under Botswana Sectors of Educators Trade Union (BOSETU) in 1998, and later acquiring Thusanyo Funeral Undertakers in 2018, which has been running since 1999, under its fold, becoming Thusanyo’s mother company in the process. The aim of the funeral schemes is to meet the needs and expectations of the union’s members and the public at large during bereavement.

Paying homage to the union’s hierarchy for coming up with its own tailor-made scheme and involving Thusanyo, BOSETU’S Regional Chairperson-maun, Monkatswi Sejapudi, said, “If we have a strong financial muscle that’s when we can take care of our members. Those who came up with this idea were on the right track. We need a service provider that will offer best funeral services.” Sejapudi admitted that when their union introduced the funeral scheme, some people thought they had lost intellectual direction. “But we believed it was a progressive move, because the scheme offers a lot in terms of service provision. It is not our choice to die, but it is going to happen anyway, death is natural, whether we have the services or not we still at some point need to be buried. So we believe this is a basic need.” Thusanyo Board Chairman, Moeti Mooketsi, revealed they plan to open more branches across the country as demand for their services continues to grow. “It is our strategy to grow and we believe we will achieve that. We want to make sure we reach certain numbers in terms of our membership and be seen in, and extend our services to all places of Botswana.” Mooketsi stressed it is their mission to give their members a respectable, dignified send-off, including their extended families. “We want to give our members peace-of-mind during hard times of losing their loved ones. If you are a sole breadwinner with a large family, register them with us and we will give you a suitable and affordable package.” Thusanyo Funeral Undertakers has different packages ranging from P30 per person/family to P220 a month. Giving an overview of their products, Thusanyo Funeral Undertaker’s General Manager, Anthony Soma indicted that as death is inevitable for every living being, it is important to prepare for it to avoid unnecessary financial stress during bereavement. He further pointed out their packages are affordable for all but still come with huge benefits. “We have designed a BOSETU Union scheme from a mere P20 per family per month (BOFUS PRESIDENTIAL FUNERAL BENEFIT) with benefit amounting to P25 000.00. Some say it is crazy and it must be a scam, but it is not, we take pride and joy in these products. These products take care of our extended families as well, for example P20 per person for extended family (BOFUS MASIKA FUNERAL BENEFIT) who qualify for P15 000.00 disbursement at the time of burial.”