Maru- a Pula School: Down memory lane ( Part 2)
Last week, we looked at the early years of Marua Pula secondary school in Gaborone. Now fast forward to 2022. Long gone is the bush around the school – it has now given way to palatial homes with neatly tended gardens and lawns – homes of the growing middle and upper classes of Botswana society.
On entering the campus, facing you is a huge spacious building that is Maitisong; dedicated to the arts, it hosts theatrical performances, concerts and traditional cultural events. Maitisong was the brainchild of David Matthews, Maru a Pula’s second principal. Founded in 1987, Maitisong’s first Director was David Slater who was a physics teacher at the school. He was Director for twenty years from 1987 to 2006, and under his guidance and leadership, Maitisong went from strength to strength and exceeded most people’s expectations. For his outstanding work in promoting local culture and the creative arts industry, he received the Presidential Certificate of Honour from then President Festus Mogae in 2001.
Maitisong was very popular with the local community and its influence has spread well beyond the capital and the country’s borders. One major highlight in Maitisong’s calendar is the annual Maitisong Festival. Not only were events held at Maitisong itself, but also at other venues across Gaborone, including Old Naledi. Local artists who have performed at Maitisong include KTM Choir and singer Tshenolo Batshogile. And also Baranodi Theatre, a drama group which included amongst its actors a very talented young man by the name of Mokgwetsi Masisi! And many wellknown South African artists have also graced the stage here. These included pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and singers Miriam Makeba and Sibongile Khumalo. Maitisong has also attracted artists from further afield on the African continent. Artists from Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Reunion and elsewhere often perform at Maitisong much to the delight of the audiences.
But that’s not all; Maitisong’s tentacles have even spread beyond Africa. With the kind assistance of local foreign embassies, the British Council and the Alliance Francaise, international artists from the USA, Germany, France, the UK and elsewhere have performed here. So, in its own way, Maitisong has definitely upheld one of the school’s principles – community service and outreach. Although David is no longer at the helm today, Maitisong continues to flourish and he still feels passionate about what he calls our ‘ national theatre.’ He is now Archives Officer at Maru a Pula.
The old original buildings at the school are now hidden, swallowed up and dwarfed by eye- catching, modern- style buildings nestled in the shade of indigenous trees. Concrete and paved pathways crisscross the campus and are lined with attractive flower beds and ornamental shrubs which add a welcome splash of colour to the drab browns and greens which are so typical of the Botswana bush. The number of classrooms has increased in leaps and bounds and many subjects now have their own classroom blocks, even French and Drama! And a spacious double storey, wellstocked library with over 18 000 books provides the ideal place for students to study and carry out their assignments, whilst a theatre caters for the needs of those students with a talent for acting. There are also new science labs, and two- storey staff quarters to accommodate the rapid increase in numbers of teachers.
From the outside, the boys boarding hostel looks very much the same as in those early days.
But inside, it’s a different story. There are now new ablution blocks, and overhead pipes along the corridors deliver fresh cool air to student’s rooms. The former hot stuffy rooms are now air conditioned! And the once bare, dusty common room is now carpeted and furnished with comfy sofas whilst a large plasma TV gives the boys a welcome break from their books! And staff no longer have to go home at break time for a welcome caffeine fix! Now a new well- equipped staff building provides a place for teachers to meet and relax over coffee and sandwiches.
Sports facilities have also changed beyond recognition. Long gone is the dusty, bare field which has now given way to a well- watered green grass covered football pitch and surrounding athletics track. And that’s not all – sports fanatics also have at their disposal tennis, netball and basketball courts where they can give their bodies a good workout and get into shape. And MaP students are now performing well in most sports and are now beginning to outshine other schools.
Over the years, student enrolment at MaP has increased from just 25 to more than 800 today. The school has an excellent reputation for academic excellence and many of its graduates win scholarships to attend some of the world’s top 100 ranked universities – Stanford; Harvard; Imperial College, London; McGill; King’s College, London… But despite all the changes, part of the campus has now been set aside as a remembrance garden; here are buried the ashes of Dean and Dot Yates, founders of MaP.
The rapid development of MaP mirrors the economic transformation of Botswana which has occurred since Independence – a real rags to riches story. Once one of the world’s poorest nations, Botswana now is a middle- income developing country.
Today, it’s a place beyond the wildest dreams of anyone who was living there in the 1970s. Likewise, who in the 1970s would have dreamed of the MaP campus as it is today? As Dean Yates once said: ‘ If Botswana remains poor, so will MaP.’ But now the nation has tasted riches and so has MaP! However, fifty years down the line, the school’s ethos has largely remained intact.
And what would the campus look like in another fifty years from now? Your guess is as good as mine! Although Gaborone is now home to many reputable private secondary schools, MaP is unique and a cut above the rest in the way that it was founded, its ethos and its academic excellence. But above all, in the quality of its graduates who have passed through its doors – a group of forward- looking men and women, confident and tolerant, who have excelled in their working lives and now occupy top jobs both in the corporate world and government.
I once taught Mmetla Masire, son of the late President Ketumile Masire, and often see him these days on Btv news bulletins! And my own time at the school has also made me a better person, someone who can mix freely with people no matter where they come from, or their background. In these troubled times, tolerance is a virtue that is sorely lacking in our world. Intolerance - whether political, racial or religious - is so often a root cause of conflict and suffering today. Deane Yates would certainly be very pleased – despite the challenges and difficult times which marked the school’s early days, his dreams have been achieved. May MaP shower down more blessings on our beloved Botswana! Pula!