20 2 / 2012
Botswana: The Gem of Africa!
Okay, I am really lucky to have been sent to Botswana in the Peace Corps. I’ve heard stories of PCVs being sent to places that have sudden political unrest and can’t leave their houses for fear of having limbs cut off.
Botswana is not that kind of country.
Botswana gained independence from Britain peacefully in 1966. It then found diamonds, which are state owned, and profits split 50/50 with the De Beers company which mines them. That money goes to build schools, hospitals, and roads. Botswana is unlike other African countries in that there has never been a war here, there’s a working government, and it’s a very peaceful place.
However, there are different types of problems here. Not everyone really gets the benefits of diamonds. My community doesn’t have a road. A lot of the time we don’t have water or electricity. Most people don’t have jobs except subsistence farming. Poverty is rampant. There are some pockets of development, and some places that are kind of left behind in that regard. And this is only going to get worse when diamonds, which are 60% of GDP, run out in 2017.
