03 Nov 2019

 In his pledge to transform Botswana’s economy from resource-based into a knowledge-based one, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has on multiple occasions vowed to make this a reality with everything at his disposal. 

What is it that citizens can do to re-enforce the President’s efforts? While to some being in a landlocked country is a hurdle, to others like Ms Ashley Thaba, Botswana has become a centre that connects and reaches out to its African neighbours and the rest of the world. 

To Ms Thaba - author, popular life coach and motivational speaker who has her entire life centered on God, it comes as no surprise that other countries are now looking to her and tapping into her God-given knowledge. She frequently speaks out on issues regarding character development and strengthening of families on various media platforms and since 2018, she has been writing a weekly column for Mmegi Monitor newspaper. 

Schools, organisations and churches have also invited her to speak on these issues as more people realise the value of seeking God’s counsel to deal with the prevailing moral decay.

After months of writing weekly for the newspaper, other nations began to take note. 

In April his year, Zimbabwean newspaper Newsday invited Ms Thaba to write a weekly column for them and soon after, the Zambian Times of Zambia followed suit with their own request. 

Ms Thaba’s content is in line with Zambia’s desire to maintain its identity as a Christian nation as per their Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs mandate. 

“The ministry was created to focus on facilitating the actualisation of declaration of the Republic of Zambia as a Christian nation while upholding individual person’s right to freedom of conscience, belief or religion and the realisation of national values and principles as contained in the preamble and Part II Article 8 of the Constitution (Amendment) Act No.2 of 2016 respectively,” reads a quote from their homepage https://www.mrng.gov.zm. 

Other countries, eSwatini with Swazi Times and Malawi with the Sunday Times have also invited Ms Thaba to write weekly columns. 

In total, the combined readership of the five SADC countries reaches close to 10 million people. 

BOPA spoke to Ms Thaba to find out how this all came about and how she feels about this tremendous work that she does free of charge. “I see that many people hunger for more joy and peace in their lives. 

I am convinced that if we were to follow the principles of God’s word, we would experience a richer life as individuals and at a national level, more prosperous peaceful nations in general,” she says. Ms Thaba says although in theory many agree with her, it seems they lack the knowledge to read and apply God’s word to their lives on a daily basis. 

She said her desire is to avail herself as a servant to teach these principles in an effort to make a small positive difference on the world around her. 

“I want to live my life in such a way that I don’t just complain about problems, but I become part of solutions,” she said. On why she chose towrite for free, Ms Thaba said she would love to get paid for what she does as it is a lot of work each week, but for whatever reason most usually say ‘we love what you do and what you have to say, but we don’t have the money to pay for it’.

 Ms Thaba says in the end, the desire to make a difference, the passion and love she has for the people compels her to not keep quiet even though she is not financially appreciated. 

“Having a purpose to help others is also a reward in itself,” she noted. 

Ms Thaba’s messages offer practical tips on everyday issues such as parenting, marriage, happiness, how to ‘hear from God’, how and why one should walk with integrity resonate with many who search for deeper meaning and healthier lives. 

It is her hope and desire to see Batswana turn a corner and ‘walk with God’ every day.

 “One of the biggest assumptions we can make is thinking we are walking with God when we have left Him and Jesus behind. 

Most claim to know Jesus, but are we walking in His ways? 

Most of us claim to be doing the Lord’s work, but without the Lord of the work,” she said. ENDS