16 Jun 2020

Edwin Moroka, also known to many as Serurubele, is a traditional poet and culture activist who takes pride in his culture especially the use of Setswana language to recite his poetry.

Serurubele, who drew inspiration for poetry from his grandfather, has decided not to be stingy with his talent as he now plays a leading role in encouraging young children at a tender age to be proud of their culture. 

After realising the struggle children go through when communicating in the vernacular, the Kanye born started off with a handful of children under the age of 16-years from his neighbourhood of Old Naledi in Gaborone. 

He empowered them with their culture and traditions with emphasis on teaching them Setswana poetry, proverbs and several other cultural practices.

Serurubele is also using his radio programme Sekhutlwana sa Bannye, which airs on Duma FM to revive Setswana traditions and culture.

The programme, which dates back to 2017, has also won the hearts of both the young and old who get to learn more about their cultural practices.

He noted that the project has been made possible through financial injection from Botswana Open University since 2019.

According to him, Sekhutlwana sa Bannye was motivated by the growing number of people who were impressed with poetry recitals. 

He said while the group, which is also a radio programme catered for children, it also provided a platform for him to interact with his audience across the country. 

Serurubele said Sekhutlwana sa Bannye just like its meaning when loosely translated, provided a mini space or corner for young children to learn about their language. 

He maintained that the group has helped to address critiques that young people were not showing interest in traditional and cultural practices. 

He explained that Sekhutlwana sa Bannye was not only reaching out to children through radio but also taking advantage of other platforms such as social gatherings where the future generation is engaged on their culture through among other poetry.

Interestingly, Serurubele said some private companies had also shown interest in using some of the children under his fold for branding and advertising purposes. 

He said the idea to initiate such a project was not motivated by personal gain, but to mentor children for them to be able to use their talent to earn a living.

He noted that Sekhutlwane sa Bannye also challenged aspiring poets to fully pursue their dreams without being discouraged by lack of mentorship. 

“In most cases, people have a tendency to blame the youth and label them as a group of society that does not have an interest in cultural issues. 

However, the fact of the matter is that the elderly are not doing their part of nurturing the young to fully appreciate and understand the value of their cultural norms and practices,” he said.

Serurubele also shared that since upbringing patterns of children has changed, children missed out on valuable knowledge as they were only brought up by a nuclear family unlike in the past when an extended family had an input.

He said it was unfortunate that children only learned the theoretical part of culture through their school curriculum.

He, therefore, said Sekhutlwana Sa Bannye was striving to strike a balance by offering the youth with theory and practical part of culture. 

Serurubele further encouraged the youth in general not to shun creative and performing arts, indicating that the new world was dependent on the creative minds of the youth.  ends