15 Sep 2020

A Zimbabwean man who spent most of his life in Botswana has penned a book to share the odds he beat from his life journey as a herd boy to become a successful businessman. 

Through his book, The herd boy, Banabasi Marambire unpacks his life from the time he arrived in Botswana from his native land Zimbabwe in 1994 and settled in Vukwi in North East district.

Back then as a young boy, he worked as a herd boy for the Nkumane family in Vukwi who took him in upon his arrival after he shared his life story with them. 

In 2000, he moved to Masunga where he started a brick moulding business.

Marambire’s life story depicts the boldness and resilience of a teenage boy who had the desire to fend for his siblings back home in Zimbabwe with a startup salary of P150.

Speaking during the virtual launch of the book in Masunga on Saturday, Councillor for Nlapkhwane Ward, Farai Bonyongo said there were a lot of lessons to be drawn from Marambire’s story.

He said it was evident that he did not give up his dreams because of his upbringing or being a foreigner. Instead, he worked hard to become what he was today.

Bonyongo said it was evident that Marambire had touched many lives in Botswana where he was raised and in Zimbabwe where he now has a construction company.

He said the young man had left a footprint in Botswana having mentored many young people.

One of his family members from Vukwi, Margret Nkumane shared how the young boy who arrived at their home in 1994 relayed that he was an orphan who needed a job to sustain himself.

She remembered how the young man would tell them never to buy peanut butter as he would pound ground nuts to make peanut butter for them, saying this was an acknowledgement of how hardworking and innovative he had always been. 

Nkumane said their bond had always remained strong as even to this day, he still buys them groceries when in Botswana. 

Marambire said Botswana was his second home having lived here as a young boy.

He said it had always been his dream to one day write a book that gives an account of his life and also inspire others who were on the verge of giving up adding that his life was a testimony that it is possible for one to make it in life against all odds.

“I want to inspire people so that they know that it’s not about where you come from but where you a headed.”

He emphasised that it was important to protect and take care of orphans rather than neglect them as they may turn into great influential people in society.

Marambire, who had wished to be at the book launch in Masunga, but could not travel from Zimbabwe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thanked  the family, which who took him under their wing when he arrived in Botswana as a young boy.

In the book, Marambire re-counts the challenges he encountered upon successfully registering his brick moulding company in Botswana among them lack of proper equipment or trucks to carry sand from the river. 

However, he said this did not deter him as he eventually met a Motswana man who owned a truck and the rest was history.

The brick moulding business employed over eight employees among them Batswana who retained their positions even after he sold his company.

Despite his deportation in 2011 that saw him going back home, this did not dampen his spirit. In Zimbabwe, he registered a new company and sold cattle. 

He later expanded to hardware, brick moulding and added construction.ends