13 Dec 2023

Khama III Memorial Museum popularly known as Serowe Museum’s is in dire need of funds to secure services of conservation scientists or conservators.

Already, documents of historical relevance are on the verge of extinction due to gall ink corrosion that poses a serious threat to cultural heritage, information and documentation preservation, hence the need to engage specialists to rescue the situation.

Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, the museum curator,  Gase Kediseng said historical documents of significance dating back as far as early 1800s were being corroded or eroded by ink gall that was used to write those documents. 

She said papers were tattered owing to corrosive substance or chemical and that triggered the museum to seek services of conservation scientists to bring back those documents to their original state.

According to Kediseng, in 2018 there were only two conservators in Botswana who conducted a research regarding the corrosion of documents so as to establish the root cause and come up with remedial measures. 

She said their report revealed and recommended that they needed services of conservation scientists to bring back those documents to original state, which was to cost P500 000 back then but the museum failed to secure such funds due to inadequate funding. 

She said national assets of importance may be lost if funding was not secured anytime soon, thus she implored all to see the value of their national heritage hoping such would catalyse sponsoring such subjects.

Kediseng said the museum’s mandate since its inception in 1985, had always been to preserve pre-history, current history, historical buildings, natural heritage, historical sites of significance, cultural heritage, ethnographic collections, archival collections, traditional heritage and other national assets of importance but lack of adequate funding was hampering their efforts.

Kediseng said collection keepers played an important role in the preservation of objects damaged by gall ink, adding such corrosion was found in both archival collections and museum collections. 

Despite their common problem, she noted the difference in the amount and type of objects damaged by gall ink required keepers to develop different approaches to bring back documents to their original stage.

The museum was entrusted with keeping historical documents of significance such as Khama III ‘The Great’, Sekgoma I, Tshekedi Khama and Bessie Head, a South African writer, who though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana’s most influential writer.

She wrote novels, short fiction and autobiographical works infused with spiritual questioning and reflection.

She is the child of a ‘white’ woman and a ‘non-white’ man at a time when interracial relationships were illegal in South Africa who sought refuge in Botswana during the apartheid era. 

Though the institution gets financial support from central government through Botswana National Museum to run their errands, it was a drop in the ocean.

She expressed gratitude to some donors who assisted them in the past citing Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) under the United States of America embassy, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Gofundme campaign,saying that helped them run some projects.

Also, she said the institution faced a mammoth task to restore a historical building in the museum premises, she noted, adding the dilapidating structure built in 1902 was Khama III’s guest house. 

She said failure to secure funds anytime soon could lead to its collapse, which was a threat to historical preservation.

Kediseng said more funding would ensure the institution spreads its wings and engage in various projects that would attract researchers from all corners of the world, lure both international and local tourists as well as contribute significantly to foreign direct investment (FDI) and inject money into the economy.

She said there was a need to construct a restaurant in the museum premises that would sell traditional cuisine to help change the economic landscape of locals as supplies would be sourced from locals. 

“The move would also create employment for locals more especially the youth, help to sustain museum and aid in skill transfer,” she said.

The museum was also engaged in contemporary issues such as supporting local businesses as evidenced by a beauty parlour, florist project, gym room and digital literacy tuition or tutoring owned by the youth and housed within the premises of the museum. 

There is also a recreational facility within the museum for hosting parties, weddings, photo shooting, among others.ENDS