Over P4.5 million injected towards the project in the past five years
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
This year Maitisong Theatre etended its partnership with Barclays Bank Botswana to teach financial literacy through the Madi Majwana documentary which addresses people’s financial woes through theatre, radio drama and various dialogue platforms.
Launched last week in Gaborone, the documentary also seeks to capture the journey of the impactful financial literacy partnership over the years .
“The journey began five years ago when Maitisong conceptualized and began a financial literacy program in response to a myriad of money related challenges that Batswana were facing during a difficult financial climate. The project used dramatic techniques to creatively interrogate issues around money and unearthed a deeper understanding of the problems and evoked dialogue around the matter in question,” said minister of Local Government and Rural development, Pelonomi Venson Moitoi at the launch.
The minister went on to say that over the five years, Barclays bank that generously contributed over P4.5 million towards the realization of the project. “Madi Majwana has shown that the creative arts are a powerful tool in educating and empowering audiences. This project has to date employed over 300 people, all of whom are part of the production process,” she added.
The new documentary is centered around the story of Kabelo Tshepiso Mojuta, an actor who has been a part of Madi Majwana since it began in 2013. It shares Mojuta’s personal relationship and experience with Madi Majwana in 2018. Within the documentary people share their stories and give reviews of the literacy program.
“Throughout 2018 we intentionally took with us a camera to capture every moment of Madi Majwana Season 4. We captured behind the scenes production moments, engaging with the public on tour, interviews and a lot of people’s stories. We were able to gather a lot of footage. This is what we used to produce the first 15 minutes of the documentary,” said the director at Maitisong, Tefo Paya.
Paya went on to reveal that the aim of documenting Madi Majwana is to give people an insight into what goes on during production and the documentary will be used to spark conversations centered around financial literacy.
For her part, managing director of Barclays Bank of Botswana, Reinette van der Merwe said Madi Majwana has been a part of their family since the launch of the theatrical stage production Pula! Money Matters. It was followed by Madi Majwana radio drama, which continues to be unique, engaging, challenging while drawing on the experiences of people from all walks of life.
“Our partnership with Maitisong has enabled us to bring financial education and awareness to the public and this is an important aspect of our Citizenship Agenda. As a responsible corporate citizen we will continue to play our part in developing the people and economy of Botswana,” she said.