Life in Gaborone

30 years ago…In March 1989, we had already been living in Gaborone in Botswana 7 months, and still totally unaware Hughan couldn’t hear us. He was a happy, content baby and seldom cried.

Life in Gaborone was very different from living in Harare, Zimbabwe. The weather was much hotter, so all the houses and shops were air-conditioned.

Our home in Harare had a walled garden, on nearly and acre of ground, and had its own swimming pool. In Gaborone we lived in a place called ‘Bemcoville’, which was an expatriate compound where the employers of Bemco, Willem’s new company, lived.

Bemcoville was a complex of small semi-detached homes, situated on a large piece of ground with a high wall around it. There was a security guard at the entrance, where you had to give your identity and reason for entering the complex.

All the residence were young families and we each had our own small garden. Within the complex there was a playground,  swimming pool and tennis court, so there was always someone about and a great way of meeting people and make friends.

We had all settled in very quickly and feeling quite at home.

To work in Gaborone you had to have a work permit, so most of the Mums stayed at home with the children. This was great, as we used to all meet up for tea parties, playgroups and lots more excuses for get-togethers.

Willem had just received a promotion, so we would soon be moving into a house closer to Gaborone city centre.