{"id":39966,"date":"2023-12-05T08:17:47","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T08:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?p=39966"},"modified":"2023-12-05T07:42:55","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T07:42:55","slug":"in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home","title":{"rendered":"In Botswana, a booming economy lures U.S.-educated pastors home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>The tiny nation of Botswana with 2.6 million people is arguably the U.S.\u2019s most reliable diplomatic and military friend in Africa.<\/b><\/p>\n

Now, a booming economy driven by diamond, copper and rare earth minerals is attracting U.S.-educated Baptist, Pentecostal and evangelical pastors who left Botswana for the U.S. in the 1980s and younger ones who went to the U.S. more recently to return home for active ministry and semi-retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t struggle living my 70s in New Jersey when I can enjoy thrilling all-year sun and part-time ministering to one of the world\u2019s youngest populations in my home country Botswana,\u201d said Titus Moloi, 60, a Baptist cleric who left Botswana in 1982, studied in New York and has returned home to continue ministry in his home country as he moves toward retirement.<\/p>\n

Botswana, one of Africa\u2019s driest nations, is also one of its sunniest due to its semi-arid topography.<\/p>\n

In the 1980s, Botswana was one of Africa\u2019s poorer countries and many theology students left for the U.S. and England. But good democratic governance, zero tolerance for corruption, plus explosive diamond riches have made it one the most financially successful countries in Africa today, and one of the few countries in Africa with a per-capita GDP matching China\u2019s in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrica\u2019s miracle,\u201d as Botswana is colloquially called, is one of the few countries on the continent wealthy enough to send many students to study in the U.S., UK or Canada without needing foreign scholarships as most poor African students do. Hence some of Botswana\u2019s pastors trained in the U.S. are trooping back home to serve \u2014 helping buck the trend on a continent where thousands of young people flee to the U.S. and Europe and most never want to return at all.<\/p>\n

Some of Botswana\u2019s pastors trained in the U.S. are trooping back home to serve \u2014 helping buck the trend on a continent where thousands of young people flee to the U.S. and Europe and most never want to return at all.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting counter narrative that Botswana\u2019s theologians are doing coming back home,\u201d said Pastor Aida Duma, a Pentecostal cleric in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. Theology students from neighboring countries (Zimbabwe, Zambia, Congo and Mozambique) hardly ever return from the U.S. when they go there to study in Bible schools or universities, she noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s seen as a serious downgrade on one\u2019s prospects to qualify in the U.S. as a pastor and return home to serve in Africa. Even students sent to study theology in the U.S. on the fixed promise they\u2019ll return to serve home prefer to flout the agreements and stay in America,\u201d said Duma, who studied in Ontario, Canada, and quickly came back home two years after graduation. \u201cHence you see some pastors applying for asylum to stay longer in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are two kinds of Botswana theologians coming home: First, the elderly who left in the 1980s, and second, the young ones leaving in the last decade.<\/p>\n

The elderly are enticed by the chance to return to Botswana, a country where banks, education, public health care and elderly welfare works just like much of the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the elderly pastors who left for the U.S. in the \u201980s, it\u2019s a dream to return to Botswana, retire and pass on ministry skills to young theologians at home,\u201d said Pastor Moloi, the older returnee. \u201cIt\u2019s so pleasant to be back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastor Saki Gwetgka, 39, is a Pentecostal cleric who studied in California but returned home to serve in Jwaneng, a Botswana town that is home to the world\u2019s richest diamond mine.<\/p>\n

For the young, the reasons for returning from the U.S. to Botswana center mainly around the compelling prosperous economy at home, Gwetkga said. Young Botswana pastors easily become a part of a network of returnees. And they sometimes find opportunities to serve members of the U.S. military and industry in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just diamonds and a sparkling economy luring us back,\u201d Pastor Duma said. \u201cIt\u2019s relatability \u2014 a chance to gain pastoral and related jobs in U.S.-supported organizations and charities. \u201cWe know the U.S. culture already, so we returnees have first mover advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

baptistnews<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. The tiny nation of Botswana with 2.6 million people is arguably the U.S.\u2019s most reliable diplomatic and military friend in Africa. Now, a booming economy driven by diamond, copper and rare earth minerals is attracting U.S.-educated Baptist, Pentecostal and evangelical pastors who left Botswana for the U.S. in the 1980s and younger […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":39965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,244],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-39966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Botswana, a booming economy lures U.S.-educated pastors home - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The tiny nation of Botswana with 2.6 million people is arguably the U.S.\u2019s most reliable diplomatic and military frie ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Botswana, a booming economy lures U.S.-educated pastors home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The tiny nation of Botswana with 2.6 million people is arguably the U.S.\u2019s most reliable diplomatic and military frie ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-05T08:17:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/12\/sm_1701749405.976898.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"In Botswana, a booming economy lures U.S.-educated pastors home\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-05T08:17:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home\"},\"wordCount\":749,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/12\/sm_1701749405.976898.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/in-botswana-a-booming-economy-lures-u-s-educated-pastors-home\",\"name\":\"In Botswana, a booming economy lures U.S.-educated pastors home - 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