The small nation of Botswana – with 2.6 million people – is arguably the US's most reliable diplomatic and military friend in Africa.
Today, a booming economy fueled by diamonds, copper and rare earth minerals is attracting U.S.-educated Baptists, Pentecostals and evangelical pastors who left Botswana for the U.S. in the 1980s, as well as younger ones who went to the U.S. more recently to return there for active duty and semi-retirement.
“I couldn't resist spending my 70s in New Jersey when I could enjoy the exciting year-round sunshine and serve one of the world's youngest populations part-time in my home country of Botswana,” said Titus Moloi, 60, A Baptist minister left Botswana in 1982, studied in New York and returned home to continue ministry in his homeland as he nears retirement.
Botswana, one of the driest countries in Africa, is also one of the sunniest countries due to its semi-arid topography.
In the 1980s, Botswana was one of them The poorer countries of Africa and many theology students moved to the USA and England. But good democratic governance, zero tolerance for corruption and explosive diamond wealth have now made it the most financially successful country in Africa and one of the few countries in Africa with a per capita GDP equal to that of China in 2019.
“Africa's Miracle,” as Botswana is colloquially known, is one of the few countries on the continent rich enough to send many students to study in the US, UK or Canada without the need for foreign scholarships, as is the case with the This is the case for most poor African students. That's why some of Botswana's U.S.-trained pastors are returning home to serve — helping to buck a trend on a continent where thousands of young people are fleeing to the U.S. and Europe, most never wanting to return.
Some of Botswana's U.S.-trained pastors are returning home to serve – helping to reverse a trend on a continent where thousands of young people are fleeing to the U.S. and Europe and most never return want.
“It's an interesting counter-narrative that Botswana's theologians are doing when they return home,” said Pastor Aida Duma, a Pentecostal minister in Gaborone, Botswana's capital. Theology students from neighboring countries (Zimbabwe, Zambia, Congo and Mozambique) rarely return from the United States when they go there to study at Bible colleges or universities, she noted.
“It is viewed as a serious downgrade about the prospects of qualifying as a pastor in the United States and returning home to minister in Africa. Even students who are sent to study theology in the United States with the firm promise of returning home and serving there choose to disregard the agreements and remain in America,” said Duma, who studied in Ontario, Canada and quickly returned home two years after graduating. “That’s why you see some pastors applying for asylum so they can stay in the U.S. longer.”
There are two types of Botswana theologians coming home: first, the older ones who left the country in the 1980s, and second, the young ones who left the country in the last decade.
Older people are enticed by the opportunity to return to Botswana, a country where banking, education, public health and elder care operate like much of the United States
“For the senior pastors who went to the US in the 80s, it is a dream to return to Botswana, retire and pass on their spiritual skills to young theologians back home,” said Pastor Moloi, the senior returnee. “It’s so nice to be home again.”
Pastor Saki Gwetgka, 39, is a Pentecostal minister who studied in California but returned home to minister in Jwaneng, a town in Botswana that is home to the world's richest diamond mine.
For young people, the reasons for returning to Botswana from the US are mainly due to the compelling, prosperous economy at home, said Gwetkga. Young pastors from Botswana easily become part of a network of returnees. And sometimes they find opportunities to serve members of the U.S. military and U.S. industry in the country.
“It’s not just diamonds and a thriving economy that are luring us back,” Pastor Duma said. “It’s relativity – a chance to get pastoral and related jobs in U.S.-supported organizations and charities. “We already know the U.S. culture, so we returnees have the first-mover advantage.”
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