“I will stand erect and continue to penetrate you with the messages.”

Botswana is getting it together – African style. Time is not a linear concept in Botswana but it is respected as a spatial suggestion.

Heat and punctuality are directly proportional. With a brighter sun and higher temps, come slower steps. And slower steps result in delayed meetings, missed phone calls, longer conversations and more socializing. And in Africa, that’s just fine.

Each morning around 8am (or 9am or 10am or whenever things fall into place) the CEO of BOFWA(Botswana Family Welfare Association) greets me en Français:

“Bonjour Madame Cally.”

“Bonjour Kagiso le Lerato, comment ça va?”

“Ça va bien, Madame.”

Mma Cally has thin black dreadlocks that are often tied back exposing her smile and analytical eyes. Mma Cally is a healthy woman and her presence is alive across all five BOFWA branches. She understands and embraces the flare and class of the bright African style; my African mentor, my African Mother.

Mma Cally’s office is painted a vibrant orange and accented in yellow. The walls are decorated with accomplishments: photos, jokes and my personal favorite, a picture of a blue condom with black block letters, “Get It On”. Mma Cally’s fame stretches across Botswana, throughout Africa and across the globe. Mma, much like Ms. or Mrs., is the respectful distinction for a woman in Botswana (pronounced “ma”). It is especially admirable to add Mma to a first name. All people respect Mma Cally and almost all love her.

Mma Cally Ramalefo is a leader. Upon our first meeting she tells me that I must work at my own pace and find a space and time that works well for me. In the same breath she adds, “be sure to produce results.”

During a fundraising meeting for an SMC (safe male circumcision) project a potential funder mentions, “Okay Mma, maybe we will sponsor a portion of this program.”

“No, you will sponsor one hundred percent”.

And, believe me, they will.

This morning, I attended a BOFWA (Botswana Family Welfare Association) breakfast meeting to debrief the media on the Maputo Plan of Action. (Maputo is the capital of Mozambique and the campaign is for education of sexual and reproductive health in Africa).

The invitation, the RSVP, and the program all stated: 8am registration and 8:30am for opening remarks. At 8:35, the media is trickling in, enjoying breakfast sausage and beef and slowly relaxing into the space.

Mma Cally, the CEO, is anxious, she wants guests to settle in and the meeting to begin. She’s powerful and fiery but unfortunately the power of African time far outweighs her angst.

At 8:45, the organizers call missing attendees to question their whereabouts. I hear Baganne’s voice: “How fa? How fa?” which respectfully translates: “When will you arrive?” Even the most courteous response holds no weight. Everyone in the room understands African time. When we see them, we will know they are here.

A lot of things go unsaid in Botswana, especially with reference to sex. Mma Cally wastes no time debriefing the media and she is not afraid to tell all: “We are raised not to touch our private parts and all of a sudden you are supposed to put a finger in your vagina [to insert a female condom], so these are some of the sexuality messages we need to talk more and more about. It is okay to touch yourself, it is okay to masturbate.”

Gasps of shock echo across the quaint tearoom. Even the educated media personnel have a difficult time accepting such direct private remarks. Mma Cally’s ability to push boundaries allows her success after success in sexual and reproductive health education in Botswana.

“A bit brazen!” Some might say in Newfoundland because in Canada, in Newfoundland and in Grand Falls-Windsor, much conversation regarding sexual health and masturbation is also taboo. Every community needs a Mma Cally in their midst. The people of Botswana are indebted to Mma Cally for taking risks in the name of public health and well-being.

Mma Cally commands attention each minute she makes her message heard. She has a perfect balance of humour and poise. In closing the breakfast meeting, Mma Cally leaves listeners laughing and thinking: “I will stand erect and continue to penetrate you with the messages.”

And she will, on African time. Ka kagiso!

This is a column written for publication in my hometown local newspaper, The Grand Falls Windsor Advertiser.   

Grand Falls Windsor, NL, native, Sarah Furey, is volunteering on a HIV/AIDS
communication project with Botswana Family Welfare Association in Gaborone, 
Botswana, Africa for six months.  She received her Bachelor’s of Information
Systems from StFX University and is exercising her skills as a technical assistant. 
Her internship is funded by CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency)
in conjunction with The Coady International Institute. Questions or comments 
are welcomed at [email protected].