MADE IN JWANENG: How a mining company cut a gemstone named Lesedi
The name Debswana is synonymous with diamonds, employment and national pride; but for Lesedi Motshewa (43), of Marapong village, it is much more personal, it is the reason he stands where he is today, a successful professional, proud community organiser, and living proof that when a mine invests in people, entire generations are transformed.
Born as the firstborn in his family, Motshewa’s story starts in Orapa, where his parents, armed only with Junior Certificate qualifications, joined De Beers, his mother as a typist, his father as a refrigeration technician trained at the Botswana Polytechnic - now the University of Botswana’s Faculty of Engineering & Technology.
Like many young Batswana then, they put aside further studies to start working and support large families back in their villages.
The young Motshewa, known to many by his nickname Chawie, began his early schooling in Orapa but moved with his family to Jwaneng.
He attended Acacia Pre-School and Acacia Primary School, where he spent seven formative years that would shape not only his education but his character and ambitions.
In Jwaneng, he thrived taking full advantage of the well-resourced township and school facilities that Debswana’s investments made possible.
Though small in stature, Lesedi made his mark in sports, and by Standard 7, he was House Captain and captain of the soccer, cross country, and tennis teams, even representing Southern Botswana at regional competitions.
Excelling in the classroom as well as on the field opened doors: Debswana awarded him a full scholarship to study at Maru-a-Pula School - a scholarship which covered tuition, uniforms, pocket money, and transport with mine buses ferrying children between Jwaneng and their schools during term breaks, a service many children from mine towns fondly remember.
After Maru-a-Pula, Lesedi went on to the University of Botswana to pursue a degree in Accounting, taking on a part-time job at Orinoco Call Centre to top up his student allowance.
His professional journey has since taken him through Botsogo Health Plan, Orange Botswana, and now Metropolitan Botswana, where he works in marketing and sales.
Yet for Motshewa, the story does not end with a personal success.
Today, the same sense of community that shaped him in Jwaneng fuels his drive to give back. He is a founding member of J-Mecca Reunion, an initiative launched in 2014 to reconnect friends from Jwaneng, which has since evolved into a platform for social responsibility.
Last year, with support from Debswana and other sponsors, the group raised P30,000 for Dinonyane Primary School, providing shade netting, agricultural tools, and a wheelchair.
Plans for further projects are underway with the Jwaneng Town Mayor’s office and through it all, Debswana continues to open its facilities for the group’s activities.
“I may have never worked for Debswana myself,” Motshewa reflects, but I am proud to say I am one of their diamonds.
The company’s investment in my parents changed our family’s life and the community spirit it fostered still binds us together today.”
For many who grew up in Orapa and Jwaneng, Motshewa’s story echoes their own. It is a reminder that behind every polished diamond that leaves Botswana, there are people, children who went to good schools, communities with sports grounds, hospitals, and a shared sense of possibility.