Mhotsha raises funds for her sport
Botswana’s number 1 female ranked golfer, Ouname Mhotsha is set to make more international appearances following her turning professional in the sport. This has however come with a cost as the expenses on the game have also hit new heights.
Currently based in Arizona, USA, Mhotsha is playing professional golf and working as a workforce programs manager for Arizona Sustainability Alliance. Mhotsha will on the 30th of June 2023 hosts Ouname Mhotsha fund raising Golf Day, an open free event for the public to support her efforts to develop and grow the sport.
Speaking to BG Sport from USA, Mhotsha indicated that, other than just raising funds, the day will also be used to celebrate her milestone after she turned professional in February 2023.
“This was a huge milestone not just for me but for Botswana as a whole. I believe this represents the ability for Botswana to be able to produce more touring professional golfers in the future and to be able to take part in the professional golf world events,” Mhotsha told BG Sport.
Following her impressive rise in world golf rankings, the local golf star player is now set to travel the world competing in various tournaments which will also add more to her financial demands which prompted her to come up with the fundraising initiative to provide aid to her course.
“The event came about after we posted a flyer that was asking the general public in Botswana and the international community to donate some funds towards my professional golf expenses. We then got a lot of interest from the golfing community in Botswana asking for golf day that could bring everyone together to celebrate this milestone and raise funds. We decided the golf day will be open to non -golfers to encourage more Batswana to learn about the sport,” she responded.
She said the event is also open for international business communities as she cast her net wide to raise as much money as she possibly can to enable her to compete at the highest level without any financial hiccups.
“We have opened the event to invite potential sponsors and we have an organizing committee that is ready to attend to any interested sponsors. We would like to raise $30 000 which is the amount needed for a full season of professional golf in the USA,” she said.
The proceeds from the event will go towards paying for her coaching fees, travel fees and competition fees for a full season.
“We have also decided to set a certain percentage of the proceeds to benefit the Thanya Monana Projects which are sports and personal development initiatives that will utilize the sport of golf to address inequalities and economic challenges faced by communities starting in Botswana, and looking to scale to Africa and eventually around the world,” she added. Mhotsha acknowledged the support of the Botswana Golf Union (BGU) stating that, “BGU has taken care of me ever since I was a junior golfer.
All my early success came from local tournaments that they hosted and organized to give us a chance to compete and improve our skills. I was also able to compete in world international tournaments through the support of the golf union.”
She also highlighted that the local golf mother-body played a key role for her transition to the USA through a collaboration with the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) to enroll her into the Elite Scholarship that funded her travel fees to play college golf in the USA.
Earlier this year, she was also selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as part of the 25 Young Leaders Programme across the world.
As part of the Young Leaders Programme, Sport Based projects are intentionally designed to address at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) aligning with the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 and contributing to the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy, focused on strengthening the role of sports as an important enabler for the UN SDGs.
Through Thanya Monana project, it is expected that more initiatives that promote the growth of golf in Botswana and across the continent will follow before long.