Japanese university softball team in Botswana
Japanese softball team from Chyukyo University is currently in Botswana. The team is made up of 13 female players and will be in Botswana for a whole month.
The team is expected to share their softball expertise in different parts of Botswana such as Good Hope, Masunga, Maun and Gaborone. This is done as per the agreement between Botswana and the Japanese government to work together in a project called Official Development Assistance (ODA) facilitated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Speaking at a briefing held in Gaborone this week, the newly appointed Resident Representative of JICA Ken Yamada said, “This project of Softball Technical Exchange Program between our volunteers from Chyukyo University, Japan, and Botswana Softball Association (BSA) was agreed to run for three years and now we are on our second year.
Furthermore, the University softball team we brought here is a powerhouse in Japan hence Botswana will benefit immensely in their visit to different Botswana locations as they will be imparting their esteemed knowledge of the sport, being softball.” JICA’s volunteer programs support activities of Japanese citizens who wish to cooperate in the economic and social development as well as the reconstruction of developing countries.
Furthermore, 14 Volunteers are currently working in Botswana in various fields ranging from sports, social welfare, to auto mechanics, IT and graphic design and others.In his address, BSA President Thabo Thamane said this endeavour is a great initiative as the country is bound to reap fruits, “This is really exulting as a lot of outcomes are expected in this venture; exchange of culture between Japanese and the locals will be an epic thing to happen and surely the softball fraternity will benefit greatly as well,” he said.
For his part, Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) Board member and also Botswana National Olympic Commission (BNOC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tuelo Serufho expressed his gratitude to the Japanese who took liberty to work with the local government.
“I would like to extend my profound gratitude to Japanese government for embarking on this journey with us, and surely this will be of great help to the country and this relationship is really important hence the need to be safeguarded,” said Serufho.