Introduction / History

The Tsoa of Botswana live in 150 cattle posts and six villages among the scrub forests, deserts, and savannas of southwestern Central District and northeast Kweneng District in Botswana. They are a people group of 5,000 in Botswana and Zimbabwe, known for not owning land. Income for the Tsoa people derives from working for cattle owners, teen girls working as maids in villages, and others receiving money from the government.

In the cattle posts, the people build single room homes, 3 yards in circumference. The walls are wood post frames and the roof and walls are branches, grass, or discarded metal roofing. About five people live in one home. The people have no electricity.

Animism is the Tsoa people's religion. There are about 100 Christians. Some of the Tsoa men have a bag of bones, hoofs, and pieces of wood that they shake and throw on the ground to determine the cause of illness. There is a great need for the Bible in their own language. A lay leader mentioned that he taught with the Setswana scriptures, but people just talked among themselves and ignored him. When the man explained the Setswana scriptures in Tsoa, the people quieted down and listened attentively. Tsoa land is being rezoned by the government. The Tsoa are paid to move and stay in villages where there is no available work. There is widespread boredom and alcoholism.