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It was an amazing time for both my sister and I. We were able to spend two of our most formative years in situations most people never have the chance to experience. Our time spent in Africa left a deep impression on both of us. We have never really left Africa - at least Africa has never left us. My mother had always been at my fathers' side as an equal partner. This was true of their time in Bechuanaland. The following is from an old family friend from England - Trevor Bottomley - who was the Registrar of Co-operatives in Bechuanaland while we were there. He wrote it to us after Dad died. I have much to thank Paul for - he was a good mate, a colleague of skill and sound judgement, and a friend who could be trusted never to let you down. He was primarily responsible for setting up our accounting system for the first Botswana Co-ops, and had the skill to so simplify and teach the bookkeeping necessary that we were able from the outset to establish good financial controls. The manuals he produced then were later copied by the International Labour Organization (ILO) without any accreditation by them and the system became very widely used in many developing countries. I always regretted that, when I knew what was happening, I let them get away with it. But Paul wouldn't have worried - he had done a job, and done it to the standards he set for himself. That concern for high standards of performance and achievement was reflected in everything he did. You have shown much strength and courage and love and care over these many years of his illness. May I be so presumptuous as to say that those who knew you both would have expected no less. It typifies the qualities of you both - together as a partnership and severally as a fine man and woman, and good friends." My sister met a man in 1988 in Botswana on her way to her new job in Zimbabwe. It was Mr. Moapare, a co-worker of Dad's from 23 years earlier. When Sue told him her name she said "He was suddenly very still, and got a distant look in his eyes and said 'You know, I once knew a great man in the 1960's who worked here with us. His name was Paul Godt'. When I told him that you were my father, he got so excited and went on to talk about how you worked together and how much you had done in terms of setting up co-operatives".
We were very lucky to have been able to live as a family for a year in Africa. It was a year that touched us in ways we are still experiencing 30 years later. My sister and I were also able to spend a year with our Grandparents in Denmark. This year was no less important to us, and it too changed the way we look at the world. It was hard in the beginning, as neither my sister nor myself spoke Danish and our Grandparents did not speak English. Together, the four of us were suddenly living in a village of about 500 people in Denmark! Cultures and generations met, clashed (a bit) and survived. For me - as a ten year old - it was simply an adventure. They remains as two of my happiest years, ones I would not have changed for anything. I know that Sue joins with me in thanking those who came before us, and we can only hope that we are capable of living up to the examples set by them,, and that we may pass on this rich heritage to the next generation of Godt’s. |
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