Takalani Sesame
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Takalani Sesame (Be Happy, Sesame in Venda) is the South African co-production of Sesame Street. The show has aired on SABC since July 2000. 65 episodes have been produced.
The Muppet characters include Kami, Moshe, Zikwe, Kupukeji and Zuzu. Elmo's name on the show is Neno. They were designed by Ed Christie.
Takalani Sesame made international news in September, 2002 when they introduced Kami, the world's first HIV-positive Muppet. Kami's name is derived from Kamogelo, which means acceptance or welcome in Zulu, Sesotho, and Setswana. A special and campaign based on this health focus, titled Takalani Sesame Presents: talk to me..., won international awards.
The human characters include the following:
- Dimpho: 35 years old, speaks Sesotho and English. She's a mother type to the kids on the street, who refer to her as Ma Dimpho.
- Salie: 40 years old, speaks English, Afrikaans, and a smattering of Xhosa. He's married to Dimpho.
- Tshidi: 7 years old, daughter of Dimpho and Salie. She speaks English, Sethoso, and Afrikaans.
- Dumisani: 6 years old, adopted son of Dimpho and Salie.
- Other characters include Nkgono, a grandmotherly woman who travels around the country by train with a suitcase of objects that illustrate her interesting stories, O'm Karl (the milkman), Moona (a young blind girl), Thando (a young albino girl), and Yusuf—who runs the Fix-it Shop.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan have made guest appearances on the show.
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Development, preproduction
The donation of $5 million dollars towards the project in December 1997, by the U.S. Agency for International Development, was criticized by President Nelson Mandela and other government officials. Mandela and the others were angry "over their lack of input into AID decisions." Some officials noted that the funds could have build three needed primary schools, and that television sets aren't readily available in "the largely poor townships." AID defended the funding, saying the program was approved by the South African Education Ministry.[1]
Languages
Early seasons were taped all in English, with segments incorporating all of South Africa's eleven national languages, which are Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Swaz, Ndebele, Sesotho, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana and Venda.
Season 4 (2006–November 9, 2007) opted for a different approach, airing on Tuesdays episodes filmed all in seTswana, tshiVenda on Wednesdays, isiZulu on Thursdays, sePedi on Fridays and English on Mondays on SABC 1 and Saturdays on SABC 2.
Season 5 (airing early 2008) will see a new choice of languages including isiXhosa, xiTsonga, seSotho, Afrikaans, and a continuation of English.
Crew
- Producers: Naila Farouky, Bronwyn Berry, Indra De Lanerolle, Seipati Bulane Hopa
- Project Manager: Robert Knezevic
- Research and Content Development: Lesley Nkosi
Merchandise
Writer Linda Weber wrote four Takalani books, two of which were published in English, African, isiZulu and isiXhosa. These books where called Zikwe's Goat, Clean! Learn with Neno and Play with Kami.
External links
- Takalani Sesame official site
- Time Magazine article on Kami's introduction
- Kami formally appointed by the UN as a global champion for children
References
- Everything.com for human cast members
