Sandy Grant

Sandy Grant (d. 2021) was a community development worker and historian who worked on the development of Botswana before and after its independence in 1966, and stayed there for the rest of his life.

Sandy was born in London to publicans, Roy and Otys Grant. He attended Canford school, Dorset, and studied history at St John’s College, Cambridge.

After graduating, in 1960-61 he spent six months as a UN officer in the Southern Cameroons (now Cameroon). After that he taught history for six months at Rhodes University in South Africa, before settling in London, where he worked in publishing as an assistant editor. In 1963, at the age of 26, a chance meeting led him to be recruited for a job in Bechuanaland.

He helped to set up a refugee transit centre in what was then the Bechuanaland Protectorate for activists fleeing apartheid South Africa. The site then became a community development centre for Botswana.

Sandy spent five years working with local people, setting up a building brigade to build…more

[close] Sandy Grant (d. 2021) was a community development worker and historian who worked on the development of Botswana before and after its independence in 1966, and stayed there for the rest of his life.

Sandy was born in London to publicans, Roy and Otys Grant. He attended Canford school, Dorset, and studied history at St John’s College, Cambridge.

After graduating, in 1960-61 he spent six months as a UN officer in the Southern Cameroons (now Cameroon). After that he taught history for six months at Rhodes University in South Africa, before settling in London, where he worked in publishing as an assistant editor. In 1963, at the age of 26, a chance meeting led him to be recruited for a job in Bechuanaland.

He helped to set up a refugee transit centre in what was then the Bechuanaland Protectorate for activists fleeing apartheid South Africa. The site then became a community development centre for Botswana.

Sandy spent five years working with local people, setting up a building brigade to build a classroom and community hall; promoting economic self-sufficiency through schemes such as vegetable gardens, leather workshops and marketing co-operatives; and establishing the first consumer co-operative and the first printing press in the country. He worked closely with teachers, students and craftspeople as well as international volunteers, and was supported by Linchwe II, the chief of the local Bakgatla tribe.

After completing an MSc in heritage conservation at Heriot-Watt University in 1975, he established, in Mochudi, the first Botswana museum.

He took citizenship of Botswana in 1982. He wrote columns for several of Botswana’s newspapers and published four books on Botswana culture, history and life. In recognition of his devoted service to the country, he was awarded the Presidential Order of Honour by President Festus Mogae in 2002. Sandy’s memoir, Botswana: Choice and Opportunity, was published in 2020.

In 1989 Sandy married Elinah Masitara, who was a collaborator on his history projects. Sandy and Elinah continued to manage the museum until 2006.

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Books with Sandy Grant

	The Burning Glass: The Life of Naomi Mitchison by Jenni Calder 3.50 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1997 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Botswana: Choice and Opportunity: A Memoir 1963 to 2018 by Sandy Grant really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2020 add/edit characters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars