A delegation of twelve VIPs from the Botswanan Defence Force took a trip to Locomotion Museum in Shildon last week where they were presented with certificates by Shildon Mayor, Cllr Shirley Quinn.

The delegation are visiting County Durham for five weeks to take part in a Productivity and Performance workshop.

Brigadier Kagiso Kgaswayane was accompanied by Brigadier Anthony Dikeledi, along with Colonel Tebogo Joseph Pelekekae, Colonel Jenamiso Mountain, Lt Colonel Malefo Ntsayakgosi, Lt Colonel Bakang J Mosala, Major Motshereganyi M Mogae, Captain Kaene Kago and four civilian support staff: Mr Onthusitse Onix Mongologa, Ms Nokokure Maharero, Ms Florence Butale and Mr Mthandazo Solomon.

The workshop is being hosted by Allan Stokoe, the Managing Director of Your Enterprise Support, who was born and bred in Shildon.

Allan said: “I have been working for a number of years now with blue chip companies in places such as East Java, Thailand, Egypt, Morocco, Romania and of course Botswana, extolling the advantages and cost effectiveness of embarking on a programme of continuous improvement.

“Bringing these senior army officers on a 6,000 mile journey from Botswana to England was an achievement; but getting them to Shildon then having the mayor of the Shildon present them with their certificates was beyond my wildest dreams.

“I am proud of Durham County and Shildon was the place that helped make the county great.”

The Mayor of Shildon, Cllr Shirley Quinn, personally welcomed all twelve of the delegates to Shildon and the National Railway Museum before presenting them with their certificates.

Following the presentation of the certificates, Cllr Quinn’s husband, Cllr Peter Quinn, presented each of the delegation with a memento on behalf of the Royal British Legion of which he is the president of the local branch.

The memento was in the form of a lapel pin in the shape of a poppy and a laurel leaf.

Following the presentation, the delegation was transported to the One Stop Shop in Eldon Lane, by Dene Valley Transport, where they enjoyed some traditional local cooking for lunch.

As an important part of their visit to South West Durham, the day culminated with a visit to the Roman Fort at Binchester where they made history as the first people from Botswana to visit the fort.

And to make the moment even more special, they entered into the spirit of the occasion by dressing in some of the exhibition clothing.