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(clockwise from top left) Moshe, Zuzu, Zikwe and Neno.

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 ad campaign based on this health focus, titled Takalani Sesame Presents: talk to me..., won international awards.

The human characters include the following:

• Ma 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.
• Vinnie (Ma Dimpho's younger brother) comes home in season 5, after being away at university where he had been studying Information Technology. A bit of a techno-whiz, Vinnie helps the Muppet friends with emails and the internet. Vinnie also runs the mobile library full of books, maps and a computer which the Takalani characters learn to use to find out about all the exciting things in the world and in their community.

• 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.

• There also lives a animal in town! Maria the camel makes a big impression and teaches everyone about the desert. She also encourages personal safety, specifically, how to handle people you don't know. We'll discover that Maria is a huge fan of R&B singer Tumi and the Muppets move heaven and earth to get her to his concert on Takalani.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan have made guest appearances on the show. Other celebrity guests include soapie actress, Sophie Ndaba, poet Mac Manaka, and living stage and screen legend Liz Meiring.

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]

In 2008 the entire production of the 5th season was shoot in High Devenition to ensuring a clearer picture and superior sound quality.

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.

Also Tanzania adapted material from Takalani Sesame, to make their version called Kilimani Sesame.

Crew

• Producers: Naila Farouky, Bronwyn Berry, Indra De Lanerolle, Seipati Bulane Hopa
• Project Manager: Robert Knezevic
• Research and Content Development: Lesley Nkosi

Kami doll

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!, Out and about, Learn with Neno, Play with Kami and Moshe goes to the game reserve.

A plush Kami doll was created for children’s festival in South Africa. No details of its release or maker are known. ^[2]

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
• season 5 reveals

Gallery

Sources

1. ↑ Douglas Stanglin, "A is for AID", U.S. News & World Report, March 16, 1998. Page 12.
2. ↑ Steisha Pintado’s Blog