Takalani Sesame



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 show incorporates all of South Africa's eleven national languages, including Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Swaz, Ndebele, Sesotho, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana and Venda.

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 and/or welcome in Zulu, Sesotho, and Setswana. A special and campaign based on this health focus, entitled Takalani Sesame Presents: talk to me..., won international awards.

The human characters include:
 * 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.

Crew

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