The Friends of Namibia Society AGM is to be held on 24 November at the Namibia High Commission in London. This year is in fact the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Society, which was launched at the High Commissioner's residence in November 1997.
The meeting will start at 2 p.m. and will be followed by a presentation from Dr Panduleni Itula about the free dental clinics he has been holding in Namibia this year. During the course of four visits he treated 2,454 patients, many of them children and many with very serious oral problems. Among his achievements he introduced the procedure of deep sedation for the removal of children's teeth, which is a much safer and cost effective procedure than general anaesthesia.
The afternoon will conclude with a reception when there should be an opportunity to meet up with some of the Namibians currently working and studying in the UK.
Please do your best to come along to participate in the AGM, hear about Dr Itula’s clinics and meet other Friends and Namibians.
On 23 August 2002, Catherine Bullen, in her fifth year as a medical student, undertook a safari in Namibia prior to working in hospitals in Zambia and Tanzania. Tragically she fell ill with a virulent form of gastro enteritis and died despite the efforts of her friends to save her. Her family, friends and university colleagues were devastated by her death and there was a feeling that something positive must emerge from this tragedy. The Catherine Bullen Memorial Fund, a registered charity, was set up in her memory and her parents, Linda and Roger Bullen, are active trustees.
Initially, at the request of the Komeho Namibia Development Agency (a national non profit making organisation), the fund provided the majority of the funding to refurbish a borehole for the Omuhaturua Primary School, situated at Otjimanangombe village in eastern Namibia. Because of increased local demand on water supplies, the school often went without water resulting in a major health hazard for the school. The provision of the borehole would not only supply fresh water and improve health, but also enable the school to irrigate a vegetable garden to supplement the poor diet of the children in the hostel and give the other children a nutritional lunch during difficult periods.
On 21 April 2004, a commissioning ceremony was held to mark the completion of the project attended by the British Vice Consul, representatives from Komeho Namibia and local community officials. Mrs Nelago Kasuto of Komeho Namibia commented, "In death, Catherine has given life to the marginalised children of this community, because we believe water is life."
In October 2005, Roger and Linda, Catherine’s parents, self financed a trip to Namibia to visit the school and inspect the borehole. During this visit the school board and the community strongly voiced the need for a local Medical Clinic since the nearest clinic was 80 kilometres away and pregnant women often gave birth in the back of ox carts or trucks en route which in some cases results in the death of mother and infant. The Fund therefore took this on as their next project and started fundraising for the estimated £100,000 required.
Thanks to a generous grant of £80,000 from the Rooney Foundation through the Kent Community Foundation the Fund reached its target earlier this year. The Rooney Foundation was particularly interested in the paediatric and gynaecological services the Clinic would offer this rural community, cutting incidences of infant mortality, safeguarding mothers' health with ante and postnatal care, and making healthcare more accessible to the whole community.
Linda and Roger have in fact just returned, in November 2007, from a visit to Namibia where they symbolically laid the first bricks for what is now to be known as the Omuhaturua Catherine Bullen Health Centre. After signing contracts with the builder, construction is now underway and the Centre is scheduled to be open in June/July 2008. The contractor will use local labour where possible enhancing the local economy and providing much needed employment, and it is anticipated this development will also act as a catalyst encouraging future infrastructure projects. Once open, the Centre will be equipped, staffed and operated by the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services.
The work of the Fund, however, continues in order to provide a 4 × 4 ambulance and additional equipment for the Centre. To raise money for this, the fund is selling 2008 ‘Namibian Wildlife and Landscapes’ calendars at £5 each plus postage of £2.65. Copies can be ordered from the Fund on 01206 383368 or by emailing info@namibia-aid.org.uk
Further information about the Fund and its activities are available at: www.Namibia-aid.org.uk
The idea behind the project, Pots of Hope, which is to be launched in Windhoek on 23 November 2007, is to produce ceramics in rural areas in order to give rural women and girls infected or affected by HIV/AIDS a voice, an income and self esteem.
The greater burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Namibia falls on women. Infection among young women accounts for about 50% of all reported HIV cases and rural women in particular are vulnerable due to their low social status and lack of information. In addition the burden of caring for AIDS orphans often falls on grandmothers who face enormous responsibilities with few if any financial resources.
The aim of the project is to train women to make ceramics which can then be sold to the tourist market, thus giving the women employment, income and a sense of empowerment. Initially Pots of Hope will be based in Kamanjab, a village 450 km north of Windhoek and Mrs Cecelia Naris, a teacher in Kamanjab for 25 years, has donated her pottery equipment to the project, including a wheel, a kiln and other tools. Mrs Naris is concerned that traditional crafts are disappearing in Namibia (due to cheaper imports from South Africa) and the project plans to work on traditional Namibian designs, such as San cave paintings, but using modern mould making techniques.
Running alongside the ceramics training and production will be a series of ‘AIDS and Me’ training workshops where participants will receive information and guidance about HIV/AIDS and be encouraged to discuss openly their own situation, the impact on family and community, and positive steps which can be taken in the future.
Tony Russell, a committee member of Friends of Namibia, has a particular interest in this project as he has done a ceramics degree himself. He hopes to visit the project shortly to demonstrate slip cast with plaster in a batch production technique to make the pots more commercially viable – and he is also hoping to get some second year ceramic design degree students from the UK to visit the project to help them produce their wares. If you would like any further information please contact Tony at: friendsofnamibia.org.uk
The ACS Interational school in Cobham has won the group section of the ACS’s Peace Prize for a presentation entitled ‘Technology Changes Lives’ about the setting up of a computer centre and internet connection at a primary school in Endola in the very north of Namibia.
Each year, since 1999, a group of students from the Cobham school has travelled to Namibia, in conjunction with World Challenge, to undertake community projects based around various schools in the country. Throughout the year students organise fundraising activities to fund the expeditions and the projects they undertake. The goal of the 2006 group was to provide computers for the Endola school, which they successfully did and in addition raised sufficient money for two teachers to received basic training in computer skills.
On their return to the UK, the students thought of the benefits an internet connection would bring – both to the school in Endola and at Cobham in bringing the communities together. The internet link therefore became the focus of the 2007 visit and involved a great deal of forward planning in cooperation with local Namibian IT specialists. On their visit to Namibia the students took with them more computers for the school and spent time showing teachers how to locate websites and how to use email. The Endola school now have plans to set up an internet café to generate some income for the school.
At the same time as setting up the internet link, the Cobham school sponsored a building project, sending out a builder, his mate and a teacher to refurbish a classroom at Endola. They were given £1,000 to purchase the equipment and to employ and train five unemployed Namibians in basic building skills and the use and maintenance of tools. The result was a completely transformed and modern classroom which was completed in July 2007.
The classroom before...
and after ...
The British High Commissioner in Namibia attended the inauguration of the computer centre and internet at Endola Primary School and also met the building team.
The students made a 90 minute DVD of the 2007 expedition and it was this and their explanation of why the Namibian project is so worthwhile that earned the school the Peace Prize. With the prize money of £1,000, the school plans to bring two teachers from a school near Keetmanshoop to the UK in April. The 2008 team have plans to put another internet connection into Endola school and are applying for a grant to set up a library in the same area.
Alexandra Blom, one of the students on the 2006 expedition, delivered the acceptance speech when the prize was awarded and emphasised how the project had brought the two school communities together. Through the internet link "Not only have we enhanced their lives; they have changed ours as well, as now we can share skills and ideas, through email, and pod casts. … Technology has shown us that despite our diverse lives, we share a common humanity."
Read the full story in pictures
The Khomas Trust was set up in 2003 initially to provide help with school ‘Development Fund’ expenses in Namibia. Although education is free, there are many aspects of education such as stationery, examination fees, art and sports equipment and cleaning to which parents are asked to contribute but which many mothers find hard or impossible to meet. Since this time the work of the trust has expanded and is now supporting one of its first students through her law studies at university. Working with Catholic Aids Action (CAA) Windhoek, the trust continues to support the education of children who cannot afford development fund and other school expenses, especially at secondary level and in June 2007 it was supporting 41 children. In addition, it works with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), supporting a ‘Baby Haven’ in Katutura catering for orphans and abandoned children many of whom are HIV positive or have AIDS. Parcels of knitted items, toiletries and school items area also sent to schools and organisations working in Katutura on ‘income generation’ projects. Yvonne Gabell, the founder of the Khomas Trust and a member of the Friends of Namibia Committee, visits the projects supported by the trust each year and below is a short few extracts from the diary of her 2007 visit particularly relating to the Baby Haven. If you would like a copy of the full 11-page account, please contact: friendsofnamibia.org.uk
NB. The Baby Haven is run by its founder, Agnis and her daughter Lulu.
FRIDAY 23RD MARCH
Today I met our new contact at V.S.O. … We discussed the network of homes of which the Baby Haven is part. Apart from the Baby Haven the network consists of two homes which are 'places of safety'. In theory children only stay there for six months but often no other place can be found for a child so the child stays until it grows up. There are two day care centres which also run soup kitchens and a children’s home for 10 children which covers some of its costs by running a day kindergarten. The Baby Haven is now registered [with the local authority] and Lulu and the staff are invited onto courses. Lulu attended a grief counselling course which she found helpful as sometimes a baby at the home dies and naturally Lulu and her colleagues find these deaths difficult to cope with.
FRIDAY 30TH MARCH Visit to Baby Haven
As there is modernisation work in progress the Baby Haven is in a state of 'chaos' The large room is full of bits and pieces. The floor will be tiled later.
A Canadian volunteer has made curtains which will be hung when the work is finished. The yard has a heap of rubbish in one corner, but also a new play centre with swings.
There are now two modern fully tiled and equipped bathrooms, one for the babies and one for the staff. The kitchen has a new washing machine as the other was unusable, and outside there is a large new basin with hot and cold water for the rinsing of nappies. Fire extinguishers are now in place.
At the back of the house the council have allowed the Baby Haven to take in a good sized piece of land from the open land behind, so the back wall has been moved further out. The new area will be a safe play area for the babies. The kitchen will be enlarged up to the boundary of the old exterior wall. There are four volunteer staff, they work alternate day and night shifts, sleeping on mattresses on the floor, usually in the large room. The volunteers are not paid but manage to survive on the occasional donations that people bring.
Lulu has via the internet and by attending courses studied so that she understands the best way of bringing up babies and children who are HIV positive or have AIDS. Lulu is aware of the vital importance of good hygiene, good formula feed for the babies, fresh good food for the older children and of the importance for them of receiving their ARVs (Anti Retro Viral drugs) regularly and on time. Agnis trains new volunteers so that they are aware of the importance of these issues.
Lulu said, as do most people who I speak to, that food is very expensive in Namibia. She used to buy food in bulk but the food went rotten or stale so now the food is bought daily as necessary so that the children eat good fresh food.
The ARVs are now regularly available and free at the state hospital, whereas two years ago they were unobtainable. Lulu feels that the hospital staff recognise her knowledge, they are welcoming and helpful and monitor the babies' health regularly. To the surprise of the doctors some of the babies at the Baby Haven who were HIV positive are now testing as HIV negative. So the good care has had excellent results.
Most of the babies on admission are very poorly with TB as well as being HIV positive. They are orphans or have mothers are very ill. Once a baby is thriving, though sadly sometimes a very ill baby does not survive, Lulu works to place the baby with a member of the extended family or to find a guardian for the baby. Lulu aims to visit weekly all the 'ex' babies to check their health and welfare. She will remind the carers of hospital and doctors' appointments and if necessary take the babies for their appointments./p>
Apart from the babies living in the house, the Baby Haven supports 43 other babies up to two years old and 52 OVCs (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) from 2 to 15 years old in the local community. Some of the OVCs are supporting families younger than themselves. Lulu makes up food parcels when possible for some of the OVC's families.
One of the OVCs, Nathan, is 13 years old; he is 'heading the house' as his father is not around and his mother is very sick. He gets up at 4a.m. to look after his younger siblings. He leaves home at 5a.m. and walks for an hour and a half to the Baby Haven where he arrives at 6.40a.m. He has something to eat and is at school for 7.15.a.m. Nathan is ‘determined to stay at school’ and Lulu thinks that he is very bright. She finds supporters to pay for his school fees and books. Once when he had no shoes he went barefoot to school. Recently he arrived crying at the Baby Haven as ‘there is no food’ at home. Lulu hopes to set up a breakfast scheme and a soup kitchen for the many OVCs like Nathan who go hungry.
Lulu had prepared the accounts as requested for the Khomas Trust. She has made a sheet for each purchase with the receipt attached. Much of the Khomas Trust money has been used to buy two new industrial sewing machines and necessary supplies. The machines are safely in a store room until the main room is usable. It is planned that the Grandmother's group will'use the machines for income generation, making duvet sets and school uniforms to sell.
TUESDAY 3RD APRIL – Visit to Baby Haven …
… Agnis was keen to talk about the many plans for the Baby Haven. A meeting is to be held … with the Grandmother’s support group to agree on how the women will use the new sewing machines; what will be made, how much time each will have to use them, costs and payments. Agnis hopes that those who can sew will train the others. At first Agnis hopes to encourage regular attendance by giving a weekly food parcel to each.
Chesterfield and Tsumeb have had an official municipal twinning link since 1993 and both towns have also developed community-based links. Mary Stead, Chesterfield’s twinning officer, who is also Secretary of Friends of Namibia, here provides an update on recent activities:
Chesterfield’s link with Tsumeb in Namibia has continued during 2007. Alfie Ndjenge, the young man from Tsumeb who had been in Chesterfield for nearly two years, returned home at the beginning of the year, and hopes to put into practice the sports development skills he learned while he was here. He would like to work with young people, including school-children and youth football teams. Fund-raising has continued for various projects in Tsumeb, including the Old Age Home, which receives regular financial support from churches and individuals.
A one-off donation was given to the Tsumeb TOV Centre, which works with children from disadvantaged families, towards the cost of setting up a fund-raising ‘tuck shop’. The flow of information from the TOV Centre is very good, and gives a clear picture of the varied activities undertaken by that organisation. TOV is also working with BEN Namibia, the Bicycle Empowerment Network which sends second-hand bicycles to Namibia after refurbishment. TOV also runs IT training and agricultural projects in and around Tsumeb. (See their website: http://www.tovnamibia.org)
Individuals continue to support children at the SOS Children’s Home in Tsumeb through sponsorship. Chesterfield Soroptimists have raised funds for Tsumeb Women and Children's Centre, a refuge for victims of domestic violence and abuse.
Information is regularly exchanged between Tsumeb and Chesterfield councils. This year a trainee in Chesterfield’s Environmental Health section at Chesterfield was provided with an update on the development of the informal market in Nomtsoub, Tsumeb's former 'black township'. This market is being developed to provide a safe and hygienic environment for Tsumeb people to buy basic commodities at a realistic price. It is particularly used by people who cannot afford the town centre shops, or who work at the nearby schools and hospital. Several years ago the Commonwealth Local Government Forum provided funding to enable two staff from Tsumeb and two staff from Chesterfield to exchange working visits, culminating in a joint visit to a similar project in Johannesburg, so as to learn from best practice.
Fund-raising remains a priority, although right from the start of this link it was agreed that it would not just become an ‘aid’ based link, but would aim at achieving greater mutual understanding by both partner communities. Derek Sherratt is cur'ently spending three months in Namibia, mostly in Tsumeb, and he will use this opportunity to renew links with the individuals and organisations linked with Chesterfield. This personal contact is essential to resolve any difficulties and misunderstandings that arise during the linking process.
Chesterfield’s fund-raising activities were badly affected by the summer floods. A braai (barbecue) had to be cancelled because of a waterlogged garden, and two committee members had their homes flooded.
Fund-raising has resumed with an African Meal at Chesterfield College, cooked and served by students. This annual event is usually the highlight of the year, bringing together supporters of the link including members of the Chesterfield Tsumeb Association and their friends.
Alisa Amupolo is a Namibian student in her first term at the University of Leeds where she is studying for an MA in International Communications. Here she shares her experiences of her first 3 months in the UK.
It's exactly my third month since I arrived in the UK and I can say I have done so much, thanks to the beautiful journal I got from home to keep track of all activities, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to recall everything. After a very interesting trip with every drama that comes with first time travellers to a foreign country like UK, fate has finally brought me to the very multi-cultural and lively city of Leeds. The friendly team of Meet and Greet services welcomed me at the station and took me to my university accommodation and I was ready to settle in.
On the first day I received a warm welcome pack at the international student office which was the first point I visited. The week was jam packed with fresher's activities and I grabbed every opportunity, enjoyed myself as much as I couldand made new friends. I also visited the scholarship office and my department who each had a pack ready for me. I took some beautiful baskets proudly hand made by Namibian women as a token of appreciation for the support rendered prior to my arrival in Leeds.
The second week I concentrated on academic tours, English language test and attended student union exhibition and events as well as international student clubs. I met more people from all corners of the globe and made many friends. I enjoyed every day as it came and made use of the opportunity before the academic work commenced.
The third week, lectures commenced and the fun activities became minimal, suddenly the campus was packed and the undergraduates arrived from all corners of the world. During that week, I also took a trip to the coastal town called Scarborough which was organised by the student union, it was absolutely fun and I spent most of my time walking along the beach if not in game rides.
My fourth week, the work began and I had to buy a laptop, it was quite exciting to be connected to internet 24 hours, a thing I never got home. During that week, I also got a few culture shocks, I guess I was more observant and was able to notice every move around me unlike the first couple of weeks when I was more focused on me and trying to get things done quickly. I also got a deep insight of my programme which I got to enjoy so much, the approach used by the university is so interactive and open minding. I was able to discover my potential at a very an early stage and participate in seminars.
I found it hard to adjust to the British accent though and I also found the weather harsh and very unpredictable in UK. Coming from a dry country like Namibia, I would look at my window and if I see the sunshine, I assumed it's going to be sunny the whole day but before you know it, you are under the rain showers, so I learned to carry an umbrella with me at all time.The other things was also finding my way around using maps. It's of paramount importance that one understands and knows how to read maps as it’s commonly used here. Walking as a common source of transport system was a little bit hard for me to adjust to but as the time went, I started to enjoy the benefits that come with it and as a way of exercising which is good for my health. Overall I was lucky to have a fellow Namibian by me, Selma Shimutwikeni, who is also studying at the University of Leeds, so she made life quite easy for me so I was able to settle in quickly.
Mohammed Liman is studying for a PhD in Education at SussexUniversity by distance, coming to the UK once a year. At the request of the Canon Collins Trust, he produced a Namibian Education Sector Brief. Below is an extract from this 4-page document. If you would like the complete brief, please e-mail: friendsofnamibia.org.uk.
Primary Education is free and compulsory in Namibia and government has made all efforts to ensure that this happens by allocating a large portion of the education budget to this sector. Enrolment in Primary Education has over the years increased as access has improved. The increase in enrolment has meant that more and more learners have moved through the system from grades 1–10 when there is an examination to qualify for the next level. In other words within the primary education, survival rates have increased, while repetition rates have decreased. The first National Development Plan (NDP1) objectives for education included:
A careful evaluation of the achievement of these objectives has shown that great strides have been made in meeting all of them except the objective on improving the quality of education that learners receive. However a number of studies and international assessments have indicated that Namibia’s educational investments are not yielding the desired outcomes and that the quality of education is generally on the decline. Amongst these include:
Another challenge to the education system is the HIV and AIDS pandemic. With an infection rate of 19.6%, Namibia’s education system is challenged; not only from the number of teachers who are sick and miss valuable teaching time and or those who pass away and schools have difficulty replacing. The blossoming numbers of orphans due to dead parents and vulnerable children who have a parent sick and are made to leave school and take care of siblings, has brought another dimension to the host of issues that the government has had to deal with.
With such a high net enrolment, the challenge is to expand secondary education to cater for this large numbers. Currently less than 50% of learners move from grades 10 to senior secondary school, a situation that is both due to the fact that the grade 10 exit examination requires a pass at a certain grade, but also due largely to the fact that there is just not enough space to cater for all learners from junior to senior secondary, so that the cut off point for admission keeps sliding based on the performance from year to year. This lack of adequate number of learners progressing to higher education has also led to acute skills shortage as the number of students who make it into the university is limited and as such the country has had to continue to rely on expatriate teachers, doctors etc. This limited capacity of the education sector as well as the problems of quality has led the government to introduce a sector wide reform program with support from development partners and the World Bank. The Education and Training Sector Improvement programme (ETSIP) is meant to address all the problems that the education sector faces. In applying a sector wide approach, the government places a lot of emphasis on international donor support to help realize the reform. Problems already manifest with this, one of the most crucial being the withdrawal of donors from Namibia, as currently being graded as a lower middle-income country by the UNDP. While on fiscal and financial measures that may be the case, the income disparity is still high and so also the poverty levels of the majority of the people.* While government has tried since independence in 1991 to redress this, the challenge is enormous and will take time and resources to solve. Crucially therefore, rather than leaving, this is the time for more development partners to take part and those already there to increase and expand their support.
* Elsewhere the report points out that although the per capita income of Namibia is US$1,790 (whereas US$540 is the average for sub-Saharan Africa), with the result that country is classified as a ‘lower middle income country’, Namibia is known to have one of the most unequal income distributions in the world, with the richest 10% of the population receiving 65% of the national income and the remaining 90% of the population have only 35% of the national income.