ANSA International Program Blog

Yesterday Namibians celebrated their 17th year of independence from South Africa. Just under two million people live here; 90% are Christian, 60% live in remote areas with unpaved roads (like the vast Kalahari, the oldest desert in the world), and 50% speak Oshiwambo or similar Owambo tribe languages -- even though English is the official language of Namibia. German influence is still quite evident in the capital city of Windhoek, a leftover from the German colonization that took a firm hold in the late 19th century. The latest influence to start taking hold is the Chinese, who are becoming increasingly good friends with the government and have staked their claims on several key building projects in the capital city of Windhoek (pop 250,000).

Throughout this vast desert country there are expanding areas of squatter settlements and refugee camps where people have congregated together on their way to what they hoped would be a better life. Because many view their situation as temporary, there has been little progress made in establishing any infrastructure to support these growing communities. In Katutura, at the northern edge of Windhoek, thousands of people live in settlements like Okahandje Park and Kilimanjaro, with no running water or electricity. They have very little options for transportation and jobs, and even fewer options for school for the children and adults alike. Having few choices by which they can improve their situation and nowhere else to go, most end up staying put.

Enter Hope Initiative Namibia.

Patrica and John are two Zimbabwians who saw the tremendous needs in the Namibian settlements and decided to start an NGO (non-government organization) to try to bring some relief and stability to the lives of those who were most at risk. Hope Initiative Namibia started four years ago with a small soup kitchen in Okahandje Park, feeding 70 OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children) lunch a few times a week. Today they feed 338 OVCs throughout the week in a new building complete with a playground, full kitchen, offices and a classroom where the 45 members of the adult HIV support group meet twice each week. The young girls have two dance groups whose outfits are sewn by local women, and the boys have a soccer team that is coached by local men. They run a second nearby soup kitchen in Kilimanjaro that feeds another 120 OVCs four days a week from a 10 x 12 corrugated metal shack. And to help bring the most disadvantaged kids up to speed so that they can enter public schools, Patricia and John started the Bridging School, where kids learn basic reading, math and the like.

Here as in South Africa, orphaned and/or sick children can qualify for government assistance, but in both countries there is a significant problem with the lack of birth certificates for the kids and death certificates for their deceased parents. Hope Initiative Namibia staff and volunteers assist in obtaining these documents, and they have begun to connect the most traumatized children to counseling resources. Caregivers, who are provided training and a monthly food parcel, provide for kids who are sick in their home (unfortunately sometimes the caregivers themselves are also not well).

Hope Initiative Namibia was helped on its feet first by a generous German benefactor named Jutha who is still involved with them today. They are also supported significantly by, and work closely with, Hand in Hand, a German NGO, Terres des Hommes, an Italian NGO, and our own ANSA member organization from California, Food for Thought.  Food for Thought volunteer Paula Seitz-Netherda has been working at the soup kitchens and is currently getting a beading project underway for the women in the HIV support group. Paula and her husband Mark, an HIV physician/clinical mentor with the International Training and Education Centre for HIV (I-TECH) and interim CDC-Namibia director, have been living in Windhoek since last year with their three kids, Erin, Spencer and Alex, and their hyper dog, Shiwa. They were all great fun and I am eternally grateful to them for their warm hospitality, and to Paula especially for generously chauffering me around.

A longtime friend of ANSA member Food & Friends, former staff dietician Michelle Mehta, is one of three community dieticians in all of Namibia. She works with Dr. Netherda at I-TECH, writing nutrition standards and policies for the Ministry of Health. Michelle visited the soup kitchens with me and was very helpful in filling me in on the broader nutrition issues of Namibia. Helpful too was her fellow community dietician Linda Larsdotter, the nutrition advisor for the Namibian Network for AIDS Service Organization(NANASO). Linda travels the country addressing community (civil society) nutrition issues, so her perspectives on local nutrition matters was extremely helpful.

In addition to her nutrition expertise and assistance, Michelle and her handsome boyfriend Martyn provided the one touristy evening I was able to get in: a night of camping and stargazing under a pristine sky in the middle of absolutely nowhere. We drove for two hours on gravel roads to reach a remote guest farm where there was a small observatory. We got to see star clusters, nebuli, dust clouds and Saturn up close, then sleep to the sounds of the wind that came from across the rolling hills behind us (pictured, at sunset). On the early morning drive back (alas, I had to leave way before everyone else), the shuttle driver and I watched herds of zebra, oryx, kudu, and springbok romp near the roadside, and baboons, guinea fowl, a jackal, and a warthog all trot (or in the case of the guinea fowl, dawdle) in front of the truck. It was the most enjoyable shuttle ride I've ever had!

I am certain you will be hearing more about Hope Initiative Namibia in the near future, and I am confident there is more we will do with the nutritionists, volunteers and community leadeers who are all affecting positive change for the people of Namibia. My thanks to all who spent time with me and let me into a different world for a rewarding and highly informative five days.

Peace to all...Mary