Week 13: Classes

Lizzie Cohen, Hannah Lee, Catherine Raleigh

This week marked the beginning of class wrap-ups, filled with lots of presentations and finishing assignments. Tuesday in Political Science class we continued our presentations, with groups presenting on democracy, African politics, apartheid, and the Basic Income Grant. The presentations ranged in creativity, from a game to a rap. That night, we had the Hour of Power swimming relay, in honor of Ted Mullin, our own Catherine Mullin’s brother. We were a part of the five continents that participated in the event, which is a fund and awareness raiser for Sarcoma cancer[1].

In Religion class this week we visited the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN), which works with recent migrants to Windhoek, many of whom have relocated to the informal settlements. ECLIN’s major focus includes HIV/AIDs prevention, providing programs for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs), and income-generation. We visited a bread-baking project and a pre-primary school. It was great to see the support that religious organizations are providing to those in need, because of the extent to which we have studied religion, particularly Christianity, in Namibia, as well as the importance of NGOs. It is clear that ECLIN plays a central role in the informal settlements, providing services and advocating for those that are disadvantaged. ECLIN is primarily funded by the Finnish government, but is responsible for the allocation of such funds, and they emphasized the importance of development projects being managed by the community itself, a theme we have seen throughout the semester.

History class consisted of an anti-racism workshop, where Romanus had prepared several activities for us. They included defining racism, prejudice and bias, and giving serious thought to our encounters with and beliefs about racism. This also pushed us to think deeply about ‘white privilege’ and the extent to which it affects Southern African and American societies. This drew attention to the fact that while we conceptualize racism as historically being more prevalent in Southern Africa, it has been equally widespread in the US.

Friday’s Development class focused on health and its connections to development. We first visited the Roman Catholic Hospital. At the hospital we analyzed the differences between private and public healthcare. Speaking with nurses at the hospital, we learned about how the different facilities are funded, what services they have to offer, and how the healthcare professionals are educated. Following our visit to the hospital, we went to the home of Ms. Makhosi, a traditional healer.

Makhosi explained to us how her “gift” for healing works and her reliance on God to do her job. It was very interesting to learn about the various services she provides, including spiritual, mental, and physical healing. Even with the availability of Western medicine, the services of a traditional healer are still significant within Namibian society. We can see a significant contrast between the acceptance of holistic healing in the United States versus Namibia, due to the dominance of Western medicine in U.S. society. It was also apparent that religion and spirituality is important to Namibian traditional healing, which is very different from Western, scientific medical care.

On Saturday, I (Lizzie) arranged for Dr. King Holmes, head of public health at the University of Washington, to speak to some of the group about his role in global health today and in particular, his connections to the University of Namibia’s medical program. On Tuesday, Dr. Holmes will be unveiling a simulation laboratory at the University of Namibia. He highlighted on the idea that funding for medical research will soon start to shift from HIV/AIDS to maternal health. The most interesting part of the conversation was when Dr. Holmes asked us to connect our future careers to global health in some manner. We all realized that while we might not be studying medicine itself, our majors of development, international relations and conflict management all tie into global health in some form. This fits in well with the idea that we are all working on our integrative projects and connecting the ideas that we have learned in every class.

---

[1] Hour of Power Relay for Cancer Research. Carleton College, 13 November 2009. Web. 15 November

2009. http://go.carleton.edu/HourOfPower.

Week 12: Classes and Southern Namibia

Ken, Julia, Jasmine

This week was divided between attending classes and traveling to the southern part of Namibia. Political Science class convened on Tuesday. This session included presentations on land reform and education, especially regarding English language education in Namibia. There was a heated debate on whether English should be used as the language of instruction in schools. We also discussed the importance of preservation of culture and vernacular languages. It was difficult for our class to reach a consensus on the extent to which English should be used, because we believe it is important for students to become fluent in English in order to become (financially) successful in both Namibia and the world. Some of us (Julia) felt that the most central problem was the lack of functional literacy among teachers, regardless of when English is implemented in primary education.

Tuesday afternoon, the internship class went to hear a panel of United States citizens who currently work abroad. The panel presentations and discussions that followed were fascinating, because they provided students with information and perspectives on positive and negative aspects of life abroad. For example, panelists spoke of opportunities to become acquainted with new cultures, meet different people, and do fulfilling work in impoverished communities. Challenges faced by the panelists as they have worked abroad range from difficulty relating to friends and family at home to limited salaries and complications meeting basic needs, like quality healthcare. After hearing about some of the negative aspects of life abroad, Jasmine began to question her plans for an international career. Loneliness, going long periods without seeing family and friends, and a general disconnect from life at home are all difficult and constant parts of living abroad.

Wednesday, Religion class briefly discussed the role of minority religions, such as Judaism and Islam, in the history of Namibia and South Africa. We then traveled to the local Islamic Center. Instructor Paulus and the students were all able to ask questions of a local Islamic scholar. There was a strong focus on explaining the theological pillars of Islam, as well as dispelling misconceptions surrounding this religion. Some of us (Ken) were very interested in learning about the contributions of Islamic people in the liberation struggle against apartheid.

In Thursday’s history class, students very creatively presented on topics relating to the Civil Rights movement in the United States and the Liberation Struggle in Southern Africa. These presentations were followed by an activity prepared by instructor Romanus, which revealed the way students’ experiences and backgrounds represent differences in racial and socioeconomic privilege. Students were surprised to observe that the divisions present at the end of the exercise were not reflective of friendships within the CGE community.

After class on Thursday, we packed up and traveled south to a government-owned campsite at the Hardap Dam. Friday morning, after a brief tour of the dam, we traveled to Mariental municipality to hear from public relations officer, Catherine Boois, a former CGE intern. Ms. Boois explained the history and culture of the Nama people, as well as the history and political, economic, and environmental impact

the Hardap Dam has on the community of Mariental. We then traveled onward to Berseba, a rural town located at the foot of Brukkaros mountain. We met with Petrus Fleermuys, the chair of the Brukkaros Community Campsite Committee. We learned about the organization of a campsite near the mountain in order to attract tourists and earn profits that can be used to benefit the Berseba community. Mr

Fleermuys mentioned a proposed lodge, which would have employed fifty people. This

proposal was turned down, as the lodge would compete with

the community run campsite, which has one employee. Even though the current campsite is owned and run by community members, the potential creation of jobs and increase in tourism of a private lodge would bring greater financial benefits to Berseba. We spent the night at the campground and spent the next day with the local youth club. We planted trees in a nearby cemetery and played icebreaker games to get to know each other. This interaction and the conversations that followed were highlights for many students. We were able to learn a lot from the perspectives and experiences from our new friends, especially regarding education, politics, and HIV/AIDS.

For our final night of travel, we went to a privately owned campsite at the Gondwana Kalahari Anib Lodge. On Sunday morning, we heard one of the owners speak on the three pillars of the business of the Gondwana Lodge group: conservation, financial stability, and social responsibility. During this discussion, the presenter mentioned that he and the Gondwana group were denied permission to build a lodge in Berseba, because it would conflict with local interests. It seemed to many of us that this private company would have done good things for the community of Berseba, as the facilities at Gondwana were much nicer than those at the Brukkaros campsite.

Overall, students returned from the trip having gained a wide variety of perspectives regarding issues of private vs. public ownership of businesses, weighing the benefits of each as tools for development. We also had discussion on foreign aid and investment, government’s role in job creation, and conservation in northern and southern regions of Namibia.

Week 11: Namibia in Retrospect

Allison, Anna, Julia

This week was a transition, as we returned to classes and internships after three weeks of travel and fall break. On Monday, many students continued their internships. Some felt overwhelmed by the amount of work still to be done.

On Tuesday, Politics class focused on the idea of land as a human right and different views on land ownership in the post-colonial era. A land panel presented their views on how Namibian land could be used to benefit the most people. One of the panel presenters, Mrs. Sululu Isaacs, was involved in a legal controversy over a farm curre

ntly owned by an absentee landlord, but pre-Apartheid inhabited by Mrs. Isaacs family. After Mrs. Isaacs was denied permission to bury her mother on this farm, a group named “Ancestral Fire” attempted to reclaim the land, but they were unsuccessful. Mrs. Isaacs’ organization argues that unused land, especially that which has sacred significance, should be returned to the ancestral farmers who had a closer tie to the land. We

also heard from Herald Schutt, a land consultant. He spoke about differences between traditional African views of land and modern attitudes. Controversies over communal versus commercial land, and issues of land distribution in general, comprise a fascinating part of Namibian history and political debate. As is clear from the multitudes of opinions, land reform is a very complex issue. None of us were able to come up with a coherent solution to the problem. While we all sympathized with people like Mrs. Isaacs, we could also recognize the rights of whites to land they had owned for several generations. Like in the United States, there is no easy answer, and we struggled to come up with something that was just for everyone.

On Wednesday, some of us returned to our internships while others attended Religion class. A representative of the Namibian Human Rights Coalition presented his personal beliefs about human rights and explained the role of his organization to prevent these abuses. For example, his organization has worked against the church in issues of homosexual and women’s rights. We all found it refreshing to hear from a Namibian NGO seeking to correct the many problems we have seen throughout the semester. Women still do not have a safe place in all homes in Namibia. Children are still often abused and neglected, and homosexuals are a taboo category. To see so many groups still marginalized in a country that prides itself on a democratic constitution is scary for all of us. Just legislation demanding equal rights is not enough.

On Thursday in our Racism and Resistance class, we visited the National Archives, where we saw historical maps of Namibia and spoke of the pre-colonial tribal movement. In the afternoon, we went to the UN headquarters in Namibia and listened to a presentation that showed the change in the HDI in post-independence Namibia. In particular, many of us were shocked to see how much the average lifespan, income, school enrollment and quality of life fell because of the widespread affects of HIV/AIDS. On the bright side, however, the destructive course of the disease seems to be slowing down and in a few cases reversing, and literacy in the country has increased. Ultimately, most of us left the talk sobered by the toll that the disease has taken on the country but hopeful that recovery has begun.

Friday’s Development class featured a speaker on the role of women during and after the liberation struggle. Women’s contributions were limited to the Youth League, or to domestic tasks, such as braaiing. These braais were very effective in disguising political meetings that would otherwise have been banned. Women also contributed greatly to the exposure of domestic issues during this time. Coming from the United States, where women have made great strides towards equal rights, many of us were appalled by the lack of these in many aspects of Namibian life. It was difficult to comprehend the many ways women are threatened by issues like domestic violence and HIV even today.