Week 12: Classes and the South

Nathalie, Kelley, Maggie, Antonio

This week was divided between classes here in Windhoek and a travel seminar to southern Namibia. Early in the week, we were all busy preparing our creative presentations for History class which focused on identifying and comparing an aspect of the histories of racism and the resistance to racism in the U.S. and southern Africa. We were instructed to analyze the gap between the formal victories over apartheid and racist legislation and the economic, social, political, and psychological effects that are still lingering today. It was clear that everyone put in a great amount of effort and thought, and the projects did not disappoint! People chose several different interesting formats, including skits, photo exhibits, and interactive games and discussions. We also did an exercise that was intended to display the various backgrounds that people come from and the kind of privileges that we have grown up with. The exercise brought the discussion of race and discrimination to a much more personal level and left us all questioning some of our preconceived notions about the connection between privilege and race. I was personally impressed by Antonio, Martin and John’s presentation. Antonio played the role of a SWAPO party member, John was a preacher, and Martin was an Afrikaner. Their dialogue was very intense, for it touched on issues of Truth and Reconciliation, segregation and racism in the U.S and South Africa.

After history class, we all packed our bags and hopped into the CGE van for our final travel seminar of the semester (tear....). The weekend was focused on sustainable development and different types of tourism in Namibia. We spent our first night at a government-owned campsite at Hardap Dam in Mariental. Our night was full of delicious food, lots of games of Uno and Bananagrams, and group bonding time. The next morning we had a brief development class to discuss some of the themes that this trip was designed to focus on, including how we define sustainable development and the types of participation that take place. Next, we explored the dam a bit on our own and were impressed by how it was so well-integrated into its natural environment.

Then it was off to the rural town of Berseba to camp out for the night at a community-run campsite at the foot of the Brukkaros mountain. Upon our arrival, we met with the Community Campsite Committee and heard from Petrus Fleermuys, the chair of the Committee. They gave us some general background on the campsite and the various plans they have to overcome some of the challenges they have been facing. The campsite was started in hopes of attracting tourists to make money in order to fund community based projects that would improve the standard of living of Berseba. We were all struck by the beauty of the location and how much potential this site has, but couldn't help but notice some of the obstacles they will have to overcome in order to sustain this project. The main challenges seem to be that they are quite far from a bustling town center and are lacking easy access to water. We also were a little surprised at the fact that although this campsite is community-run, there were only 2 employees, which seems unfortunate. The next day, most of us woke up extra early to hike up the mountain. By the time we got back to the bottom, we were even more aware of the lack of shade, which was the reason for our project that morning: planting trees with students from the local secondary school. Although, most of us were quite skeptical of the success rate of the trees, considering water was very scarce; but we remained hopeful. After some hard work digging holes and planting the trees, we enjoyed a music-filled lunch at the school, where CGE divas John Rogers and Holland Hamilton displayed their musical talents and sang When You Believe by Whitney Houston, sending chills down all of our spines! The students also sang some very beautiful songs in their mother tongue, again, giving us all goosebumps!

After a nice day with the students, we headed back to Mariental to camp at the privately-owned Gondwana Kalahair Anib Lodge. That night, some of us enjoyed the luxury of having a pool, while others prepared a delicious chili dinner for the group. As this was our last night camping as a group, we all stayed up much past our bedtimes and hung out by the fire under the beautiful Namibian stars. The following morning, we heard from co-owner, Jaco. He discussed the three pillars of the company's philosophy: financial sustainability, social responsibility, and land conservation. We were all very impressed by the company's commitment to balancing their own success with the moral responsibility to better the community through their training and employment programs, which would in turn help fight poverty and hunger. They are also very dedicated to conserving the land and the wildlife, which is an area where Namibia has been quite well-respected.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable, relaxing, and informative weekend in the southern part of Namibia. We all came back with new perspectives on the different forms of tourism and sustainable development projects. It was a bittersweet bus ride home, knowing it was our last long drive in the kombi, but we are all looking forward to taking full advantage of our last three weeks here in Windhoek!

Week 9: Northern Namibia Travel Seminar

Nathalie, Kelley G., Kate, Morgan

In the week following our rural homestay, we traveled through northern Namibia stopping in the town of Opuwo in the Kunene region. We spent the remainder of the week in Etosha National Park learning about the issues of environmental degradation in Namibia and the connection between conservation and tourism. However, what separated this travel seminar from our previous trips and from our day to day life in Windhoek was the opportunity to interact with Namibians living in rural communities.

After a week of adjusting to a very new set of hygiene practices and the extensive use of baby wipes and buckets of water, we were happy to reach a Guest House equipped with the amenities of home when we reached the town of Opuwo. Morgan was especially interested in our first speaker in the Opuwo region, Mr. Kavari, a representative of the Hizetwa Indigenous People’s Organization (HIPO). This organization is a collaboration between the four indigenous sub-groups of the Ovaherero. Before traveling to the north, she was unaware that there were so many different subgroups of the various tribal groups of Namibia. In the United States, she believes that Americans often perceive Africans to be one general ethnic group. However, this travel seminar, along with many other speakers on the trip, show that there are many subgroups and ethnic tribes that Namibians affiliate with. Mr. Kavari also taught the students about the development of the Opuwo region and the socio-economic issues facing these sub-groups. Through this discussion, we gained our first insight in to the debate over modernity and traditionalism that manifests itself in this region of Namibia. One of the main issues that he connected to this debate was the issue of money, and the perception of modernity based on the availability of money and Westernization in the towns. Walking through the town of Opuwo, we could see this manifestation in the variations in clothing that people were wearing. For example, while waiting in downtown Opuwo for the kombi ride to our campsite, many women could be seen wearing the traditional clothing of the Ovahimba people, the skins and bones of cattle. It was astonishing for Nathalie and other students to see some of the women having contemporary handbags over their arms. She was intrigued by seeing this fusion of tribal and modern styles. This clash of perceived modernity and traditionalism was a common theme over the following week.

Our next example of this debate lay in our trip to the Ondao Mobile School. Mobile schools aim to provide consistent basic education to children of semi-nomadic communities that migrate seasonally. This particular school caters primarily to the Ovahimba and the Ovadhema tribes of the north. We had the opportunity to observe two different classes of Grades 1 and 2.

These CGE students had very memorable experiences while visiting this school. Nathalie and Kelley were fascinated by the interactions with the students and the creativity of their drawings. With the language barrier, the most prevalent type of communication between the CGE students and the Mobile School students was through drawings. To show their names, many of the students wrote their names in the sand or drew their own pictures and wrote their names on paper. Morgan was especially interested in the clothing that the children were wearing. Some of the kids were dressed in the traditional clothing of the Ovahimba, the skins of their cattle, and the Ovadhema, wearing cloth wraps and beads in their hair. However, other children were wearing what she, as an American, perceived as being more modern, with sports sneakers, long sleeve shirts and wind pants. The debate between modernity and traditionalism infiltrated all of her observations during the week. In addition to these issues, those of the development of the Mobile school itself were fascinating to CGE students. For example, the Mobile School started as a Norwegian NGO project and then, when the Namibian government became aware of the idea of a mobile school, decided to fully fund the program. Mobile schools around northern Namibia now stand as schools that are funded only by the government.

During our visit to the school, the CGE students learned that the Mobile School was lacking a lot of supplies and recreational materials. The CGE students learned from both the instructors and from their observations that there was a large need for recreational materials at the school. They were barely able to afford school notebooks and pencils, and had no money to spend on playground materials. Therefore, a few of the students returned to the school the following day with soccer balls, tennis balls, playground balls and jump ropes. Kate specifically was interested in seeing the fact that these kids did not have balls and toys to play with, when these materials were such an important part of her experiences in school. While playing with the kids and their new materials, she realized that even though she could not necessarily communicate with these kids through language, through sport and fun, they could interact in much deeper ways.

The CGE students had more interesting experiences learning about traditional customs, clothing and hairstyles from the Himba village that they spent two nights next to. Their first night at the campsite was spent primarily in the actual Himba corral, learning about their traditional ways and the Holy Fire that they celebrate. For example, children wearing one braid in the front of their head means that their father has died. Another child wearing two braids in the front means that their father is alive. Both the ankle bracelets and the three different types of belts represent the amount of children that a woman has. These are just a few examples of the various traditional styles of the Ovahimba people that the CGE students observed on their trip.

The most central tradition that the CGE students experienced was the reverence surrounding the Holy Fire. One of the most interesting aspects of the Holy Fire is its representation of the differences and rights between genders. For example, any person of the male gender can tend to the fire. However, while young girls can also touch the fire, after women have started their menstrual cycles, they are no longer allowed. In addition, this tradition is also related to the sacrifice of cattle for food and skins. This fire holds a deep connection to the spirituality of each corral and the families within. It was an interesting experience, camping next to a traditional Ovahimba village while we set up our tents next to their huts and ate lots of food cooked to us on a gas stove.

The students finished our trip at the Namutoni Lodge at the Environmental Education Center of Etosha National Park. This experience was one of the first in which the students were able to see the indigenous wildlife if Namibia – giraffes, zebras and springbok as the most present. While the trip to the park was quite the adventure, participating in game drives and seeing various snakes, the students had been provided with a couple of articles about the issues with the site. These articles made Kelley think about the perceptions that they held about Africa before their trip to Namibia. For example, this trip fulfilled the original, stereotypical idea that many foreigners coming to Africa have, especially that that there are wild animals roaming free around the land.

Through this travel seminar, the students saw the stereotypes that people at home have about Africa. The students lived with families in huts and homesteads that work the land and live without electricity and running water. The students got to travel to Etosha National Park and see wild animals drinking at water holes, speaking references to the Lion King. They got to see these stereotypes, but as a comparison to the rest of our experiences in Namibia, especially living in Windhoek, students have realized that Namibians are living in many different ways – some in huts in Outapi, some in houses in Windhoek. It was an eye opening experience, and helped students see a much better rounded piece of Namibia.

Week 8: Rural Homestay

Kelley G., John, Holland, Morgan

On Monday we traveled to the north to participate in week long rural homestays in the town of Outapi. Each student stayed with a different family in this rural area, some working in the fields, others washing dishes by starlight, while some helped to brew beer. We are CGE. These are our stories.

During the latter part of the week, we were given an opportunity to visit a school called Ponhofi Secondary School. It was private and surprisingly reminded Holland of Oberlin College because they had over half the student population living on school grounds (‘on campus’). As usual, we had our tour guides and split into groups. Holland was very excited to see that in almost every classroom there was a poster that had information about HIV and AIDS. At her homestay, she noticed that the majority of people she met wore a red ribbon. She asked her homestay uncle about it and he explained there was a popular program in the schools up there called “Window of Hope.” It teaches young people in local schools about health (specifically HIV and AIDS), mostly through performing and visual arts. Apparently, many parents objected to the program at first because they thought it was promoting increased sexual activity. Soon, however, they found out that wasn’t true (particularly from the students) and then the program picked up support.

Holland left her homestay feeling very encouraged by the people she met there. While the group spends a lot of time in class trying to figure out how to change young peoples’ mindsets, it would seem that there are a few minds that have already been changed. Holland’s homestay brother explained that if he changed his mind, he could only hope that his friends would change their minds as well and then their friends would change their mind and so on.

John’s rural homestay experience was shaped by the Kashima family and the values they practiced each day. Aside from a prayer before each meal, the Kashimas never verbalized their faith; instead they expressed it through their actions. As soon as our first hug, I was embraced as a member of the family. I am sure my struggles to adjust to culture tested their patience, but they never let it show. Whether it was forgetting to end a greeting in Oshivambo with Tate or Meme or making their work more difficult in the fields, my stumbles gave my family reasons for frustration. Thankfully, the Kashimas viewed me as family. With a sense of understanding, they acted on the philosophy: what child doesn’t give their parents daily annoyances? The three sons also never led with any judgment; instead they were equally willing to act as my teacher. One afternoon, we were walking around the outside of the family’s property when we stumbled upon a goat that was unable to move, because of the number of ticks lodged into his foot. Without pausing, the middle son pulled out the machete as the younger one held the animal down. Tired from a long day of speakers and excursions, I was not ready to see this poor animal get killed. Instead, my brother went straight to work scrapping countless ticks from the bottom of the goat’s foot. Once I learned to ignore the goat’s agonizing screams, I took the machete and finished the job. To complete the mission, the youngest son and I grabbed both ends of the goat and threw it over the fence, just to see it slowly stand up and walk away.

With all these small acts of kindness, I was not surprised that my family was directly related to Rev. Kashima, a respected elder in the community and one of our speakers. Rev. Kashima spoke to our group about the role of the church in post-independence Namibia. He primarily focused on the challenges faces the church, mainly corruption, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, economic empowerment, suicide/murder, and building more hospitals. Between the Rev. Kashima’s passion as he spoke on these national issues and enter present benevolence in the Kashima home, it was clear that my homestay family was actively trying to live into their faith for the benefit of others.

One of the major highlights of our travel seminar to the north was our visit to the palace of the Uukwaluudhi King where King Shikongo Taapopi welcomed us to the region. He explained to us the changes being made in the area such as the current building of a new community center near the palace that would provide needed services to the people. During our tour, we were taught a lot about the culture and traditions of the Ovambo people, including the proper way to greet the king by touching your elbow when you shake his hand and bending your knees slightly if you are a woman or nodding your head if you are a man. Lauren’s host mother, Meme Albertina, joined us in our meeting with the king as she is the head women of her region. We enjoyed a traditional meal that was prepared for us at the palace and watched as they performed songs and dances, with some of the students and Meme Albertina even jumping in to learn the dances. Overall, it was a very interesting experience to meet the royalty and leaders of the Ovambo tribe and gave us a view into the structure and traditions of the group.

During her homestay, Kelley learned more about the importance of the King and the role of the head men and women in the community through her host mother, Meme Helvi, the daughter-in-law of the regional head woman Meme Albertina. When Meme Helvi found out Kelley was going to visit the King, she was very excited so she picked out the clothes she should wear and taught her ahead of time how to respectfully greet the king. After making her promise to give her a detailed description of the king and the palace when she returned, Meme Helvi explained to Kelley some of the tradition behind the leadership of the Ovambo tribe. For example, she explained how the succession line for the throne does not follow direct lineage, but rather the sons of the king’s siblings are next in line for the title. Because of the family connection with the regional leader, her husband’s mother being the head woman, Meme Helvi explained the importance of the head men and women in the community and how they bring the concerns and ideas of the people in their region to the king. She also explained the succession line of head persons staying within the family, with the head man or women deciding when to pass their position to another family member. From just interacting with her host family and extended family, Kelley was able to see the pride that comes along with the important position of having a head woman in the family as well as the respect that is shown to them by the community.

One of the longest distances that we traveled during our rural homestay was an hour and a half kombi ride to the town of Oshikango. This town contains one of the most accessible border posts between Angola and Namibia, and we traveled there to learn about the issues surrounding the porous boundary. We arrived at the border post around ten in the morning, exiting the kombi in to the extreme heat of far northern Namibia, as well as holding our cameras and bags closely to us because of the large number of people and the high rate of crime in the area. This crime was one of the most prevalent topics of discussion that we had while visiting the border. For example, the moment that I told my host mother from my rural homestay that we were traveling to Oshikango, the first thing that she said was, “be careful.” Not only is the town of Oshikango well populated, but also criminals tend to travel there because of the ease of crossing the border over to Angola. In order to cross the border, from either country to the other, your first and only step is to go to the office near to the border itself, tell the officer why you want to cross and for how long you will be there, get a piece of paper signed with that information posted, and cross over. The lack of security here makes it quite easy for people to cross the border. It is extremely easy to cross this border, mainly because the Angolan people come over to Namibia and sell cheap goods to Namibian people. In addition, the town of Oshikango is industry-based, and so the presence of the export processing zones leaves a large focus on money making and the exchange of goods – the reason for Angola and Namibia’s porous borders.

The ease of crossing this border has also created a large population of “street kids” from Angola taking up “residence” in Oshikango, Namibia. These kids cross over, with no money and no housing, and live on the streets, working anywhere that they can and begging for scraps. In addition, many of these children result to a life of necessary crime to survive. The issue of “street kids” was one that interested many students. A few students had host mothers that were teachers in either primary or secondary school, so comparing the discussion on education in the rural areas a bit south of Oshikango to that going on in the packed town was an interesting one. For example, Morgan’s host mother was a primary school teacher in Outapi. They had one conversation after dark, as most conversations took place over a cup of tea under the stars, about the languages that she spoke and they spoke in her school. English is the official language in Namibia, but we had talked a little bit about the issue of the native language of Oshiwambo in the region. This was also a discussion that connected back to our Politics class, and the debate over the age at which students should start being taught only in English. My host mother was very knowledgeable in English, and she taught her classes in English. However, in a place like Oshikango where there are many young children being enrolled in schools from Angola, where the official language is Portuguese, has an interesting comparison. Even in Oshikango, the teachers in the schools are not allowed to teach in any language but English. Therefore, the students coming from Angola are at an extreme disadvantage in Namibian schools, as they attempt to catch up on English and in classes. After this homestay, CGE students knew just how difficult it could be, as they were very limited in their Oshiwambo language skills!

Week 7: Classes

Antonio, Martin, Lindsey

In history class, we visited a professor at the University of Namibia who spoke about apartheid from a perspective we had not yet encountered on this program. Dr. Christo Botha gave a realist presentation on the origins, practices and justifications of apartheid. As an Afrikaner who fought against apartheid but whose grandfather campaigned in Namibia for the National Socialist Party, he provided us with a very well-developed and multi-faceted analysis of apartheid. His unique position as a university professor, historical analyst and white Namibian allowed Dr. Botha to speak from a much more objective position than we usually hear from speakers. Obviously his view was not entirely objective, but because he was not part of the oppressed group during apartheid his view was much less emotional and much more factual. His presentation focused primarily on the origins and political development of apartheid rather than the lasting psychological, social and economic effects we generally encounter. When we left UNam, the group continued the dialogue. We realized that although we all understood the power structure of apartheid, until hearing from Dr. Botha, we didn’t fully grasp the roots of apartheid as an institution. Dr. Botha was able to effectively convey the fear white South Africans felt. This fear was manifested in segregationist policies that claimed to provide protection of African culture and give black Africans a road to freedom.

I (Martin) particularly enjoyed this speaker. I believe that he was a very genuine speaker, and was effected by apartheid in a very different way than any other speaker we had in the past. Beacuase of this the history of apartheid that he gave made me think of that time from a very different perspective. His talk highlighted the appalling rhetoric that South African’s believed and used as a basis for a racist policy. They talked of African freedom, and building African culture but what they really wanted was to keep Africans from moving forward into education and employment. It was heartbreaking to hear the way Afrikaans leaders gave speeches, hear how absurd the things they said were, but also know how many people followed those men. It was eye opening in a way none of the other speakers had been on the same subject. It is amazing to me how multiple perspectives can finally put together a picture that was very confusing from only one. Now not only do I know what happened, I know why, which might be most important.

At the end of the week, we visited a San farm as part of our politics class. Earlier in the week, in Urbanus’ class, we learned about land reform and redistribution in Namibia. When we arrived at the San farm, we received a brief introduction from the chief and a visiting government official, Gerson Kamatuka. The farm was essentially a project of the Namibian government aimed at rebuilding the lives of the displaced San people. The relocation of this farm forced the San people to drop many of their traditional practices and conform to a more modern way of life. Traditionally, the San were a nomadic hunting and gathering tribe, but what we saw was a permanent community with concrete houses and tin shacks. The government official present at the farm described the government’s goal as being the development and improvement of life for this group of people. However, many of us struggled with the fact that so many aspects of the San peoples’ lives had been drastically changed and even outlawed (such as hunting). Our apprehensions were confirmed by talking to residents of the farm and from observations we made during our tour. Our tour guide, in particular, revealed that the people had not even been consulted before moving onto the farm. We were quite disturbed by the fact that such a huge change to the San way of life would be undertaken by the Namibian government without even an attempt at consultation. I (Lindsey) personally have been struggling with this contradiction of development. Oftentimes, the results of development-oriented projects do not benefit the people for which they propose to. More theoretically, the San farm visit forced me to consider the point of development. Is the goal of development increased happiness? More stable income? Better resources? Security? More importantly, shouldn’t it be up to the people, rather than the government, to evaluate their own happiness or stability? When development isn’t initiated or demanded by the people themselves, it likely isn’t what the people want; and if the people don’t want it, why is it being done? There are so many contradictions inherent in development that this program has forced me to grapple with. The conflicts between development, modernization, traditional life, Westernization and culture seem almost irreconcilable at this point in the program. However, I hold out hope that with more travel seminars and experiences in Namibia, I will be able to move toward formulating some concrete ideas about the good and bad of development. On Thursday, for History we had Lily Azrat, an American, give a brief overview on American history. I (Antonio) was overall fairly impressed by the way Lily Azrat approached the lecture. Ms. Azrand began the conversation with a brief question and answer session on the numerous ethnic groups, disenfranchised in the U.S. We then took those race issues and compared their similarities to Apartheid. The overall objective of the lecture was to show that racism in America is very similar to South African Apartheid.