Week 13: Oh the Possibilities of a thoughtful Journey

Post by Buay Tut

After an eye-opening, relaxing and educational trip to the south, the 13^th week of classes eliciting topics ranging from religion and H.I.V. &A.I.D.s to political party structures in the United States and Namibia.

Religion students participating in an HIV/AIDS role play

In religion Evan Binder and Katylen Stremer lead the class on a discussion about the role which the church should play in facilitating and advocating awareness about H.I.V. and A.I.D.s.  Instead of the usual question and answer forum, we were each assigned a role as different members within a community. Each student then responded to a series of questions concerning the issue of H.I.V.  A.I.D.s within religious communities with the values and beliefs of whatever character they happen to be playing in mind. I really enjoyed this creative and unique way of facilitating discussion.

 With the last excursion out of the way and the ever approaching final integrative projects forthcoming, it has really started to sink in this week that our time in Namibia is slowly coming to an end.  This realization came in no greater sense than in our final wrap up session for our internship course on Tuesday. During this session we took the time to reflect and look back on our journey within the context of the internship course and experience. We revisited the initial fears we had and compared them to our current state of being and feeling about the internship experience. We focused on what we felt we gained in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitude, we then applied these three aspects to what we felt we contributed to the host organization.

 Having come off an exceptional summer internship at my local county attorney’s office this past summer, coupled with my being of African origin, I felt I was ready for and could handle anything Namibia threw at me. I thought since NamRights was also a public service entity it would possess the same dynamic’s between its employees as I had found at the county attorney’s office. I pictured everyone having their own set of objectives and workload to accomplish each day. In my mind I pictured having my own little desk, with my own work load specifically assigned for me to accomplish each day.

Buay and his coworkers at NamRights

I can only describe the environment and culture which I found at NamRights as laid back and relaxed. Often when there is not a press release, or pending documents to compile into electronic form, conversation and discourse consume our entire day. Another difference is the high level of freedom I have been given. Due to the lack of an outlined project and apart from my assigned duties of editing and revising press releases, I have the academic freedom to research and respond to any news articles or issues throughout Namibia or the globe as I desire.  I’ve learned to be much more flexible and not so constrained and dictated by schedules, but instead to just go with the flow. I feel I have also provided my host organization with a different perspective upon which to view and analyze issues.  I have learned much more then I could ever reciprocate, during my time with NamRights.

Week 12: An Excursion to the South

Post by Leah Rosenstiel

It really began to feel like the end of the semester 

as we headed to the South for our final excursion before we leave Namibia. Although we have not even come close to seeing all of the parts of Namibia, we have now gotten a taste of the South, Windhoek, the Kunene region, the north and the coast.

The trip was an extension of our Development class and we looked at eco-tourism and community-based resource management. From what I have gathered, community-based resource management is government promotion of the creation of community-owned conservancies and campsites. The idea being that to attract tourists, the community must preserve their natural resources. Additionally jobs will be created within the community.

On our first night, we stayed outside of Keetmanshoop at a beautiful community-owned campsite situated on the Fish River next to a natural hot spring. However, we learned from Bernardus, the owner, that the campsite rarely gets visitors. Both he and a representative from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism we spoke with seemed to think that one of the major problems for campsites in the South is a lack of marketing. From what I have seen at both our first campsite and the second community-owned campsite we stayed at outside of Berseba, I do agree with this. At the first campsite, there was only a small sign at the turnoff advertising it. Bernardus said that in order to have a large road sign, they would have to register with the Namibian Tourism Board, which costs a fee that the campsite does not have the money to pay.

But, even beyond the marketing issue, I think there are larger hurdles for community-owned ventures in the South. The campsite outside of Keetmanshoop, although scenic, may not have the natural resources to be a big draw for tourists. Unlike the more successful conservancies in the Kunene region that we have read about, they do not have Big Five animals (lions, elephants, buffalos, rhinos and leopards). Furthermore, private companies run many of the lodges and campsites on these conservancies. In addition to having more startup capital, private companies also have the benefit of employees specifically trained in hospitality and tourism.

We got to see firsthand some of the benefits of the private sector at our last campsite, Gondwana’s Kalahari Anib Lodge. Gondwana has begun to repopulate the area with animals, which is a draw for visitors. The lodge also has a pool, running water and other amenities. A representative from Gondwana talked to us in depth about Gondwana’s large focus on the environment. As much as I like the idea of conservancies, I think, because of their greater resources and ability to hire employees trained in conservation, private lodges might be more equipped to conserve the natural resources. However, one of the large benefits I see to the conservancy model is that it allows the community to continue to have control of the land and farm as well as preserve the natural resources.

From what I have learned and seen so far, I think that for the less successful community campgrounds in the South, a possible solution is to have a partnership with a private company. Another option might be that the government needs to find a different program to incentivize preserving natural resources for some communities. What I have gathered from this is that community-based tourism cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution for all the different communities in Namibia.

Week 11: Home Sweet Home

Post by Veronica Herren

After 3 exciting but exhausting weeks of traveling, we finally arrived back in Windhoeklast Friday night. On the last leg of our journey, approaching the comforting sight of the city lights at sunset, I realized that Windhoek has become home. We took the weekend to relax, get resituated into the house and reconnect with our friends here and in the U.S.On Monday we jumped back into our schedule with internships and classes.

The unofficial theme of this week seemed to focus on SWAPO, the ruling political party in Namibia. At the beginning of the semester, SWAPO seemed to be the hero of the independence movement. The past few weeks have painted a different picture of the ruling party. In religion class, we discussed the injustices SWAPO committed against many Namibians who were accused of being spies during the independence movement. There were many disappearances, torture and imprisonment that were connected with SWAPO in the seventies. 

Phil Ya Nangologh, founder of the organization NAMRIGHTS, spoke to us about his personal experiences with SWAPO and his opinion on the church’s role in Namibia. He used to be a soldier for SWAPO, and his brother, along with many other Namibians, disappeared during the fight for independence and has still not been found. He was presumed to be killed by members of the SWAPO party. Namibian society is still deeply affected by these disappearances and deaths that were never publicly acknowledged, and though around 90% of Namibians are Christians, the church has been largely silent on the issue. There are organizations like Breaking the Wall of Silence that are pushing for public reconciliation for those thousands of Namibians who still don’t know what happened to their family members. Because of the large Christian community here, there is a widely held belief that the church has a responsibility to stand up for these people whose rights have been violated, just as they did during apartheid. This is understandable; the church is supposed to be independent of the government, and I do believe it has a responsibility to protect the rights of the people. However, the church and SWAPO have been closely linked since independence, and it has been suggested that the church is neglecting its duty to stand up for human rights.

In politics, we were lucky enough to observe a session of the National Assembly. The overwhelming majority of the National Assembly is members of the SWAPO party, with only a few representatives from other parties. There has been a two-year long court case in which the opposition parties of the 2009 election accused SWAPO of manipulating the votes during the election process. On Thursday the court ruled in favor of SWAPO, which was not a shock, seeing as SWAPO has been the most powerful force in Namibia since independence. I think it is encouraging that the opposing parties can challenge SWAPO in a meaningful way, even if the decision was not in their favor. During the National Assembly’s meeting there was a lot of support shown for the outcome and for SWAPO, but there were also members of the opposition parties present who were vocal about their disagreement with the court’s verdict, and who aren’t convinced that SWAPO is innocent.

It has been interesting to note how my opinion of SWAPO has changed over the last couple of months. When we arrived in Namibia, the ruling party was presented as one of the great forces during the fight for independence, one that was instrumental in ending the apartheid regime. After living here for 2 ½ months, I’ve become more convinced that although SWAPO did play an important part in Namibia’s independence, it has quite a few flaws. With the human rights violations during the independence movement, current corruption suspicions, and lack of public acknowledgement for the wrongs committed, the ruling party in Namibia is not what it seemed to be on the surface.

Week 9: Flying High

Post by James Repp

After a great but somewhat isolated five days on a farm on the outskirts of Khorixas, I think everyone (myself included) was looking forward to the relative freedom that came with being on the coast. While we had plenty on our CGE agenda, we still got the chance to eat at some great restaurants, climb a massive sand dune, and have a day all to ourselves. I spent mine kayaking at Walvis Bay (with a great showing of seals and a few dolphins), skydiving on the outskirts of Swakopmund and enjoying a large meal of sushi and other seafood at a restaurant over the ocean. It was a wonderful day of adventure, trying new things, and enjoying the best of what coastal Namibia had to offer. However, in the back of my mind I couldn’t help but thinking that these great privileges remain out of reach for a large portion of Namibians, and that while I was soaring through the clouds there are many just trying to get on their feet.

Swakopmund is no Windhoek in terms of scale, with an estimated sixty thousand people compared to the over two hundred thousand of the capital, but having lived in the still very segregated Windhoek for about a month and a half now, it was fascinating to see the same scars of Apartheid in what first appeared to be a charming coastal paradise. We were staying about two blocks from the ocean, in walking distance of the city center and all the great shops, cafés and restaurants nestled within. However, on our first full day we got to have a tour of the former township of Mondesa and the DRC (Democratic Resettlement Community), and got a much fuller account of what it meant to live on the coast of Namibia.

It was an incredible experience, but most Namibians don’t get the chance to fly so high.

Mondesa very much resembled Katutura and the DRC the informal settlements of Windhoek, and the parallels did not stop there. In our politics and development courses, the issues of a stubborn high unemployment and land distribution, both legacies of the apartheid government’s rule, still dominate most Namibians’ lives. While we’ve read and heard that the government is working hard to solve the unemployment problem with programs like TIPEEG (an employment program implemented by the government that created around 10,000 jobs), and striving to become an “industrialized nation” by 2030, the situation has not much improved for those on the outskirts of town. If anything, the problems continue to mount as more and more move from the rural north to the coast looking for work.

Unfortunately, that work is very hard to come by, especially for those who live kilometers from the city center. The two large industries in Swakopmund are the tourism and mining industries. Tourism comes in the form of all the activities around the city (skydiving, kayaking, cruises etc.) and the mining happens at Rossing Uranium Mine, but even combined, these two don’t offer nearly enough employment opportunities to support the growing population. Walvis Bay has a strong fishing industry and is home to one of the largest ports in southern Africa, but the problem there is the same.

Fortunately, the story does not end there. I saw incredible signs of hope during our stay, and believe that the Namibian people have the skills and the will to overcome the heavily stacked table set before them. We heard an A Cappella group made up of local young men who have turned their passion of singing into an employment option. We saw toddlers learning their ABCs and behaving amazingly at Lucky’s Kindergarten, where only one woman looks over fifty kids. We walked through the Walvis Bay Community Shelter and saw abandoned children getting a second chance for a home because of the hard work of the staff there. These signs are good, and if Namibia can capitalize on its status as an attractive tourist destination, as well as the government get their act together, I believe that one day the wonders of this great country can become accessible to its people and not just its visitors.

Week 8: Decolonizing the Mind

Post by Samantha Frisk

“Decolonizing the Mind.”  When I received the program manual with this phrase on the front I thought I had an idea of what this meant, but after my rural homestay I have truly been pushed to do this.

It was hard to acknowledge that before my rural homestay I had equated rural with poverty.   I had taken a look at all the material things I have and judged households against this standard.  By creating this category of “have”, my mind consequently narrowed in on what others did not have.  So, admittedly, driving past farms, tin shacks, and mud huts there was a sympathetic wrenching in my stomach and though at one point I considered volunteering in such communities, I worried about my limitations or the negative effects of my “aid”.  My first step toward reconciling these thoughts was to learn about “impoverished” communities.

My week on the Indhoek farm in Khorixas abolished all my previous conceptions and reasoning for wanting to learn from this rural community.  From the first moment I stepped out of the CGE van, I began to look at this community for everything that they have, not for what they do not.  Those things that I might have thought were lacking before had now dissipated and I began to admire the things they had.  I even wondered if the absence of physical possessions that I saw was the reason for their strong sense of community, lively nature, and conservation of resources.

My host family lives in a small, two-room, cow dung hut that sits on a farm with several other families.  The farm has no electricity, no sewage, and a water trough that the people and animals share.  I imagine that for my host family there is a shortage of food, when me and my box of food aren’t staying with them so there is a physical reality of problems that my family is facing. However, I didn’t worry about them because of the support the received from their neighbors.  Throughout the week, I never ate a meal with only my host family.  I found myself at the neighbor’s house or children from the community at our home sharing what we had.  Many of the families on our farm, who were better off and had houses in the city, had goat and kudu meat that they contributed, while my mother would cook and share her fatcakes.  It seemed that whatever you had, you shared.  This unspoken expectation was incredible to me because even the families with little would divide up their food for the number of children that wandered over to their house.

The fluidity of the community was another aspect I came to appreciate.  Not only did I find myself with neighbors for dinner, but at every time of the day I was at a different house with different people.  At night we gathered together for conversation, games, singing and dancing.  It is amazing what fun you can have when you don’t have a television to rely on. My favorite memory is everyone singing a song in Damara entitled, “!Gâi tsedi Iguidi” meaning “Good Days Only.”  Everyone got up and danced around, clapping and singing loud and I felt like everyone was really connected in this moment.

When I stepped back and looked at their unity and strength as a community and love for their way of life, I realized that the industrialization that the Namibian government talks about or the international aid that countries offer could be detrimental to this.  Before people go in and begin giving what they think these people need, one should consult with the community first and think deeply about how it will change them.  More importantly, before pinpointing every “need,” take a step back and take in all there is to gain from places different from our own.  I truly believe a better service to society would be appreciating communities like the one I stayed in and absorbing the lessons they can teach us.

Week 7: From the Land of the Free to the Land of the Brave

Post by Katelyn Stermer

This week there seemed to be an unexpected, reoccurring theme at the CGE house: America. We visited the USAID offices for development class and attended a reception at the Ambassador’s home as well as the Living Rhythms benefit concert put on by the US Embassy at the American Cultural Center. I am also personally writing a grant proposal for the US Embassy Self-Help program during my internship at AIDS Care Trust (ACT). At this time (the half way point) during the semester I’m feeling slightly home sick so having these opportunities to be around other American citizens while still experiencing and learning about Namibia culture was a blessing.

Leon Mobley drumming with some university students

Our first experience at USAID (United States Agency for International Development) encouraged us to critically think about the role the United States is playing in the development of foreign countries, especially Namibia. Currently, USAID in Namibia is using most of its funding to sponsor HIV/AIDS programs in partnership with PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. My internship organization, ACT, is actually receiving a small portion of their funding from USAID and affiliates. A major criticism of the United States’ contribution to global development is that we don’t dedicate enough of our fiscal budget; in fact, less than 1% of our GDP goes to funding development projects in foreign countries. Compared to the percentage of what other countries contribute annually to foreign development, the American statistic has been presented in an extremely negative light during class readings. However, the Director of USAID Namibia framed the situation in an entirely different way than I had thought of previously; although the United States gives less than 1% of our budget, dollar-per-dollar it is a considerably higher figure than many other countries who give more like 5-10% of their annual budget to foreign aid. Although the amount is arguably still a problem, it shows where we stand in the larger scheme of things a little better.

After being at the USAID offices in the morning, we headed to the home of the US Ambassador in Namibia, Mrs. Wanda Nesbitt. The primary focus of the gathering was to be able to get assistance for overseas voting procedures. However, I think I can safely speak for the group when I say that the best part of the reception was to be able to speak to the Peace Corps volunteers. Once again our conversations with the volunteers had me thinking about discussions on foreign aid and raised several question in my head—does aid always have to come in the form of money? How much more valuable would it be to have people on the ground making connections with locals? Would more be accomplished with these partnerships? I found a few answers to these questions the following night at the American Cultural Center’s benefit concert ‘Living Rhythms’.

We happened upon a performance sponsored by the American Cultural Center benefitting a series the US Embassy was putting on called ‘Living Rhythms’. They brought guest performer Leon Mobley, an amazing drummer and art envoy, to travel around Windhoek and teach drumming to schools and music programs all over Namibia. To me this was a great example of ‘people aid’, sending human beings to interact with one another to promote development and encourage relationships. Sure, in most cases nothing can be accomplished without funding, but nothing can truly be sustained or done without volunteers and people willing to cultivate each other. I saw this in the Peace Corps volunteers at the Ambassador’s home and I saw it reflected in Mr. Mobley as well. 

A short clip from Leon Mobley's 'Living Rhythms' Africa Tour

Week 6: Volunteering at an Orphanage, Challenging Old Perceptions

The main building where offices and the clinic are housed

Post by Evan Binder

Over the past few weeks, I, along with two other students here, have begun volunteering at a local orphanage. Now, prior to going, I admittedly held many preconceived stereotypes about what I expected an African orphanage to consist of. I expected there to be many forlorn children without proper resources for developing as people. I rationally knew that I was projecting my limited knowledge, if it could be called such, onto the experience I was expecting to have, yet for some reason I couldn't get that picture out of my head. However, once I got there, I soon realized how wrong my ill-conceived perceptions had been. The facilities, while they would not be mistaken for a five-star hotel anytime soon, are very nice and appear to be more than suitable for a happy upbringing.

The orphanage maintains a nice garden
where they get some of their food

What I was most surprised by and most pleased to see was the children’s attitudes. They are some of the happiest children that I have ever met. They just have so much liveliness and vitality to just play and be. And this appears to extend to all ages, not just the lower kids who are less aware of what they don’t have. Another aspect that I found interesting was all the children’s attitudes toward each other. They all watch out for each other so well, and embrace such a communal life, where the older children love to take care of the babies and they are reminding each other to take their antiretroviral drugs (if they are HIV positive, which about 35% of the children are). I can’t say for sure what their motivations are for being so protective and caring for each other, but I can say that they seem to cherish and thrive in this way of life. While they may not have the traditional, western-styled concept of family consisting of two parents and biological siblings, such does not mean that they lack a familial environment, as they are each other’s family.

The picnic tables where children like to relax and play games

Another aspect of our volunteering has been tutoring high schoolers for their Grade 10 Exams. Here in Namibia, all students must pass a comprehensive set of exams on about 10 different subjects in order to move on to grade 11. The students that we have been tutoring seem to be very motivated to do well. However, it appears that the nation’s education system is not set up to allow them to succeed. All students must pay for school fees in order to attend school, with the cost of school fees dependent on the quality of the school. Additionally, students must pay for their textbooks, notebooks, and uniforms. There are many study aids that the students can purchase. However, the orphanage understandably has limited funds, making them unable to purchase books outside of the basic textbook for each subject. Without the study aids, students are just expected to study their textbook. Since the orphanage has opened, not one student has passed the grade 10 exams. It is discouraging to see how hard work and motivation to succeed can only get you so far, as it seems to not be enough to pass the rigid national exams.

The resource room/library where preschool classes are sometimes held

Week 5: Home Sweet Home - Living with a Family in Katutura

Post by Kelly Perfect

Well it is week five here in Namibia and as the summer flowers come into full bloom so do we. Of course I can only speak for myself but I feel that in many respects we have become well adjusted to living abroad and all that it entails. In the short time we have been here I feel that I have already learned so much about Namibia and the rich culture of this beautiful country. Much of this knowledge was gained very recently as we completed our urban homestays in Windhoek. I was placed with a lovely family of five with three children: two girls age 11 and 12 and a 4-year-old boy. I came into the situation assuming that the culture of a Namibian family would vastly differ from my own and that I would often be pushed out of my comfort zone, but to my surprise this was not the case in my experience.

With all of our study of traditional culture, history, and development I think we have in a sense been set up to expect all Namibians to strongly abide to these practices, but I found this to be largely untrue of the daily going-ons of my host family. While I did learn a lot about traditional African cooking and tradition and added a few excellent recipes to my repertoire I felt as if most of the week I was just staying with another family in the US. Everyone in my family was very inquisitive and intelligent and as much as I asked them questions about their life they asked about mine. But I think the most valuable lesson I gained was that even when you are on the other side of the world a family is a family.

Every night we ate dinner together and talked about our days, we watched popular TV shows and movies (which were usually American) and slept in on Sunday mornings. All of these things provided a lot of comfort to me and made me realize that all in all we are not so different. In spending time with my host brother and sisters I realized that middle school in Namibia is just as uncomfortable, insecure and awkward as many of us remember and that four-year-old boys have A LOT of energy no matter where you go.

Being in a different country you are conditioned to constantly observe the differences you see between your home culture and the new culture you are living in, but in doing so we often miss many of the similarities that bind us together as human beings. We all care about our families and coming home to a place filled with love and support.  We all want what is best for those we care about and ultimately hope just to be happy. When you really think about it these similarities seem much more important to me than the differences, because aren’t all of these things what are really important anyway?

Week 4: An insightful first week of classes

Post by Buay Tut

Even though this week marked the official start of our first full week of classes, classes have really been in session since the first day we landed in Johannesburg, South Africa. From the Hector Peterson Museum to meeting with Representatives from the ANC and the DA; these museums, historical sites, and lectures have facilitated insightful and motivating discussion among our group.  We constantly had to think critically and analyze the information presented to us in these unofficial classrooms.  It is this kind of critical thinking, inter-active, co- learning community which I have seen take shape in our first week of classes. Our courses utilize lectures, guest speakers, and field trips to help us gain an all-around understanding of the issues and topics covered.

Team building during week 1 also
played an important role in forming our
interactive, co-learning community

Our small class sizes make for great engagement and participation in discussion. I am also very happy with the student-centered approach taken by CGE in which many different types of learning techniques and styles are taken into consideration and utilization. Most of the learning takes place in our very own living room where we meet for most class sessions. I am very happy with this arrangement as classes have felt more like an exchange of ideas and discourse between each other. 

During this first week of classes we covered topics spanning religious identity, yoga philosophy, post-apartheid constitutionalism and an introduction to the traditional people of Namibia.

Wednesday morning we had our first religion course taught by Rev. Dr. Paulus Ndamanomhata. In this initial meeting we each presented on the development and evolution of our own critical analysis of religion and social change. We focused on what we saw the role of religion or spirituality to be in our lives and how it has created change in our communities, country and in the world. During this course we had a discussion pertaining to the role that parents should play in facilitating religious exploration for their children. The overarching question in this discussion was, should parents wait until their children were old enough and let them decide what religion to practice?

I personally felt it was perfectly fine for parents to bring their children up in whatever religious forum they saw fit. The bases for my belief was parents will always want what’s best for their children, and no parent would deprive their child of something they see to be beneficial or they themselves partake in. I also felt parents should be open and honest in facilitating discussion and questions from their children concerning religion.

                                                  

Students gathering in the living room before classes begin

This spirit of discourse continued into our first history course on Thursday where we explored questions such as why we study history, and the many different methods of historical enquiry available. We discussed how history is often told and written favoring the perspective of those in power. 

We concluded the week with Yoga and Political Science. In Politics we discussed the role which constitutions and constitutionalism has played in Africa, focusing on the role which foreign and international parties should have played in the drafting of African Constitutions. We also discussed whether a perfect constitution, which reflects the realities of society and is regarded by all inhabitants of a nation, could ever exist.

This quote by Nelson Mandela best captured my feelings during the first week of classes.

“No single person, no body of opinion, no political doctrine, no religious doctrine can claim a monopoly on truth.” –Nelson Mandela

Week 3: Getting Oriented to Life in Windhoek

Post by Samantha Frisk

We arrived back in Windhoek, refreshed from our time at Etosha, and were ready to settle in and become a little more familiar with our temporary home.  It was a packed week with tours of Windhoek and the start of classes and internships.

After Linda gave us an overall view of Windhoek, its different subdivisions and beautiful landscape, we hit up the local market for some Kapana (meat sliced and barbecued as you order it) and fat cakes!  We admired the hand-made Oshiwambo skirts and took note of some other vendors we might want to visit later. 

The next day, accompanied by a member of Kasie Adventures, we checked out some of what Katatura has to offer.  In this formerly black township, we visited the local radio station, Lutheran church, and an art studio.  We also shopped around for lunch and later in the day calculated how prices compared to those in the U.S., finding that the cost of living is much more than an average salary here and while some things may look inexpensive to us, a person has to work many hours to obtain some very basic items. Our guides offered us an honest perspective of some of the challenges this township still faces and the ways they hope to combat those, specifically by inspiring young students. 

Kasie Adventures was founded by Young Achievers, a youth empowerment group that is run almost entirely by students.  They organize and implement projects and seminars that aim to empower younger students through passing along their leadership skills and encouraging educational goals.  As an initiative to try to become self-sustainable they created Kasie Adventures and now give tours of Katutura on a more intimate level than just driving through or seeing the township from a distance. 

For me, this was a chance to interact a little with the people that live there and I was shocked to find that many of them do not come in contact with white people often.  Though this seemed outrageous to many of us, the reality was that though apartheid laws were not still in place, they still have an effect on the people living here.

Finally, we started some classes and our internships; our language class was particularly interesting.  Damara is the language that our rural home stay families will primarily speak, so we have begun learning greetings and introductions.  This “click” language is particularly difficult for a lot of us because of the new sounds it incorporates, but Sarah (a permanent CGE staff member) taught our first class and was really enthusiastic and encouraging, so we had fun.

The busy, but exciting week, was brought to a fantastic close with our first Yoga class.  The group left feeling rejuvenated and ready for the weekend!

Week 2 - A Wedding in the North

Post by Leah Rosenstiel

On our second morning in Namibia we left for a wedding in the North and a trip to Etosha National Park. Most groups hear about the North before they visit it. We, on the other hand, went there knowing almost nothing and got to learn from what we saw and experienced. From what we saw, the North, everything above Etosha, is a mixture of rural farms, suburban housing and small metropolitan areas. We were staying near the city of Oshakati at the Ongwediva Rural Development Center.

We were told that about 50 percent of Namibians either live in the North or consider the North their home, even if they are living somewhere else for work. The wedding that we attended was between our history professor Romanus and Katarina. I was surprised by the fact that even though both of them live in Windhoek, they still have very strong ties to the North as they opted for a traditional Oshivambo wedding eight hours away from Windhoek so that their communities would recognize the marriage.

Though we only got a small glimpse of life in the North, I noticed a very strong sense of community and tradition. But there were also aspects of the wedding that felt very modern. The wedding took place over the course of two days. The first day was spent in the bride’s village of Okatana. The day began with a Catholic ceremony followed by the wedding reception. The wedding party looked like the wedding parties I have seen in the United States. The bride wore a modern white dress and her bridesmaids also wore very modern dresses. The groom and groomsmen all wore suits. Many of the older women attending the wedding, though, wore traditional Ovambo dresses or skirts. Though the service was not in English, it seemed similar to a Catholic Church service in the US.

The reception afterwards was also a mix of modern and traditional. The bride’s family had to allow the couple to come into the reception. This tradition suggests the important role that family and the community play in weddings. It is not just about the bride and groom but many people in the community have to accept the marriage. They were greeted by a parade of women dressed in traditional clothes, all of whom seemed very excited about the wedding. Once the bride and groom were welcomed in, members of the bride’s family talked about why they approved of the marriage, similar to toasts people might give at weddings in the US.  Then everyone moved into large tents for dinner.

Presentation of the wedding gifts during the reception

The next day there was another reception in the groom’s village. One of the big things I noticed during the receptions was the number of different people that participated. Even the bridal party helped serve drinks and get everyone seated. The participation of all of these people really made the wedding feel like a marriage of two communities and two families. That led me to believe that community is a large part of people’s lives in the North.

Overall, I really enjoyed attending this wedding. I think that many of the traditions we observed will provide a good background for the topics that we will cover in class. I also like that now when someone says that they are from the North, I will have a better idea of what that means. Being at this wedding gave us all a taste of how some people who live modern lives in Windhoek still have strong ties to tradition. I am not sure what other Namibian weddings are like but the combination of these two things seemed harmonious. I was also struck by how similar parts of this wedding seemed to American weddings. Going to Etosha National Park, where you see wild animals that only live in zoos in the United States, it is strange to think that there are so many cultural similarities.

Week 1: A Warm South African Welcome

Post by: Katelyn Stermer

One of the many reasons I chose to come on the CGE Namibia program was for their great incorporation of experiential learning—the largest components of which are the home stays with South African and Namibian families. In total, we will complete three home stays, which will vary in duration and style. We spent our first weekend in Southern Africa on our first home stay with families from SOWETO (South Western Townships) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Our second home stay will last 10 days and begin in about 2 weeks time, when we will be living with a family in Windhoek, Namibia at night and returning to the CGE house during the day for classes and internships. Our third and final home stay will last one week and will be in the rural area Khorixas in the Kunene region of Namibia, located West of Windhoek. We will be taking language classes for this home stay because of the complexity of their language and the non-existence of many English speakers in the area.

As mentioned above, this weekend we had an exciting time with our SOWETO host families. Leah and I had the pleasure of living with the Makhothi family of the Orlando East neighborhood. Five people, the same as my family, live in the Makhothi household; Teboho (father), Mathapo (mother), Tshoanelo or ‘twani’ for short (daughter-18), Manneng (son-14), Ramokhele or ‘Ramu’ for short (brother- 10). Their normal weekend activities consist of watching lots of American and South African TV shows and visiting their extended family throughout SOWETO. We participated in all of these activities, attended church with the family and spent an afternoon walking around Orlando East with Twani’s friends.

The thing about South African families is… they are just like American families. I wasn’t very conscious of my misconceptions until I really experienced a weekend in the Makhothi home. Teboho and Mathapo have the same worries about their children and jobs as my parents have. The children work just as hard at schoolwork as my siblings do. What this home stay taught me more than anything is that we should be conscious of global problems because they affect people who are just like ourselves, only living in a different part of the world. 

This clicked for me when we toured Orlando East with Twani’s friends. The group of 19 and 20 yearold students (once again, same as us) immediately dove into conversation comparing life in South Africa and life in the United States. From pop culture to politics, unemployment rates to health care, the situations in South Africa are almost identical to those issues at the forefront of American minds. It amazes me that with such similarities many Americans are still oblivious to other areas of the world. I have appreciated not only learning about how related our two countries are, but what the people of South Africa think of Americans. Their expressions were generally positive with the caveat that we don’t look outside of our own country enough. I completely agree with their assertions and though trying my hardest to be otherwise, I have been culpable of those arrogant views in the past.

On the last night of our stay the family gathered Leah and I to give us traditional Sesotho names. My name is Lerota, meaning ‘Love’. This was a significant moment for me because I understood that these home stay experiences and my internship will teach me much deeper lessons than I could learn from any book or lecture.  I cannot wait to ask questions, embrace customs, and delve into the traditions of my next two host families.

Fall Semester 2012 - Week 1: Making Sense of Post-apartheid Economics

Post by: James Repp

Eight days in South Africa and hardly one day in Namibia are not enough to gain a full understanding of my new living situation, but it has provided a valuable, if only limited, window into a new cultural experience. Getting used to the winter (read: cold) weather was one thing, but trying to understand a whole new political, economic, and social atmosphere has proven to be a much greater challenge. 

Ever since landing, I’ve been confronted with the economic reality of two countries coping with the lasting effects of an apartheid regime. During our second day in Johannesburg, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Dale McKinley, a political activist and economist, who brought us up to date on the darker side of South Africa’s economic situation. According to McKinley, when the apartheid regime decided to give up power, they struck a deal with Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC), the majority political party that grew out of the liberation struggle. That deal promised to allow South Africa to become the democratic entity that it is today while keeping the economic structure of the regime intact. 

As McKinley said, there has been a huge accumulation of wealth in this country, mostly by the white community, many of whom are invested in the immense mineral resources the country has to offer. With so much money at stake, those in power weren’t about to relinquish their economic advantage because of a popular outcry against a brutal and unjust regime. As has happened throughout history, the regime fell, but those in power didn’t go anywhere, and they kept the country in an apartheid economy, despite the ANC rising to power.

I have seen this reflected in the structure of the cities that we have visited: Johannesburg, Pretoria, and even Windhoek continue to have the ‘rich, white’ north and the ‘poor, black’ south. Having only visited Soweto and Kliptown when I heard McKinley speaking, I found myself shocked when he told us that there had been “a huge accumulation of wealth.” Having just explored the tin shacks, pirated electric lines, and overall poverty of Kliptown, it was hard to believe that there were mansions only a few miles away. 

Not only are the communities still very racially split, but the opportunity to work one’s way out of poverty is not exactly abundant. Poor education and a disenfranchised lower class have resulted in a sustained unofficial unemployment rate of over 40% for the last twenty years. That is worse than the highest unemployment rate during the United States Great Depression. Some poorer neighborhoods that we explored had unemployment rates of up to 90%, reflected by the sheer number of young men lining the streets appearing to be doing virtually nothing. When dealing with the South African economy, one should understand that it has virtually remained in a great depression for over two decades, with no end in sight.

Dr. McKinley emphasized that there is no “silver bullet” to fix South Africa’s economy. The only way to reverse the negative effects of an apartheid system is to invest in the lowest classes. There is no such thing as ‘trickle down’ economics here (or in my opinion, anywhere). McKinley believes that the government has to close the expanding economic inequality by fighting against further privatization and providing short-term jobs to relieve those at the bottom. 

When meeting with representatives of the ANC, the majority party, I asked them what they thought about McKinley’s ideas. They acknowledged that their party needed to more vigorously enforce drastic changes in the South African economy. “Just don’t ask me what it is that we should be doing,” he said. In my opinion, that’s exactly the question we need to be asking.

References:

Dale McKinley lecture to CGE students at St. Peter’s Place, August 14th, 2012.
Thami Hcokwane, ANC party member speaking to CGE students on August 16th, 2012.