I have been in Namibia for 4 days, a few hours short of beging learning tasks outside of observation, exploration, and good old talking to locals. Namibia is a very dry and hot country, with lots of rural land, deserts and dunes, and one large city--Windhoek--where 1/4 of the population lives. Namibia was colonized by the Dutch, after which it became a South African protectorate. It has over 10 ethnic groups, and a wide variety of languages: from English (aka Namibian English--much different than anticipated), the redicilous Dutch-styled Afrikaner language called Afrikaans, and tribal languages such as Tswana, oshiKwanayama, otjiHerero etc. From what I have learned so far by communicating and reading independently, unlike South Africa, Namibia has a stagnant economy; a slowly growing industry coupled by a fastly decreasing agricultural sector for such a rural country. It relies heavily on South African products, and its only profitable industry--the diamond industry. With that said, it is easy to believe that Namibia has one of the worst inequalities in all of Africa. The Afrikaaner population (the white, Dutch decendents) remain those with the large piece of the pie, while the black majority still suffers from the lack of opportunity colonialism and apartheid left Namibia with. During a brief tour of the city I noted that there are neighborhoods looking like Beverlli Hills, while there are some so engulfed in poverty that I began to wonder the effectiveness of this "stable" government to provide for those in need. 3/4 of Windhoek residents live in Katutura, outskirts of the city center where all the black persons were forcfully moved to during the apartheir era. 1/2 of them still live in slums, 1/2 have managed concrete houses.Now the contrast that makes me sick with my white privillege. We live in a very nice neighborhood in West Windhoek, a 15 min walk to the city center aka downtown. Our CGE
house is large, on a few different levels, confusing, with gorgeous flowers, palm trees, a nice patio and courtyard, and even a small pool. There are 4 rooms: one for the 3 guys, two for 6 for 6 girls each, and one with 5. I was not only lucky to be in a 5 persons room, but the chill room--both in terms of chill people, and chillness that you cant get in most rooms of the house. We have chores we each do every day, and so far the system appears to be working. We have two wonderful cooks who come to cook for us, and share our 1st floor with the CGE offices for our program coordinator and our professors. If I am not mistaken, we will have some classes in our large, comfortable living room, and others in the nearby university.
Comfort, food, space, internet, and even a small hostel 3 minutes away with an outside bar, a pool and billiard table; this place has the potential to become the every day space for people living in it, with no need to get out into the city, the community, the villages. I understand the need for comfort in order to produce a learning environment, and a safe one where an org from the States would feel comfortable sending students to. However, I also stand firm with my convictions and reasons that I did not come to Namibia to watch the world from a window, learn its history from a book. I could have done that at St. Olaf.So far I have taken walks around the neighborhood, gone to town a few times, gone to the flea and crafts market, hung out at night with locals who go to the University near the house (all with a few others from the group dad, no worries). On Thursday Jessica, Kari and I got oursleves a guide and decided on a real tour of the city. We took a cab, got dropped off at the slums in
Katatura and decided to get lost. We hid from the rain in a stranger's house where we got more than a roof over our heads. 18 and 13 year old girls were cleaning their small shack insead of attending school, while their brother worked on carpentry in the "white part of town". They moved to Namibia from the north for the education as there is no schooling system in their village. They signed to rent the piece of land for N$120/month from the municipality, and built themselves a shack out of used metal and cardboard. The shack had no floors, no running water, no electricity, and no toilets. If 3/4 of Windhoekans live in Katatura, and 1/2 live in this slum neighborhood, that makes 38% of all residents of this city living under the poverty line. If Namibia is 2 million people, and 500,000 live in Windhoek, around 200,000 of them live in extreme poverty. Imagine the coditions these 3 siblings were escaping from the north--worse than this?We walked around and I saw such suffering in people's faces. With my feet muddy to my ankles, my shirt and hair drenched from the rain, it has never been easier to imagine walking in the poor's shoes. We ran into a kindergarden and decided to go in. The assisstant, not more than a year or two older than me, welcomed us and gave us some time out his day as we had so much to ask. The kindergarden had 125 orphaned children from the ages of 3 to 6, who've lived with family and neighbors after their parents deaths, yet need extra care and attantion due to their living conditions in houses barely fitting their new guardians. They recieve 2 meals a day, play together, and are watched and thaught by 4 teachers. The assisstant said that all kids go on to school, a phenomenon quite unlikely due to high fees and little care at home. The non-profit, donor financed group supports them financially and emotionally all through their future schooling experience. Their sad faces, their dirty old clothes, their serious manerisms when rationing their lunches, their slight disinterest in the foreigners coming in to so-called "learn" brought tears to my eyes. Not wanting to appear as one of those who pity the unfortunate, dumps a few volunteer hours, and lives better with a clear consciousness, I composed myself and asked and asked all about this place and all others like it, ignored by the government.
Now it is the next day though I thought appropriate to finish where I abruptly ended, as my experience today defines how I will deal with the restlessness I feel about my place into this new community I call home. Today was the first day of my internship with the Namibia Housing Action Group/Shackdwellers Federation of Namibia. Shack Dwellers is a network of housing saving groups aiming to improve the living conditions of low-income people living in shacks, while Namibia Housing Action Group is the local support for the people's processes of the Shack Dwellers. In other words, the org facilitates Shack Dwellers' innitiatves by working in the community, advising, organizing and documenting the processes and experiences of the borrowers and the progress they make by taking charge of their own savings, borrowing, community building of the standard 2-room concrete houses in places of the cardboard shacks with utilities, as well as their future betterment. There are 10 staff members, all focusing on the housing savings and development-few office workers, bookkeepers, and a few field officers .I on the other hand will be starting in a new position. In this situation, there are no expectations, though there is also the I fear I could dissapoint. Now my work will be facilitating the Shack Dwellers; Twahangana Loan Fund for small businessess. I went to Katatura and met with a group of women from a few borrowing networks, introducing myself and extending my help. The org said they just wish me to work on designing a way to evaluate loans already distributed, a way to measure how the borrowers' incomes are increasing, as well as an easy way for them to keep their own records in order to report progress. Speaking to the women I also found the need to aid many who are in the process of applying for loans, helping them design their business plans, finding their markets, and aiding them learn how to keep their own records. Though I recieved minimal direction from my supervisor, speaking to the women in the slums will not only be my inspiration, but my direction. I feel knowledgable enough to aid them; my economics background, my work with microfinancing. However, I will not let myself help. I am here to learn. I will not be one of those foreigners who come into a community they do not know, act as experts due to their superior education, do work often not suited for the people in need, and leave satisfied with themselves with a clean consciousness. I will try and learn from them, listen to them, observe their lives and the work they aim to do, and only then would I communicate what I know with them and aid them in learning how to improve their ways, not my ways, or the NGO's ways.
As there are only a borrowing networkds consisting of 15 to 40 women in Windhoek, I agreed to travel to the rural areas of Namibia's north on the weekends with a another staff member and a few successful women borrowers in order to share these women's experiences and learning, and introduce them to the organizational plan of saving, applying for loans, and record-keeping methods I aim to design for the women in the local slums. I plan to update much more in detail after the Wed meeting I will attend in the slum area with all the women borrower networks. I am nervous, scared, excited to learn from them and work together in increasing their chances for acquiring more and larger loans shared by the whole community.
So all is well and I will update soon as classes start tomorow and I've got lots of Namibian politics to read about. I miss you all, and hope all of you are well!
