Southern Namibia

Hello! Last week we travelled approximately 5 hours south of Windhoek for the weekend. The South is very different from Windhoek and the "North" in terms of population. Situated in the middle of the Namib desert the South is very hot, very dry, and very sparsely populated. It is a very poor region and many people blame the ruling party, SWAPO, for this. SWAPO was formed originally to represent the Ovambo people but changed its focus in the 1960s to include the entire nation. SWAPO is the liberation party and has ruled the country since liberation in 1990. Since the majority of the population is in the North, and are Ovambo, the Nama people in the South believe development projects and resources have only been given to the North and it has caused tension among the regions and tribes.

We went to the South to study tourism and its effect on development. The first night we stayed at a government ran campground at the Hardop Dam which is the largest dam in Namibia. It was nice and included facilities and picnic tables. The following night we travelled to Berseba which is a community ran campground. The term campground is very generous. There were no facilities and no flat, clear areas for our tents. But the campground is situated at the base of a very cool crater. The 'mountain' is a volcano that scientists believe never erupted and the magnum just went back into the earth. There was a very primitive trail that we were able to take over the top of the mountain and into the crater. The hike took approximately 4 hours and was very fun!! I will post pictures on my Picasa site today for you to see.

The greatest part of being in Berseba was meeting the local Aids action group at the high school. This group of students, primarily women, are working very hard to bridge stereo-types and inform the community about HIV/AIDS. We spent the afternoon with them and taught them new ways to teach HIV/AIDS awareness. It was very productive and I learned SO much from them. One of the hardest barriers to HIV/AIDS to break down is gender inequality. Women bear the brunt of HIV/AIDS and it seriously hinders their development. Also, there is a large occurrence of domestic violence and rapes in Namibia. This is attributed to the stark poverty and limited opportunities in the region. I learn so much from talking to students across Namibia. The younger generation is full of hope and very active in ensuring Namibia concurs HIV/AIDS during their lifetime.

The final night was spent at a private lodge. The difference between the previous 2 nights was tremendous. While we still camped the lodge offered all the amenities of a resort in the States. It was a very educational weekend. Namibia is relying a lot on tourism for its future development and prior to coming here I believed tourism was a great place to start. As with everything I have learned about development there are negatives to tourism and tourism is not the 'big' answer. Development is not simple and there is not one path to achieving sustainable development. This program has done an excellent job at forcing us to think critically about issues and ideas and not accepting an easy answer.

This is our last week of classes in Windhoek. We leave Windhoek in 10 days for Cape Town and then I come home on December 8th. I am very anxious to get out of this heat and back to a Colorado winter (Lets just avoid Wisconsin until absolutely necessary...brrr!). My internship at the Electoral Commission of Namibia ended today. I have spent the past 3 months working with the democracy division on voter education and registration. It was not always fun and never easy but I enjoyed it. Interning with a foreign government is very enlightening and, at times, frustrating. I was the odd person out and stood out like a sore thumb. The people worked very hard to make me feel comfortable and to educate me about their democracy. I shortlisted job applicants, compiled and edited their quarterly magazine, created posters, attended voter education meetings, summarized reports, and wrote a contract for a media company. I still am not sure how/why the contract I wrote is being used but I was with them today when the ECN and the media group signed it. Hopefully, looking up contracts online and copying the general idea will be sufficient but its hardly a professional document. I believe I will bring a copy home to have my Dad read. I am sure he will laugh hysterically! But over all, my time at the ECN was remarkable and I truly enjoyed seeing the dedication to free and fair elections.

I am working a lot on finishing my integrative project for next week. I am creating a political party that I believe will have the resources and ideas ideas to lead Namibia into the future. I am enjoying the process but creating a political manifesto is a lot of work!!

I will post again shortly. We are all just trying to see and experience everything before we leave!! I am getting very anxious to get out of this heat! Its insane! Hopefully, Cape Town will be a little bit cooler! They are also rewiring our house right now so we rarely have electricity during the day which means no cold drinks....ahh the joys of living in a developing country! Stay safe and I will see you all in a few weeks!