Building networks Changing lives OCT A project by. With Funding from. A Newsletter of the Women in Community Development Project

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1 1 A Newsletter of the OCT 2012 Building networks Changing lives i A project by With Funding from Forum For the Future

2 EDITORIAL Dear readers, Welcome to the first edition of - the Newsletter of the Women in Community Development Project. The name is a abbreviation of the principle areas where the project is underway; Soweto Katutura and Okahandja. The newsletter s primary objective is to provide the audience with a summary of the activities of the project on a regular basis. In this issue we will highlight the key activities which have taken place during the start of the project. The feature article will give us an insight to how the project has already made changes within the communities. This insight will be given through the life of the enigmatic Ms. Claudia Namises. You can also get a glimpse into normal Namibian life and appreciate the versatility of the people from the land of the brave. Leitago /Narib SoKaOkha! Editor IN THIS ISSUE II III Editorial Coordinator s Desk Welcome to Soweto Katutura For the love of community Recap ABOUT THE PROGRAM The Women in the Community Development Project is a collaborative project which seeks to improve the lives of women living in the Soweto Katutura and Okahandja communities. The project intends to build capacity with Namibian women in order to achieve a collaboration and information sharing among the women (through the use of methods like the study circles) in order to help communities deal with social problems appropriately. The project is administered by the Forum For the Future with technical Assistance from ABF and with financial support by SIDA. The Olof Palme International Center also provides support. While women make up 52% of the population of Namibia they still have a low social and political status. Women are not adequately represented in parliament and other decision-making organs of government in Namibia. Within the political institutions, women have low access to the executive and decision-making powers. To improve this situation the project will empower women to support each other while providing necessary political skills and education for holding political office or competing with their male counterparts. Another key objective of the project is to help the women to create platforms, through study circles and other fora, to speak in one voice and address the issues women face.

3 COORDINATOR S DESK Dear Friends, We live in a world where the role of the woman has evolved. Long ago women have stopped being looked upon as caregivers or stay at home mothers. Today woman are the roots which hold together the community and the beginning of all public discourse. It goes without saying that the role of women in society cannot be calculated. Specifically in an African setting woman are in the crux of community development, often initiating and implementing projects. For this reason I am so excited to be working together with the different stakeholders to improve the collaboration of women and their access to information. Forum For the Future has been around for many years and we have a history both in Katutura as well as all the 13 regions of the country as we have worked tirelessly to build capacity of women. It is excellent to see that some women, like Claudia Namises who is highlighted in this issue of, have taken the tools form our workshops and made significant changes to their own lives and those of the community. While we have already accomplished so much there is still more to do. I am proud that we have been able to receive the necessary support from the Olof Palme International Center and ABF to continue this our work. This is only the beginning phase of what we expect to be a fruitful and rewarding collaboration by all the stakeholders. Come, let s change lives. Samson Ndeikwila ABF Södra Småland works with liberal adult education, democratic learning (study circles) and practice in groups of peers, aiming at empowering disadvantaged people We also work with culture. We have many years of experience from international projects, mainly as project leaders. In this project, the local activities, as well as the project goal, lie well within the ABF working area. Our contribution will be that of experience and profound knowledge of the issues and methods that will be used in the project. ABF also has a vast experience of initiating and supporting the creation on civil society democratic organizations, both in present time and in the past. The ABF member organizations are quite different from each other, and therefore have contributed substantially to the vast and wide experience. ABF is a part of the Swedish Labour Movement, and among the principal goals are the defense for democracy, human rights, women s rights and children s rights, as well as defending poor people s right to culture, education and a dignified life. I m looking forward to build a long partnership between FFF and ABF and I m very proud to be a part of a small, but important part of the development of Namibia. Max Prades ABF Project coordinator FFF Executive Director

4 1 The Newsletter of the October 2012 = = Welcome to Soweto Katutura During the 1950s, the Windhoek municipality and the South African colonial administration decided to forcefully move the residents of the Old Location 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the north of the city. This decision resulted in the population resisting the decision which led to the use of excessive force. Having been forced to move from the old location the evicted people chose to give the new location the name Katutura which means The place where we do not want to live in the Herero language. Decades later Katutura constitutes more than 60% of the residents of the capital city Windhoek. While the north western suburb was initially structured to enforce the divide and rule philosophy of the South African government, today everyone is allowed to live where they choose. However, one still finds the location to be predominantly according to the specific tribe which it was allocated to. For example; in Damara location you will find the majority to be Damara speaking, in Owambo location you will find the majority to be Owambo speaking and so on. This however is not indiccative of a tribalistic climate but only testifies to the fact that, due to economic considerations, people are unable to move to another area. Forged from this rich and volatile history Katutura has become a point of focus for all development initiatives. For this reason the project is currently taking shape in the different communities of Soweto Katutura in order to effect positive

5 2 The Newsletter of the October 2012 = = For the love of community When you meet Ms. Claudia Namises you are immediately struck by the evident commitment and intensity that permeates from someone who is living a life of conviction and service. And if you dont see it she will not hesitate to tell you I love my community. Ausi Claudia is one of the participants of the Women in Community Development Project in cooperation with ABF and Olof Palme International Center. And in many ways she is a good example of most of the participants; she is strong, outspoken, knows her community like the back of her hand and has a proven track record of community activisim. This sense of social justice and community development was instilled in Claudia over a period of two historic conflicts. Claudia was but a teenager when the South Administration forced the black community to resettle to Katutura. She saw first hand how terribly unjust the world can be. And again, some 10 years later, she was hurled yet again into the midst of a great conflict when she joined the liberation movement by signing up for training. After being deployed into battle she was arrested and spent the rest of the struggle in the dungeons. When she returned to Namibia she immediately took to the tasks of improving the lives of those in her community. For someone whose career stretches from the Ou Lakasie (Old Location) to the liberation struggle she is extremely grounded and imensely energetic. She seems to have a boundless vigor. For example, in the middle of an explanation on how she started her business she roars out at the children playing out back to keep quiet and within seconds there is a total silence. This temperament seems fitting for someone who is accostumed to finding struggle and meeting it head-on. Like many community leaders she has become the point of call for any issues regardless of whether they apply to her or not. Despite her obvious talents and resourceful nature Claudia has had difficulties securing a livelihood. I could not make anything out of the little that I was getting. After her mother s death Claudia took over the role of the head of the family. It was through the training that she got from Forum for the Future that she was able to take the initiatve and start a business. I started selling sweets and chips and started to make small money to change my life. Today Claudia remains a beacon in the community and proclaims that she will use the knowledge from the study circles and worksops to improve the lives of her Dolam community.

6 3 The Newsletter of the October 2012 WELL SAID African women in general need to know that it's OK for them to be the way they are - to see the way they are as a strength, and to be liberated from fear and from silence. Wangari Maathai UPCOMING EVENTS Nov 1 Sharing Meeting 2012 The annual sharing meeting will take place in Windhoek and brings together the different stakeholders in order to share experiences and ideas. ABF will also attend the ASM Jan General Meeting To start the year off on a positive note and to provide all the partners with a common understanding of the objectives of the program for 2012, the general meeting will be held in the first quarter of the year.

7 4 The Newsletter of the October 2012 = = Panorama Let us take a take a journey around Namibia and see the people and beautiful land through the modern magic of photography. Focused on the task at hand. These ladies from the Okahandja project are listening intently during an information visit by ABF prior to the Annual Sharing Meeting African woman. This lady wearing the traditional Nama headdress was relaxing with friends in Okahandja recently.

8 A Newsletter of the Women in Community Development Project Contact us: A project by With Funding from Forum For the Future