What a week!

I promised I’d report on the community meeting and self-defence classes. I didn’t plan on being all that excited to do it.

We held a community meeting on Saturday morning at Omatara (Oshiwambo word meaning open market). Community meetings in Tsumeb are notorious for poor turnouts, but this one was well attended. It helped that Omatara is naturally a busy place but we thought getting their attention and cooperation was going to be a heavy task. We requested ahead of time that all shops close during our meeting. They didn’t seem all that willing to do so but when Councillor Tobias went around with a megaphone they complied. Then about 250 of them pulled up benches and listened attentively throughout the meeting. We had a speaker from the Ministry of Health, and a demonstration by TCE (Total Control of the Epidemic) but the highlight was definitely Tate Luanda Ndemweda’s speech. He is an HIV positive man living in Oshivelo, about an hour north of Tsumeb. We invited him to speak at our meeting because we are having a difficult time finding anyone in Tsumeb willing to speak out publicly about their HIV status. Word got out that we would have an HIV positive speaker. That may have also helped with the turnout. When Tate Ndemweda finished he was given a large round of applause and words of encouragement. A couple shop owners even gave him bags of tomatoes and onions.

We also held self-defence classes at Meameno Centre over the weekend. My friend, and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Paddy, taught the classes along with his partner Brooke. The two of them are trained in Karate and Tae Kwon Do. The classes were only for girls. We had 12 who completed the all three classes and received certificates. I was really impressed with the teachers and the girls. Paddy and Brooke spent a lot of one-on-one time making sure the girls learned all the techniques. I was amazed at what they were able to do after just three days. It was fun to see some of the really shy ones perform with so much energy. It seems so many young girls in Namibia have a hard time standing up for themselves and defending their rights. I think these classes gave them a real boost. I want to send special thanks to Paddy and Brooke who brought these classes to girls all over Namibia.

I know I complain a lot about being ineffective and not getting things done. Most of the time that’s how I feel. So believe me when I say this: I played a big part in making these events a success, and I’m proud of it.