To all Sekolo's donors and supporters!
First and foremost THANK YOU for bringing us this far. We are approaching the end of our first month in Namibia and I want to share our progress!
Sekolo is established in the office of Africa Tourist Info (ATI) on the premises of Rivendell Guest House, complete with access to the Internet and a fax. We have a mobile phone and the use of a P.O. Box:
Sekolo Projects Inc.
c/of ATI
P.O. Box 97059
Windhoek, NAMIBIA
tel: +264 81 228 2696
fax: +264 61 250 258
This month I've met many people in ministries, management units and government organizations for approval and to obtain basic information like the names and addresses of regional educational directors. Things are now falling into place for the workshops, and I have met some wonderful people on my travels down many government corridors...:
I had meetings with David Sampson and Gonnie Kruger, our contacts at the Namibian Institute for Educational Development (NIED), which approved Sekolo's materials last October. David has helped us find a good printer for the Teacher's Guide and NIED has offered to make a donation.
The Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture (MBESC) is Sekolo's liaison ministry. The Ministry's HIV/AIDS Management Unit (HAMU) will be our direct link to the schools. To date I have been working with a Dr. Heinrich Heinrichs, an Advisor to HAMU, and Ms. Felicity Haingura, the Senior Education Officer standing in for the Director who is away on sick-leave; we have a meeting arranged for his return. They are both supportive of Our HIV ABC and how it will complement the Ministry's current efforts in HIV preventative education.
Much of my work so far has been process. I need to ensure that everyone knows about Sekolo and is happy for this program to take place. So this week we are all waiting for the official stamp of approval from the Permanent Secretary of MBSEC. As the key Ministry agencies NIED and HAMU are supportive, this should hopefully be a formality. Once we have that approval, HAMU will contact the Regional Directors on our behalf. Through the Regional Directors, I will be able to contact the cluster centre schools and set-up the training workshops. It is a delicate and at times frustrating process moving through all the appropriate channels, but it will ensure a solid foundation for the programme and any future work that I do here.
One of the pieces of information I obtained (which took two days of being passed from office to office within the Ministry!) corrected what I had been told before. There are in fact only 520 'secondary' schools. There are other schools which work with learners in the age-groups that Sekolo is targeting, and the addition of combined and upper primary schools will raise the number towards the 1000 mark. I've decided that it will be easier to implement the program in the 520 secondary schools first and then we'll use the momentum to approach the other schools. I am also working on the possibility of running workshops for vocational training centres that run programmes for children who leave school early.
While the Ministerial bureaucracy churns, duplication of the training materials are in process. The Teacher's Guide is going through proofing to be printed by Solitaire Press for delivery by 10 April. Simon Wilkie of Mubasen Film and Video has told us that final output should take about a week.
I have been looking into the purchase of a used vehicle, and I am now convinced that I will need a 4x4, and preferably a double-cab, to keep all the materials locked and safe as I am traveling.
The prices on these vehicles are higher than I had hoped; however their re-sale value seems to remain quite high, apparently regardless of the mileage or model year! One of the vehicles we looked at had over a million kilometers on the dial! Under the hood things were held together with tape and rubber bands, and they were still asking N$70,000 (US$10,000). The initial out-lay in cost for a safe car may set us back a little in terms of how many workshops can be funded before August, especially in combination with the longer then anticipated set-up time and the school calendar. However, the cost will be re-couped at re-sale. Who knows, it may even go up in value!
I was invited by HAMU to attend an evening to honor the First Lady, Madame Kovambo Nujoma. It was an exciting event as I had never seen the First Lady, President Nujoma, the Prime Minister or the newly instated President Hifekepunye Pahumba. All were present and I was able to hear both the President and First Lady speak. I also had an excellent opportunity to tell people about Sekolo.
I have also re-connected with an artist friend, Rui Quime, who is originally from Angola. Rui creats lino screen prints and had an exhibition recently in Berlin. We are hoping that he will design a t-shirt for Our HIV ABC participants and I am investigating the cost of printing them here. If anyone is interested or knows anyone who might be interested in sponsoring the t-shirt, please let me know!
I spent one weekend back at my old school in Aminuis. The children were thrilled to see me, and I was happy to be able to show them the film and proof of the Teacher's Guide. They were really excited by the project, as were the sisters who looked after me for two years.
In April, Geoffrey Silver will be traveling to Namibia to film interviews with the Ministry employees that I am working with, as well as document the current HIV situation in the country. He will then return to the US but come to Namibia in the Summer to create a film to portray what is happening and show you all how the workshops are running!
I hope that you are all well, keeping warm despite the snow that continues to hit the northeast, and looking forward to the eventual arrival of Spring. Namibia is gradually cooling off, at least in the city-centre. Windhoek has received a good amount of rain, although the more rural areas are still baking in the sun and longing for water!
As my accent changes and adapts, so will my spelling, as this machine and this country use a different version of English. So I apologise and hope that you will still be able to understand my news!
Thank you always for your support, letters and emails of encouragement,
Elizabeth
PS: Visit our newly updated website for pictures of Windhoek, the Ministry of Education, NIED, and my weekend trip back to Aminuis! www.sekoloprojects.org
