Namibian students face staggering odds

EENHANA, Namibia — “Wa uhala po!”

This means “How is the day?” in Oshikwanyama — one of the many languages spoken in northern Namibia. Although this is all I can say in Oshikwanyama, it has made me many instant acquaintances, as friendly greetings are an unwritten law for Namibians. 

I came to Namibia through WorldTeach as part of the Ministry of Education technology initiative “Tech/Na!” to help teachers and students (or “learners” as they are called) achieve basic computer literacy.

Fifteen other Americans and I arrived in the capital, Windhoek, for a week of orientation to basic Namibian culture and the education system. It was exciting to be in Windhoek during the first game of the World Cup. Namibians take great pride in being a neighbor to the host country, so during the first game, the sounds of the streets were filled with the notorious “musical” instruments of the World Cup, the vuvuzela.

Orientation was a week of intense bonding among all of the volunteers. The common thread of curiosity and adventure drew us to Namibia, a sparsely populated land and one of the last countries to gain independence in Africa.

After a week of learning Namlish (the Namibian way of saying things, e.g., “now” really means “later” and “I’m coming” means “I’ll be back”), it was time to depart for our assigned villages. 

My village, Eenhana, in the north near the Angolan border was an eight-hour drive from Windhoek. Halfway to Eenhana, our car passed the “red line.” Today this marks the separation between wild cattle and cattle raised to be commercial meat. Two decades ago, it represented a line of apartheid. Most white Namibians live to the south of the “red line” in the more developed part of the country. 

The roads to Eenhana are unpaved, but the town roads are paved. Eenhana has a modest supermarket, four schools, two restaurants, a countless number of goats, and many of “squatter” villages.

When I arrived, my host family was waiting to help me move in. My host mom is a teacher at the school. Her home also houses her two daughters and three adorable grandchildren. Everyone was very welcoming, and the daughters spent the rest of the night showing me around Eenhana and teaching me school procedures.

The first night in my new house was comforting but cold — June and July are Namibia’s winter. Because it is summer in the U.S., I hadn’t thought to pack warm clothes for Africa. While it gets hot during the day, it can get down to a chilly 50 degrees at night.

I didn’t know what to expect my first day of teaching at Eenhana Junior Secondary School. I knew I would be teaching about computers, but I knew little beyond that.  The principal seemed eager to have me teach English as well, especially to Grade 10. They must pass an exam in English to move on to Grade 11.  

I arranged a full seven-period day of computer and English classes. I would see each of 500 learners twice a week — once for computer class and once for English class. I would teach computer classes to teachers every day after school.  Also, because Namibia has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the world (1 in 5 Namibians are infected), I decided to start an after-school HIV/AIDS education club.

At the Monday morning assembly, the learners gathered outside in neat lines to sing the Namibian national anthem, hear the news of the week from the principal, and be reminded to speak English! Because English is the official language of Namibia, and the language of the national exams, it is imperative that they be fluent. 

However, Oshikwanyama is the first and preferred language of all learners. The principal and teachers threatened the students with after-school chores if they were  caught speaking their mother tongue.

During announcements, there was much pointing and staring, as I was clearly a foreigner, and they had yet to discover my purpose. The principal allowed me to introduce myself and I told the kids not to be shy around me. I also advertised my HIV/AIDS club by saying those who attended would get to hear Beyonce on my music player. Beyonce is one of the only American singers they know, and they think we are friends since we are both American. This offer elicited a very positive response!

I was disappointed to find that the “computer lab” had only one working computer. I was anticipating teaching kids how to use computers by letting them all try on their own, and walking them through the steps. This was no longer feasible, so I had to readjust my game plan. 

Twenty learners would crowd around me as I explained the parts of a computer, what a mouse does, and how the words you press on a keypad appear on the screen. The kids watched in amazement as I demonstrated simple typing. It is somewhat daunting to know I only have two months and so much to do.

On the other hand, English classes were especially fun. Grade 8 learned figures of speech and came up with silly similes about their school. Grade 10 was learning prepositions so I taught them a preposition song to the tune of Yankee Doodle. We listened to Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable,” and I had them write down all the prepositional phrases in the song. 

I also taught them the American tradition of “bless you.” A kid in class sneezed and I instinctively offered up the common expression, only to be received by some blank stares and muted giggles. “Did you hear Ms. Baker?” one learner asked another. “She just blessed someone for sneezing!” Clearly, that is not the local social norm.

In Grade 11 we worked on writing formal letters. Their assignment was to write a letter to the Namibian Minister of Education and inform him of the most pressing needs at the school. 

To my surprise, while some kids requested textbooks (there are no textbooks), most of Grade 11 requested that the Minister build student housing on school grounds. Many kids were far from home and lived in a “squatter” village close by. They lived without adults, electricity, hot water, and sometimes food, for up to two months at a time, in order to be close to school. The traditional porridge provided at school is the only meal some get during the day.

I mailed the letters to the Minister of Education even though nothing will probably come of it. Regardless, it was a good tie-in to our lesson plan, and reminded the kids that they could make their opinions and concerns heard, if they knew how to do it.

By the end of the week, I had started to learn student names. It was exciting to form new relationships with the students and teachers. At Friday’s school-wide assembly, the principal asked me to play a song on the guitar. By the end of the song, everyone was singing “Baby, Baby” in the chorus and having a good time.

Over the weekend, I attended a traditional Namibian wedding in a hut village, where the women wave horse tails and men fire guns. I also learned it is the tradition for the family of the groom to give the bride’s family a cow. This represents the “mixing of blood” of the two families, and the bride’s family then slaughters the cow and prepares a meal.

I have already begun to feel the natural rhythm of Eenhana, and I am in love with the welcoming and friendly people of this village and their simple lifestyle. I look forward to my upcoming weekend sand dune surfing excursion and learning more of the country in the coming weeks.