‘Uhala po nawa!’ This means ‘How is the day?’ in Oshikwanyama – one of the many languages spoken in northern Namibia. Though this is all I can say in Oshikwanyama, it has made me many instant acquaintances, as friendly greetings are an unspoken law to Namibians.
I came to Namibia through WorldTeach as part of the Ministry of Education technology initiative 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 job orientation and basic Namibian culture. Orientation was a week of intense bonding among the volunteers.
The common thread of curiosity and adventure drew us to Namibia, a sparsely populated land and the last country to gain independence in Africa.
After a week of learning Namlish (the Namibian way of saying things . . . i.e. "now" really means "later" and "I’m coming" means "I’ll be back"), we departed for our assigned villages.
My village, Eenhana, in the north near the Angolan border was an eight-hour drive from Windhoek. Halfway to Eenhana, we passed the "red line." Today this marks the separation between wild cattle and domestic cattle. Two decades ago, it represented a line of apartheid. The roads to Eenhana are unpaved, but the town roads are paved. It 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. Also living in the house are two daughters, and three adorable grandchildren. Everyone was so welcoming and the daughters spent the night showing me around.
The first night in my new house was comfortable but cold. Because it is summer in the States, I didn’t think to pack warm clothes. While it gets hot during the day, at night, it can get down to a chilly 50 degrees
I didn’t know what to expect my first day of teaching at Eenhana Junior Secondary School. I knew I would be teaching computers, but knew little beyond that. The principal seemed eager to have me teach English which is the official language of Namibia, but most people in this town speak Oshikwanyama, the local language. Grade 10 learners 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 – for computer class and English class. I would teach computer classes to teachers daily. Also, because Namibia has high HIV/AIDS rates I decided to start an after school HIV/AIDS education club.
During announcements at the Monday morning assembly, 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 elicited a very positive response from the learners.
I soon discovered that the computer lab only had one working computer. I hoped to teach by letting everyone practice, walking them through the steps. This was no longer feasible, so I readjusted my game plan.
Twenty learners crowded around as I explained the parts of a computer, what a mouse does, and how the letters pressed on a keypad appear on the screen. The kids watched in amazement as I demonstrated simple typing. It is daunting to know I only have two months and so much to do.
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 the prepositional phrases in the song.
They also learned the strange American tradition of "bless you." A kid in class sneezed and I instinctively offered up the common expression, only to be received by blank stares and muted giggles. “Did you hear Ms. Baker?” one learner asked. “She just blessed someone for sneezing!” Apparently, that is not the local norm.
In Grade 11 we wrote 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), many requested that the Minister build student housing on school grounds. Some students were far from home and lived in a local "squatter’" village.
They lived without adults, electricity, hot water, and sometimes food, for up to two months at a time, to be close to school. The traditional porridge provided at school may be the only meal some have during the day.
By the end of the week, I started to learn student names. It was exciting to form new relationships with the students and teachers. At Friday’s 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.
I have already begun to feel the natural rhythm of Eenhana and can only imagine what the next seven weeks will bring. I am in love with the welcoming and friendly people of this village and their simple lifestyle and look forward to exploring and learning more of the country in the coming weeks.
The individual views expressed in this article do not represent the views of WorldTeach.
