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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| February 5, 2004 |
Walvis Bay, Namibia |
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| Typical house in the "Democratic Resettlement Community" |
Its last stop on the African continent, Peace Boat sailed into Walvis Bay, Namibia, which greeted us with its quiet, picturesque desert. On the second day of the visit, a group of participants set out in vans to visit the Mondesa township and the Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC) on the outskirts of Swakopmund to learn about the diversity of the multiethnic nation. The center of Swakopmund with its post-card worthy beach and German-style architecture attracts many tourists from Europe. Unlike the center of Swakopmund, of whose residents three-fourths are wealthy descendants of German colonists, the residents of the Mondesa township and DRC are ethnic minorities who historically have been subject to discrimination and oppression by colonists from Germany, Britain, and South Africa. |
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| Traditional Ovambo cuisine |
Organized by Raymond Inichab, a Damara man, and Michelle Lewis, a South African of British descent, the couple runs their custom tours offering a unique opportunity to learn about the rich culture of indigenous Namibian people. We first visited the Mondesa township where different tribes such as the Ovmbo, Damara, and Herero live in harmony. The people in the township were first moved to the area and settled according to their tribal groupings to to serve as forced laborers for German settlers living in Swakopmund, under South African Apartheid rule in the early 1960s. The Peace Boat participants first stopped at a "Shebeen," or local pub, to experience Ovambo cuisine and taste unusual food such as fried mopane worms, ekaka (wild spinach), and omaluvu (traditional African beer). |
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| A "Grandmother" (elder) of the Damara tribe |
Later, teaching Peace Boat participants about their culture and tradition were "Grandmother" Lina, a member of local Damara chief's family, and Naftaline, a Herero woman. From there we continued on foot through the street of Mondesa taking the opportunity to chat with the local people and getting a fascinating glimpse into a typical Namibian township. |
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| Children in the Mondesa township |
Our last destination of the day was the DRC, a village constructed under the government-led resettlement project. Due to a lack of funding, the residents today live in shanty houses without running water or electricity, built using materials from the nearby Swakopmund garbage dump, affectionately known as the "DRC Hardware Store." The original purpose of the DRC was temporary housing for residents while a government-funded housing projects were constructed, but it has now become a permanent home for the 4,000 residents, many of whom cannot afford to buy a house elsewhere. Despite financial hardships, people living in the area display a strong spirit and manage to help each other and enliven their community. We visited the Mercy Pre-School Kindergarten, where children welcomed us with songs and dances. Then we visited the handmade and colorfully painted house of a preacher/artist. Self-employed multitalented Ernst hand paints T-shirts and preaches from the church he built singlehandedly. At the end of the day, the participants returned to the port enlightened and energized by the lively and friendly people of Namibia. |
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