What I Want Americans to Know About Namibia

This entry was written by one of my grade 10 learners (Nam-speak for “10^th grade student”). I have typed her words below in normal font, and my commentary is in italics.

Meet Olivia.

By Olivia Dumeni

I want Americans to know the Ovambo’s language and their work. Americans need to know Oshikwanyama, because Namibians also know English. And Oshikwanyama is a simple language. They need to know about Namibians’ culture.

(There are more than a dozen local languages in Namibia. One of these is Oshikwanyama, spoken by the Ovambo people in northern Namibia. However, Namibia’s official language is English, which is learned in schools. Olivia wants Americans to learn Oshikwanyama, because she thinks it’s unfair that everyone must learn English like Americans. While I wouldn’t require all Americans to learn Oshikwanyama, we should recognize the message our monolinguism sends to other countries.)

I want Americans to know how to pound mahangu and how to collect firewood. I want them to know how learners perform in their subjects.

(Mahangu is pearl millet, the staple of the Ovambo’s diet. They pound millet into flour then cook it into a stiff porridge. I told the learners that most Americans live in towns and don’t pound mahangu or cook on fires.)

I want them to know that English is a difficult language for Namibian people, and to know that Oshikwanyama is a simple language. I want them to know that Namibian learners have many subjects. We only have 40 minutes per period.

(In Namibia, the grade ten learners are required to take 13 subjects a week and are tested on about eight of those subjects multiple times a year. In my opinion, they have far too many classes. The kids can’t possibly master that many subjects each term. I told the learners that many schools in the US use a block schedule— four 1.5 hour classes each day. My learners were VERY jealous of this system.)

Namibians always eat porridge and spinach, sometimes rice and macaroni. In Namibia many people believe in God. And always on Sunday they go to church so that God can assist them.

(My learners and I were discussing religion in America, when I told them that many people in America are not Christians--that the US has people of many religions, and not all of them believe in Jesus Christ. Namibia is primarily Christian--Lutheran in particular. My learners were pretty horrified to learn that not everyone everywhere is Christian.)

Namibians always cultivate their mahangu, maize, and beans so that they can get food. In Namibia, learners have black teachers and at our school there is one white teacher.

(In my village, most people are subsistence farmers. They mostly eat just the food they grow. This is not the case for all Namibians though, and there are many large, modern grocery stores here. Also Namibia is a post-Apartheid country. Race is frequently the topic of discussion. Namibians are not shy when talking about race. Wherever I go, I hear the word “oshilumbu”--white person. I also regularly explain that “No, not all white people like to run, just some.” (I run a lot.) Or “Yes, there are a lot of black Americans.” To be fair, I think some Americans would be surprised to learn that there are a lot of white Africans—not albino people, but people of European descent whose families have lived in Africa for generations.)

In Namibia, there are many schools, and they are different. Some schools have electricity, while others they do not have electricity. Some schools have hostels and others there are no hostels.

(Schools come in a wide spectrum in Namibia. Some schools in large towns and cities are not that different from what you’d find in the US or Europe. Inequality, however, is one of the most common features of Namibian life. Many schools are extremely under equipped—not enough books, chairs, desks, or classrooms. Luckily, however, most schools have electricity. My school is scheduled to receive it this year. Also many schools in Namibia are boarding schools (hostels schools). My school is not, and some learners walk for over an hour each way to school.)

That is all I want Americans to know!

(There are so many more things I want Americans to know about Namibia. I return to the US in September or October, but I will try to publish a few more blog posts about Namibia before then.)