Shoombe is leaving the Constitution at the end of November and new elections will be taking place on 26th and 27th to elect a Regional Councillor for Luderitz. During his time as councillor, many projects have been completed. Projects such as:
A tar road from RoshPinah to Aus has been completed and the refurbishment of Aus clinic which is now seen as one of the best in Nnamibia is also Shoombe’s work. The Constitutionary office where the NnCCI is now situated was transformed and the establishments of Aus info Centre are also ones to add to the list. He also managed to get a N$100,000 donation to put towards a new agricultural development project that is being started.

Shoombe said that he would like to see the qualifications that high school graduates receive, get put to good use. He believes that it is unacceptable that students cannot find work once leaving high school. The issue of Grade 12 learners not receiving their ID cards was also something that he battled for, showing his dedication to Luderitz.

Another thing Shoombe would like to see in Luderitz in the future is an increase in tourism. “We should diversify our economy” was an opinion of which he believed would open up many employment opportunities and stimulate economic growth.•

Organised by Superintendent K. Goliath and supervised by Deputy A. Tjiueza, the workshop was aimed at tackling the issues surrounding alcohol, including addiction, health risks, safe usage and damage prevention.

The Prison currently has a basic alcohol treatment plan for dealing with alcoholic prisoners and funds nurses to take care of any inmates with substance abuse problems. However, “the more information prisoners get the better” says Chief W. Izaks, “the workshop has been very beneficial and inmates have commented that they will continue to spread the message they have learned to fellow prisoners and, when they are released, to a wider audience.”

The Alcohol Awareness session is just one of several workshops that have been held for prisoners in recent months in an effort to help educate inmates about important issues such as HIV/ AIDS, stress and self control, and the Prison hopes to offer inmates further educational opportunities in the future.

From 18 – 19 February, a two day Juvenile Justice Workshop was organized at the Luderitz Youth Centre by the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture (MYNSSC). The workshop programme was led by Ms. Hilya Imene, Child Justice Coordinator from MYNSSC Head Office, and co-facilitated by Mr. Jan Scholtz, Acting Head of Centre, and Mr. Padraic Gerety, Peace Corps Volunteer. In attendance were over 20 stakeholders, representing the Namibian Prison Service, the Woman and Child Protection Unit, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Children Welfare, the Nautilus and Diaz Primary Schools, the Luderitz Secondary and Christian Schools, the Church Alliance for Orphans, affected parents, and members from church and youth groups. Bringing together such a diverse group of participants was very difficult as the workshop was originally planned for November of last year, but had to be postponed due to the absence of certain key individuals.

The reasoning behind holding the event was that, while juvenile justice is a serious issue in Luderitz, there exists no event or platform where it can be discussed. Indeed, many individuals in the community are unaware of the special system in place for juveniles in conflict with the law, and so the aim of the event was to inform the stakeholders about the juvenile justice system and about the rights and responsibilities of juveniles in conflict with the law. The eventual desired result of the workshop was to form a Juvenile Justice Forum in Luderitz.

The first day began with a presentation by Ms. Imene on the juvenile justice programme offered in Namibia and the roles of the stakeholders in implementing restorative, rather than penal, justice. Ms. Imene also touched on what measures exist to protect juveniles in conflict with the law and then initiated a lively discussion among the participants on youth crime prevention. Afterward, guest speaker Sergeant Rosa Tjihavero spoke on the role of the Woman and Child Protection Unit and what special procedures exist for the arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of juveniles in conflict with the law. For the last session of the day, Superintendent Kallie Goliath spoke on the role of the Namibian Prison Service and how juvenile offenders are given separate cells and protected from the remainder of the prison populace. Supt. Goliath also urged parents to become involved in their children’s activities, and noted that “Church works” in discouraging bad behaviour.

The workshop on the second day began with group work and presentations by the participants on the Child Justice Bill, detailing the special rights of children in arrest and trial proceedings. Following this session was a talk by Ms. Imene on the use of diversionary activities, such as community service and life skills programmes, as a way to re-educate juvenile offenders without subjecting them to jail time. The last of the guest speakers, Ms. Nghipuulenga Naukushu from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, spoke on the mission of her ministry and on the importance of the pre-trial screening that all juvenile offenders must receive.

The workshop came to close with a presentation on the benefits of setting up a Juvenile Justice Forum in Luderitz, which spurred the participants to begin discussing the membership and activities of such a forum. After careful deliberation, the Executive Committee was established and the first meeting set for early March. The participants provided positive feedback on the workshop, with several stating that they learned a lot and were excited to begin working with the forum on this important issue.

This event was made possible by a generous donation from Seaflower Lobster Corporation and by the hard work of the MYNSSC, and thus the Luderitz Youth Centre extends its deepest thanks for the support. Ms. Nghipuulenga Naukushu, ministry of Gender, holding her workshop.

‘IT and using computers is a really good skill to have nowadays’, said one applicant, ‘in almost every job you apply for you’re asked for IT comprehension so I’m hoping that this course will help my job options’. And she wasn’t the only one to think this; the majority of people applying for the course were hoping to improve their job prospects and the number of hopeful would-be IT geniuses queued right around the corner, some of whom had been waiting to register since 5am that morning.

The course runs for three months, costing N$360, and covers various aspects of basic IT skills, from using different applications to surfing the net. Unfortunately due to lack of funding and teachers there were only 40 available places for this course but if you didn’t make it this time around don’t worry as there will be another chance to register for the next 3 month course starting in April.

‘I’m just glad the course is so popular’, said a sheepish Jacob Saur, one of the IT Classes at the YACC already de med a success two IT teachers at the YACC, and given the current unemployment rate in Lüderitz, not to mention the impact the credit crunch is having and the ongoing NovaNam strikes, it is commendable to see so many people trying to improve their job situation constructively.

On the 3rd of Decmber ’08 the American Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has made a large and very generous donation to Namibia’s OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children). The Church gave hundreds of boxes of bedding, clothing, shoes, hygiene kits, school kits, and blankets to the CAFO Head Office in Windhoek, which then distributed them all across the country. Luderitz received its share of these gifts when CAFO Head Office Driver, Mr. Bessinger, arrived in the afternoon of the 3rd with a bakkie full of these boxes of hope. There to receive the donation were several Luderitz OVC and members of the Luderitz CAFO Committee: Revd. J.A. Scholtz, Chairperson, and Sr. Bettie Wilskut, Volunteer.

The donation itself consisted of 2 boxes of clothing, 10 hygiene kits, 5 school kits, and 35 blankets. Revd. Scholtz stated that these supplies will make perfect Christmas gifts for Luderitz’s OVC and that the committee has now distributed all donations to excited youngsters. The boxes allowed Luderitz to get into the Christmas spirit by knowing that our community’s most vulnerable have been given special care.

This donation has not only raised our spirits and given hope to Luderitz’s OVC, but it has also demonstrated the commitment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and of CAFO to improving the lives of all OVC. This event has been highly motivating and encouraging for us, and thus we would like to extend our most sincere thanks to the Church and to the CAFO Head Office for the assistance provided.

The meeting got off to a slow start as, due to delays, it begins half an hour late. The room was filled with the excited Lüderitz youth. A lot of the youth present are part of the Lüderitz Town Council. Amongst the officials is the mayor of Höör.

The head of the Lüderitz Youth Centre, Mr Scholz, opened the meeting by introducing the Youth Centre staff and explaining the history. He explained that the Youth Centre building was originally occupied by the German school and was built in 1963. In 2005 the Youth Centre officially started working in the building and since then it has been through a number of changes coming with the as the Centre has grown.

After Mr Scholz has spoken the Mayor of Lüderitz, Mrs. Amupewa, explained the reason for the group of officials decision to visit Lüderitz. She explained that she has visited Höör last month in an attempt to connect the Höör community to Lüderitz. The goal is to exchange knowledge and ways of entertaining and educating the youth. The Mayor of Höör then continued the meeting with a brief introduction of Sweden and Scandinavia as a whole. And than we come to the main part of the meeting. It’s time for the youth to ask questions, as after all the goal is to help them, and to do so the delegation needs to know what their problems are.

“What involvement do you want to have?”

We want to investigate what is going on with the youth, what their problems or questions are. And eventually we want to find an answer to other mutual questions. Christol Ulson (sports & leisure official):

“What can we offer that would interest the youth to do something productive? On their own with just a little bit of help from the grown-ups to get them started.”

The community in Höör is also very interested in helping Lüderitz to set up a good functioning social security network. They will also look at the current Lüderitz social security network and see where they can improve on it. The social security network they envision for Lüderitz should be a nongovernmental one, with the families in the centre. I asked the delegation to break down their points in to a simple summary in order to get a clear picture of what the delegation is here for. I discovered that they are here to address 3 main areas:

• Improving life for early childhood

• Creating meaningful leisure activities & explaining how to develop these to the local community.

• Helping in setting up a modern water & sewage plant.

The main advantage of these plants is that natural gasses can be extracted from the sewage and used for electricity or to heat houses during the winter. They cannot guarantee to address all of these points, but these are the points they will focus on for the duration of their visit. The meeting closed with the question

“What does the youth of Lüderitz want or need for leisure?”

Better music facilities, so the youth can develop there artistic skills. Different kinds of dance lessons, not just African dance, but also R&B etc. And one that note the meeting ended with the promise to go on with the discussion the next day.

Earlier in November two large metal containers were transported to the Luderitz Youth Art and Culture Centre to be used as additional office and storage space in the future.

The containers were donated to the Ministry of Youth several years ago but have been sitting unused next to the Luderitz Hospital as the Centre possessed no suitable foundation or a way to transport them. However, thanks to a donation from Marco Fishing Co., a concrete foundation was constructed outside the main entrance of the Centre, and on November 14, the Namport staff graciously and professionally transported the two containers to the Centre.

These donations demonstrate the commitment of both Marco Fishing Co. and Namport to assisting the community. The Youth Centre is still appealing for further donations from other organisations, as the two containers need renovation in order to serve as the much needed space for youth activities. This extra space will lighten the load on the Centre itself and hence will directly benefit the Luderitz Youth.

A spokesman for the YACC made the following statement; ‘at the Centre are excited by this new improvement and look optimistically to the future for further youth developments.’