N/a'an ku sê Foundation, Tsintsabis, Bagani,
and Tsumkwe area visit report
The purpose of this visit was to learn as much as possible about the people living in the area, the infrastructure, the culture, any outreach efforts going on, the Tsumkwe Lodge, etc. in context of potential partnerships and ministry opportunities to serve the San/Bushmen* in a holistic context with as foundation the changes that Christ can bring through a newness of life and sound moral principles that God then can integrate into the San/Bushmen culture.
Places visited: N/a'an ku sê Foundation, Tsintsabis, Bagani, Tsumkwe, Nhoma, Luhebu, Mangetti Dune, Kano Vlei, and Omatako.
N/a'an ku sê Foundation (June 8)
Observations: The N/a'an ku sê Foundation supports the !Kung-Ju/'hoansi community through providing work, a pre-primary schooling program, a clinic, and more recently, an orphanage. The school is based on normal Namibian curriculum and it includes Christian principles, songs, Bible stories, and prayer. The San/Bushmen here are in a Christian environment and most are followers of Jesus. Many of them have desire to be back with their own people, but have good jobs at N/a'an ku sê. Rudy and Marlice van Vuuren are the owners of the foundation and they are considering buying the Tsumkwe lodge, so it will continue to serve the San/Bushmen there and maybe even transfer some of the N/a'an ku sê staff. They are looking for effective ministry ideas. They realize the lack of scripture in their language and the need for empowering the San/Bushmen.
Ideas: Story telling of the Bible stories that are used in their schools in their own languages could help interest and understanding of them. They add key moral and motivational principles to help the San/Bushmen in their identity crisis of a fast changing world where many people are still taking advantage of them. They also may interest parents when exposed to them.
Tsintsabis (June 10)
Observations: Together with Schalk Botha of the Bible Society of Namibia, who preached at the Tsintsabis Faith Mission Church/Apostoliese Geloof Sending together with the Dutch Reformed Church/Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk at an invitation of the Dutch Reformed Church/Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk, I observed that the town is a mix of Hai//om (Hi-Kung), Herero, Okavango, Ovambo, Damara. The service had a feel of the Okavango tradition, with some row dance, songs with support of electronic key board, men and women sitting separately, row handshaking at closing of service. There were about 80 people (approximately 50% women, 15% men, 35% children). Schalk preached in Afrikaans, which was translated in Damara and English (for me?), but not in Hai//om. English translation was good effort but poor and confusing. Normally most services are in Damara. There are schools and there is electricity in Tsintsabis. Children who learned English at school were proud to show it off. We travelled about 10 kilometers south to drop off some materials (tin cans, plastic bottles, egg cartons, etc.) for craft making for a pre-primary school initiative. This community was completely Hai//om and like most others in the area, had no transport, no good access to schools, no electricity, some small gardens, living in kraals, subsistent living.
Ideas: Things need to be able to happen in the small communities without travel to towns (church-Word of God and community issues can be brought in through oral communication strategies). Things need to be relevant to their current life issues to engage.
Bagani (June 11-12)
Observations: The church in Bagani is in a larger San/Bushmen area where M’bukush, a form of !Kung, and Khwedam are spoken. Hendrik van Zyl and I talked with the church leadership (Alfred, Josef, Bertie, and Abraham - the last two men work at the Andara hospital) about the potential of using oral strategies for outreach.
Ideas: Story telling seemed to connect as a viable idea to bring the Bible and church to the people. Hendrik van Zyl would like to see a starter storying workshop done later this year (maybe October).
Tsumkwe (June 13-14)
Observations: Tsumkwe has a population of about 600 people and is a Ju/'hoansi regional center and as such has lots of government offices, a department of agriculture and rural development breeding station (seven kilometers from town), a library with some computers, a police station, an airstrip, a large school (pre-primary through high school), a petrol station, a solar powered electric plant, many shebeens (many without license selling alcoholic beverages), nine churches (not really working together), two Ju/'hoansi arts and crafts centers (one by the Ju/'hoansi Conservancy and the other by the Dutch Reformed Church), a lodge, an influx of diverse ethnic peoples (Herero, Okavango, Ovambo, Damara). There are many challenges because of this larger community living by the ready availability of alcohol related drinks and tobacco. Alcoholism is a major problem, leading to destruction of the Ju/'hoansi cultural values, destruction of the family, making the Ju/'hoansi more dependent on and sub-servant to other dominant ethnicities coming in. Normally the Ju/'hoansi take well care of their children, but alcoholism is leading to neglect, even of new born babies. Abuse of women is also an issue through physical violence as well as sexual promiscuity and exploitation (increasing the challenges brought by HIV Aids). Outside ethic peoples try to marry young Ju/'hoansi girls, so they can have permission to stay and have land, only for some to divorce later on, sending the girls back to their families. This causes the Ju/'hoansi encouraging people to marry at a young age (from 10 years on), resulting in babies being born to young teens that are still children themselves. Due to other ethnic traits to dominant the Ju/'hoansi, there is also a lack of motivation to better one selves and take initiative and the government jobs are mostly given to other ethnic groups than Ju/'hoansi. For those that have paying jobs, management of wages (sometimes paid monthly) is challenging and available resources in shops beyond primary needed provisions (food and clothes), as well as being able to buy on credit lead to money spend elsewhere than needs, resulting in hunger, sickness, begging, lowering more self esteem.
Tsumkwe Lodge observations: Most, if not all, jobs requiring responsible people are carried out by others than the Ju/'hoansi. Part of the challenge there is an appearing lack of responsibility due to alcoholism, work ethic, and management of income. The staff is very pleasant and hospitable, but not very responsible and service oriented. The management likewise and they don’t keep a high quality standard, even though everything seemed in good repair. As people they all seem to care, but may not have been trained to keep and/or obtain a higher standard. This is a current deterrent to attract many potential customers. The facility is kept tidy, but lacks being attractive except for the thatched lapa and restaurant.
Ideas: Story telling seemed to connect as a viable idea to bring the Bible and church to the people. Hendrik van Zyl would like to see a starter storying workshop done later this year (maybe October). In context of the lodge, it could eventually potentially be run by the Ju/'hoansi, but at this point I believe that it would benefit the Ju/'hoansi and any potential investors most to see if the lodge could be run as a training center for the Ju/'hoansi, while serving commercially as lodge. People could receive training on the job and received food, clothing, medical help, and lodging as needed, as well as spiritual nourishment (establishing sound moral values), and be taught monetary management (which also will help counteract alcoholism issues). They can receive training in culinary skills, as waiters, maintenance (electric, small appliances, plumbing, etc.), administrative tasks, building (replacing current cabins with stronger and more attractive ones made out of more local materials), housekeeping, grounds keeping/gardening, landscaping, tour guides, management, training others, etc. They can then see these skills applied in job opportunities or new business ventures in Tsumkwe, their own community, other local communities, or beyond. It will raise their self image within their own cultural context, learning to serve and work with others outside their culture, and allow their own culture to adjust to the changing world around them, without it being destroyed. In time it could grow from a small initiative to a movement serving all San/Bushmen.
It would be worthwhile to make contact with the !Khwa Ttu San/Bushmen training program on the west coast near Cape Town in South Africa and learn from them (what works well, challenges, etc.). It will also be great to work together with other local partners, like Dutch Reformed Church coordinated by Hendrik and Elize van Zyl, who also work together with a Dutch foundation called ‘Sanrise’. Hendrik already is involved in several local training and macro business ventures, including a bread bakery, shepherding sheep, craft and needle work (sewing) making and trading. Sanrise is exclusively involved in schooling and training opportunities among the San/Bushmen and as such is looking to work with Hendrik and the Namibian government to turn the department of agriculture and rural development breeding station into a vocational training school for the Ju/'hoansi.
Nhoma (June 13)
Observations: There is a small community in Nhoma of San/Bushmen that speak Ju/'hoansi and there is a two room pre-primary school house and a building that can sleep students. This village is serviced by a pastor who makes a circuit of a 60 kilometer radius with a donkey cart.
Luhebu (June13)
Observations: There is a church building in Luhebu. The village looked like it had no more that 8 to 10 kraals (extended family settlements) where !Kung is spoken.
Mangetti Dune(June 14)
Observations: This is a bit larger village with a small hospital and an orphanage and a church with sound leadership and a pastor (Izak) who also works as the counselor of the hospital (helping people to deal with and prevent HIV Aids, TB, etc.). The predominant language spoken by the San/Bushmen in Mangetti Dune is !Kung.
Ideas: Story telling seemed to connect as a viable idea to bring the Bible and church to the people. Hendrik van Zyl would like to see a starter storying workshop done later this year (maybe October and potentially combined with Tsumkwe).
Kano
Vlei (June 14)
Observations: It seems that the Kano Vlei community is a bit more spread out. !Kung is the language spoken and there is a pre-primary and primary school.
Omatako (June 14)
Observations: The Omatako community also seems quite spread out. It has several churches, a pre-primary and primary school with dorms. There is a strong Herero influence and the community leader is a mix of Herero, German, and San/Bushmen. He has sold much land to Herero for farms, which was not even his land to sell, as well as it was San/Bushmen land. The Namibian government is supposed to help this getting corrected, but in the mean time nothing is done. Both !Kung and Herero are spoken in the area.
Overall recommendations:
In light of:
1.
the absence of written or any scripture in these San/Bushmen languages
2.
most (if not all) academic schooling being in a second language
3.
academic schooling still not always being seen as important and school attendance may be scattered or, due to distance to a school, others may not be attending at all
4.
the San/Bushmen being clearly orally oriented communicators
5.
almost all of them not having ready transportation beyond walking to get anywhere, while public transportation being practically non-existent
6.
most communities being small and scattered over wide areas that can be stretching over 60 kilometers radius
7.
the San/Bushmen loving to tell stories
8.
most of life happening within individual kraal communities and related communities
9.
challenges with easy access to alcoholic beverages and other conflicting outside issues due to living in larger communities, thus adding major, sometimes life threatening, strains to their lives
I recommend a strategy involving a pilot project (possibly in October 2012), with starter storying workshops in the 3 locations suggested by Hendrik van Zyl, which all have mature Christian leadership, good story tellers, and a desire to serve their people holistically. The aim of these workshops is:
- To equip the participants to communicate stories effectively and accurately while maintaining integrity of the stories over time
- To equip the local church with a manageable and relevant starter set of Bible and community needs oriented stories
- The local leaders will learn to match stories with the audiences they want to serve (in essence: the general community with health related issues and bridging, as well as door opener Bible stories, or the church with Bible stories to help them grow in their faith and deal with relevant issues at hand)
- The local leaders will decide on what communication art forms (song, poetry, drama, etc.) to be used in addition to telling the stories
- The local leaders will determine in which language or languages the materials should be
- The local leaders will help determine the best distribution strategies
- The local leaders will help determine which locally maintainable technologies (mobile phones, dedicated MP3 players, radio, etc.) should be used beyond life relational communication venues
- Participants will gain practical experience during the workshop
* San/Bushmen is used since the term Bushmen has more meaning as a general term for the people of these areas than San (which when pronounced with a short ‘a’ actually in at least one language means ‘dog shit’ and has been used negatively in the past in some cases).
Respectfully submitted,
Durk Meijer
Wycliffe RTS/T4Global Ethno Communications Consultant
