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Nawa 32 |
Mar 10 2005 |
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A "NEW START"FOR KEETMANSHOOP
 The New Start HIV/AIDS voluntary counseling and testing center in Keetmanshoop in the south of Namibia was officially launched on 1 March 2005 by Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Reverend Hendrik Witbooi and Gary Newton, Mission Director of USAID. The center, funded by the U.S. Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, is operated by Catholic AIDS Action (CAA) in collaboration with the Social Marketing Association (SMA) with assistance from Family Health International. The center will provide confidential and affordable HIV counseling and testing services to the Keetmanshoop community.
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The center`s services will help empower those tested to protect themselves from being infected by HIV and will help those who test positive to maintain a healthy lifestyle. CAA built the center on land donated by the Catholic Church.
According to the initial results from the Ministry of Health and Social Services 2004 HIV prevalence survey, prevalence among pregnant women in Keetmanshoop is estimated at 16.3%, unchanged from 2002. By providing education and voluntary counseling and testing services it is hoped that the Keetmanshoop New Start Center will be instrumental in slowing the rate of infection.
The U.S. Government is the main supporter of the New Start voluntary counseling and testing network which operates under the guidance of SMA and in partnership with a number of Namibian NGOs. Currently there are 13 New Start centers in Namibia. It is likely that another nine will open during 2005 with support from the U.S. Government and the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, including mobile units to reach remote rural communities. The New Start Center`s focus is to provide quality, anonymous and confidential services from counselors who receive regular supervision and training. In 2005, these sites will begin using rapid testing, an approved HIV testing method that will produce same day test results. This will make the service far more convenient for clients and is part of a general roll-out of rapid testing for HIV by the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Deputy Prime Minister Hendrik Witbooi praised the efforts of the American Administration in alleviating the impact of the pandemic: "I am grateful that these centers are opened with the kind and generous help from our American friends and partners. Your help does not go unseen." |
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NEW BUSHBLOK FACTORY BENEFITS CHEETAH
 Four years ago, the U.S. Government through USAID granted the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) US$1 million to fund a habitat improvement program that would be ecologically and economically viable. Research identified a business opportunity to restore the Namibian savannah by processing encroaching bush into compacted logs for use as cooking fuel or home heating.
Bush encroachment adversely impacts underground water tables as well as species bio-diversity. One animal directly affected is the cheetah. Namibia has the world`s largest population of wild cheetah, with 95% living outside protected reserves on farmlands. Cheetahs hunt using bursts of speed in open or semi-open savannah. Thick bush hinders their hunt, and affects the biodiversity of prey species.
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Giving value to harvested bush will give farmers an economic incentive for habitat improvement. Since the 1950`s, bush encroachment of approximately 26 million hectares of woodland savannah has resulted in as much as 100% loss of land productivity. The loss of more than N$700 million per annum has had a direct impact on the livelihoods of 65,000 households in communal areas, and over 6,000 commercial farmers.
The Bushblok factory was officially dedicated on March 2nd, with Hon. Paul Smit, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs, Dr. Laurie Marker, CCF Founder and Executive Director, and Mr. Gary Newton, Mission Director of USAID officiating. Guests included representatives of several government ministries, members of the Otjiwarongo municipality, Namibian business leaders, local farmers and the media.
Bushbloks are made from chipped and milled intruder bush that is then compacted without any additives, using a powerful extrusion press. Each Bushblok is approximately the size of a building brick. The logs are so compact each burns for close to 1½ hours giving off intense heat. Bushblok logs are clean to handle, burn with almost no smoke, and are priced competitively compared with charcoal and coal.
A container of 24 tonnes is on its way to England — the first major delivery from this pilot project.
Dr Laurie Marker said that test market distributors have been lined up in Namibia, South Africa, mainland Europe and the United Kingdom. Full production has commenced and "..we hope the business will expand to become a major employer in the area as new entrepreneurs start supplying the factory with chips." |
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SME`S COMPETE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
 The value of mentorship has long been recognized by owners of small and medium businesses all over the world. Although a newcomer to business, the diminutive but dynamic entrepreneur, Christel Sandra Pakote, who owns a rapidly growing cosmetic business with two outlets in Windhoek and a branch in Walvis Bay, is set to benefit from business mentoring.
Mentorship is a practical and cost effective way to access expertise, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as the owner of that size of business usually has limited resources. Together with four Namibian Rotary clubs, SMEs Compete launched a Voluntary Executive Mentorship program eighteen months ago in 2003. Known by the acronym VEM, the mentoring program now benefits more than twenty SMEs in Windhoek, Otjiwarongo and in the coastal urban areas of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
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VEM facilitates access for owners of small businesses to experienced corporate leaders, professionals and to entrepreneurs who possess a proven track record of successfully starting, operating and expanding an enterprise.
SMEs Compete, a USAID-funded project, provides business services to Namibian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the purpose of improving business performance, increasing income and creating jobs. On the other hand its VEM partner Rotary, is an international service organization that started in the city of Chicago a century ago in February 1905.
Pakote`s business, Desert Rose Beauty Cosmetics, of which her husband is a non-participating partner, realized the value of mentorship and the likely benefits to be derived. After attending various capacity building activities of SMEs Compete, she asked to be included in the VEM program. Veteran Oil Company executive and Rotarian, Ger Kegge, who hails from the Netherlands, was selected as her mentor. Kegge managed Shell Exploration Namibia prior to his retirement and is now associated with another firm that forms part of the consortium involved in an off-shore gas exploration project.
As most SMEs do not have resources to seek advice from fee-charging professionals when it comes to making strategic business decisions, access to a mentor can provide such expertise. Somewhat like a big brother who can guide and advise when it comes to solving problems that the businesses may be experiencing, whether those are related to finance, marketing or basic management. |
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