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Nawa 44 |
Jun 21 2006 |
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VISIT BY AA/AFR LLOYD PIERSON TO REHOBOTH
 On his recent trip to Namibia, Assistant Administrator for Africa, Lloyd Pierson, visited the field office of Catholic AIDS Action (CAA) in Rehoboth and the homes of several families being helped by CAA. CAA`s field office in Rehoboth was opened in 2000 and currently provides support to 85trained home based care volunteers in 11 groups. These volunteers in turn provide community outreach services to 160 HIV positive clients and 675 orphans and other vulnerable children. The Youth Education and Prevention program provides support and supervision to 20 volunteers. These volunteers reach approximately 600 children and young people per year through targeted youth education curricula in schools and youth groups. All CAA activities in Rehoboth aim to enhance community outreach and resiliency, raise awareness, and reduce stigma through a wide variety of group and individual interactions.
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| CAA activities provide efficient referral and support mechanisms to Catholic Health Service Hospitals under the antiretroviral treatment program, and ensures that patients receive continuity in critical HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services, including counseling and psychosocial support needed to continue treatment. CAA also supports orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) through psychosocial, nutritional, educational, and income generation services. The U.S. President`s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supports CAA to provide HIV and AIDS care, support, and prevention services at the grass-roots level throughout Namibia. CAA was founded in 1988 by the Namibian Catholic Bishops Conference and was Namibia`s first church-based response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Since its inception, CAA has expanded rapidly and now includes over 1600 volunteers countrywide working under 14 field offices. |
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SCHOOLS BENEFIT FROM USAID-SUPPORTED ICT PROJECT
 "This project is a noble initiative which attempts to prepare Namibian learners to be part of the global community where education and technology are key ingredients of a globalized world", observed the Deputy Minister of Education, Honorable Dr. Becky Ndjoze-Ojo. The Deputy Minister was speaking at a national conference of Namibian educationalists, development partners and information technology specialists held on June 5 and 6 in Windhoek to evaluate results of a USAID-funded three-year project piloted in 13 rural senior primary and secondary schools to introduce information communications technologies (ICT) as a teaching tool in the classroom. She thanked the US Government for its generous financial support, and encouraged the participants to embrace technology as a tool to enrich teaching and learning.
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The Namibian Education Technology Alliance (NETA) project, a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Education, the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, SchoolNet, World Teach, Peace Corps and Microsoft, is implemented by the American Federation of Teachers Education Foundation (AFTEF). Under the NETA project, 300 teachers were trained in basic computing. An additional twenty teachers also received advanced training on the use of the software to access computerized textbooks, generate workbooks, create tests and use the computers to manage day-to-day class work. School administrators were also trained to use computers to help them manage their schools. Associate Director of AFTEF, Joseph Davis, speaking at the conference, drew attention to the fact that this innovative project had captured both the resources of the U.S. Government and the expertise of the private sector and demonstrated that teachers and learners in underserved areas in Namibia had considerably improved their access to the knowledge and information available on communication networks. Technology specialists, NETA partners and the teachers who participated in the project, reviewed results, showcased the achievements of the project to date and discussed how ICT can be used in schools to help students learn mathematics, science and English.
One teacher spoke with appreciation of the assistance and mentoring provided by a Peace Corps volunteer. As a result of this mentoring and the training provided by the project, he was able to encourage his learners to use the technology. One of his learners became so enthused that he spent hours after school practicing his computer skills and one day he presented his teachers with a yearbook, complete with pictures and diagrams which he had produced.
In his keynote speech, Assistant Director of USAID/Namibia, Douglas Ball, praised the implementers of the project for the achievements of the past three years, which included training of 300 teachers in basic computing and ways to use computers in the classroom. However, he highlighted that significant challenges remained if Namibia was going to achieve the ICT Steering Committee goals of training 12,000 teachers in basic ICT literacy by the year 2010. "Partnerships like NETA are vital if we are to accomplish those goals", he said. |
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FIRST ZERO TOLERANCE FOR CORRUPTION WORKSHOP
 Following the recent official launch of the Anti-Corruption Commission by H.E. President Hifikepunye Pohamba in Windhoek, the Namibian Institute for Democracy (NID) hosted the first Zero Tolerance for Corruption Workshop for key partners in government, the private sector and civil society.
The well-attended two day event, offered by South African experts included an introductory workshop for government watchdog bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), representatives from the private sector, churches and media institutions. The second day involved the training of trainers from a wide range of community based organizations and NGOs.
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Mr. Paulus Noa, the Director of Namibia`s Anti-Corruption Commission, offered the opening remarks and outlined the workshops objectives. Participants were equipped with basic knowledge about corruption in its different forms, as well as an understanding of the need for integrity and ethical behavior in public and private life. Workshop topics included crucial issues such as: defining corruption, examples of corruption, dimensions of the latter, levels of corruption, similar crimes, economic and social costs, prevention and the procedures for reporting of corruption. The NID aims to enable participants and equip trainers to conduct educational workshops on Anti-Corruption in their respective organizations and communities and plans to host three more such workshops in different regions across the country to this purpose.
The feedback from the seminar participants was extremely positive. Participants especially appreciated the interactive style in which the course was offered and look forward to follow-up training sessions. They suggested that this kind of workshop be offered to a greater number of organizations, ministries, parastatal organizations and corporations. One participant summarized what she had learned by stating: "We have benefitted a lot through this training; it has built our self-esteem and will help us speak out about things that are right and wrong". Members of the Women`s Action for Development group closed the Zero Tolerance for Corruption Workshop with a song expressing their hope for effective implementation of this initiative. |
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