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Nawa 7 |
Oct 16 2001 |
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CHEETAH PROTECTION ACTIVITY IS UNDERWAY
 The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), of Otjiwarongo, signed a US$1 million grant with USAID/Namibia for a three-year program, beginning October 1, 2001. This grant is aimed at benefiting the cheetah in Namibia through promotion of awareness of conservation issues, the education of farmers and the improvement of habitat. CCF`s Director, Laurie Marker, and General Manager, Bruce Brewer, were pleased that USAID could assist them in this project of keeping the cheetah in its natural habitat in central Namibia while reducing damage to livestock on nearby farms. |
CCF plans to remove encroaching bush on the commercial farms to benefit both livestock and the cheetah. Selected bush will be harvested and chipped before being pressed into logs. Because the logs will be eco-friendly and carry a special cheetah brand, they are expected to sell well in European markets, Ms. Marker explained. Each log sold will bring back money to the CCF for further education and research on cheetahs in Namibia and in the Southern African region.
This process is expected to establish a sustainable business that helps to develop a group of new entrepreneurs in the various components of the harvesting, chipping, pressing and marketing sectors. It will also employ many local residents while providing a continual source of revenue for education and research at CCF.Bruce explained that this project has been in the planning stages for over three years and he is eager to start bush harvesting, which he says, will be conducted in a sustainable manner. Thinning the bush will allow more grazing space for both cattle and wildlife species in the area. The cheetah will also be able to capture prey more easily, if it has open spaces in which to run. The cheetah is an endangered species with only about 15,000 individuals in the wild. Namibia has the largest remaining population of free-ranging cheetah in the world, estimated at 2,500, of which 90% live outside of protected reserves. Commercial farmers perceive the fate of cheetah as a threat to their livestock and so kill or remove them from their land. CCF is educating the communities in livestock management techniques, which are sensitive to both the farmer`s needs and the cheetah`s survival. |
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JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT
 USAID/Namibia, under a partnership agreement with the Ministries of Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation and Trade and Industry, signed on September 26 a US$ 1 million Cooperative Agreement with Junior Achievement International to establish a chapter in Namibia to be called Junior Achievement Namibia (JAN). |
This program will strengthen Namibian vocational education programs and, in addition, introduce activities that develop entrepreneurial skills and attitudes among youth. Support is to be provided to Namibian institutions serving youth, particularly in rural areas. School-going as well as out-of-school youth will be provided opportunities to start and manage their own businesses, and in the process acquire vital hands-on business management skills.
Junior Achievement Namibia will be marketed to the private sector as a program that will cultivate entrepreneurs and groom business executives for tomorrow. So, although the program will initially be funded by USAID, it will be designed in such a way that the private sector will provide the bulk of the funding from the third year of implementation. The Government of Namibia’s contribution will be mainly through in-kind contributions.
The Junior Achievement (JA) model educates and inspires young people to value free enterprise, business, and economics to improve the quality of their lives. The mission of JAN will therefore be to ensure that every child in Namibia has a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system. The JA model has key programs that span grades K-12, with age-appropriate curricula designed to teach elementary students about their roles as individuals, workers, and consumers and to prepare middle grade and high school students for key economic and workforce issues they will face. In addition to bringing the free enterprise system to life in the classroom, Junior Achievement programs teach young people the importance of staying in school. Junior Achievement International reaches more than 5.75 million students each year in 113 countries and has chapters in Botswana, South Africa and Zambia. |
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HIV/AIDS PEER EDUCATORS TALKING HEALTH
 A new team of fourteen peer educators completed their training in the second week of September at Rössing Mines, in Erongo, and joins an existing team of previously trained peer educators. Also attending the workshop were other business and community members who have shown an interest in the Rossing Mines Peer Education Program. The aim of the program is to reach as many people as possible in the workplace and in the community with important health messages and guidance towards positive behavior change, including responsible sexual behavior to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. |
Simonee Shihepo, from the Chamber of Mines, and the Health Coordinator for their OHEAP (Occupational Health Education and Assistance Program) conducted the training. The Chamber of Mines’ OHEAP program is partially supported by USAID/Namibia through its cooperating agency, Family Health International, which is providing technical and financial support to workplace interventions in three regions of Namibia. Ms. Shihepo described the group as "very determined and enthusiastic with lots of potential for further development and training."The new peer educators will receive additional training in the future. However, after the first course they are prepared for activities in the workplace and in their respective communities.
The training was reported in the in-house bulletin of Rössing Mines Ltd of September 14. Under the picture of the new team of peer educators is the caption: "Please support the volunteers, who took this important task upon them, to stay enthusiastic by giving them the opportunity to share their knowledge and skills". |
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