Windhoek, Namibia

June 7, 2009

I am spending the summer in Windhoek, Namibia working on a maternal-HIV project with a non-profit organization called Mount Sinai Center. I was lucky enough to be connected with this opportunity via a professor (Liz) at the School of Social Work who spent a year in Windhoek on a Fulbright Award and taught at the Univeristy of Namibia. Liz was very fond of Mount Sinai and thought it would be a wonderful place for me to gain both international public health and social work experience. During my time in Namibia I will be staying in the capital at Puccini's Guest House. I can't wait to get out of the capital and see the rest of the country--it is supposed to be a hidden gem!

"Where is Namibia?" For those of you wondering, and trust me, I wondered too, I have included a small map to give you an idea of the location. Namibia is approximatey the size of Texas and Louisiana combined. Boasting a population of approximately 2.2 million, Namibia is also one of the least dense countries in the entire world with 2.1 persons per square kilometer.


A little history lesson: During the 1880's Namibia was annexed as South West Africa by the Germans. It was not until 1915 that South West Africa came under rule of South Africa. While the struggle for independence occurred over many years it was in 1960 that South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) formed with the goal of gaining independence for South West Africa. Many of the SWAPO revolutionaries spent time imprisoned on Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned). The president of SWAPO, Sam Nujoma, was exiled for 29 years. In 1990 Namibia gained independence and Nujoma became the country's first president. He served three terms as president of Namibia (1990-2005). In 2007 he retired his post as SWAPO president. The SWAPO party is still in office.