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Namibia and its neighbor
Overall, we still feel very fortunate to live in this beautiful and politically stable country – especially in contrast to our Zimbabwean neighbors. As Zimbabwe’s politicians talk of a coalition government starting soon, the National Bank of the Zimbabwean government recently authorized foreign currency for local trading. But as our friends explain, this poses its own problems: Had you translated a doctor’s pay at a government hospital in January from Zim dollars back to U.S. money, he (or she) would have earned only 32 cents for the month. (For evidence on how worthless the Zimbabwe dollar really is, see the attached photo sent by an Israeli visitor to that country.) So it’s anybody’s guess how much Zimbabweans will get paid at the end of February – that is, if they get paid at all.
Back home, our main news concerns the students we’re sponsoring. One recent graduate (an accountant) got a wonderful job while another (a geologist) recently lost his, a consequence of Namibia’s plummeting mining industry. At the same time, a new pre-med student joined the group, explaining that she wants to help find a cure for the AIDS virus that killed her parents. Also, two weeks ago our other new student arrived from Namibia’s refugee camp. You may recall Sofiana from our last e-mail – she was born in Angola but has lived in the refugee camp (a truly dreadful place) since she was three. In our short time together, we have grown very fond of Sofiana – but she has taken us on quite a rollercoaster ride.
Sofiana arrives in Windhoek
Although Windhoek has only 350,000 people, it is Namibia’s largest city – and to a poor girl from a refugee camp, everything feels new and scary. It’s not just the multi-story buildings, the traffic, and the fast pace of activity. Initially, Sofiana was frightened of our dogs, scared of heights from our back-veranda, jumpy at the unfamiliar noises, and bewildered by a shower that runs hot water straight from the tap. As the sun set in the evening she didn’t turn on a reading light because, as she admitted later, it didn’t occur to her that electric light was available.
Happily, we could introduce Sofiana to two other Saving Remnant students who shared their own stories about first coming to Windhoek from a rural setting, and soon the house rocked with laughter. The three young people quickly became friends and within two days they were exploring the city together, visiting museums (I insisted: “No museum visits, no dinner”), and securing the administrative paper work needed to start their studies later this month.As we got to know each other, we also discovered that Sofiana suffered from a history of serious stomachaches that included numerous hospitalizations, but Namibia’s State-employed doctors had never diagnosed the cause. She said that she didn’t get sick when she stayed in a government hostel (i.e. the school dormitory, while attending high school) but the pain always came back when she returned to the refugee camp. “So what was different in her diet between the two settings?” I asked. Unbelievably, none of the hospital staff had ever asked about her food-intake. By contrast, I learned that at the refugee camp they often drink un-pasteurized cows’ milk, while the government hostels rarely provided any dairy products at all. A few minutes on the Internet confirmed what I immediately suspected, that Sofiana has a serious milk allergy. So now she is on a milk-free diet and so far, she’s feeling terrific. (Of course, I’m fuming that this had never been uncovered before.)
The doors shut tight
The days passed quickly, as we looked forward to registration at the University of Namibia this week. Meanwhile, Sofiana even got to like our dogs. She also started reading some of our books, shared with the cooking, volunteered her hairdressing skills on the other students (literally sewing on the hair extensions with needle and thread), and generally adjusted well.
Then Thursday came (ten days ago) and the final results of the grade 12 exams were published in the newspaper. This is part of a crazy system in Namibia where students are tentatively accepted at the University based on their preliminary exam results (sort of like the PSATs in America), but the final exam results are released only 48 hours before the University actually starts. Even before I got the newspaper at a local shop, Sofiana came wailing to me — her sister called at 6:30 am and told her that she missed qualifying by three points (about 12%). What a shock! But there was nothing to be done — no University. Moreover, the system does not allow for second chances, except to possibly try again next year.
Sofiana’s family was furious, as they had pinned hopes for their own future on hers. And she – Sofiana – was terrified. Suddenly, everything went black before her eyes, and she saw herself living a beggar’s life – at risk of pregnancy and AIDS, like so many of the other young girls at the camp. Bernd and I quickly conferred and decided that we could not let her go back to her family empty-handed, so we needed think creatively. Then we put Lucas (the other student who lives with us) on “watch” that Sofiana wouldn’t cause herself physical harm, which turned out to be the right premonition.
Shortly after Bernd and I left for work that same morning, Sofiana asked Lucas for pills and said she would rather die than face this failure. Immediately Lucas took out his Bible and started reading to her about Job and Moses, and told her that what happened to her was a test to prepare her for life’s inevitable disappointments in the future. He tried every way he could to encourage her, insisting that she would eventually find a way to succeed. And for the next two days, for every moment that she was awake, Lucas wouldn’t let Sofiana out of his sight. (The remarkable thing about Lucas’ response is that he spoke at all, given his terrible speech impediment. Two years ago, when we first met Lucas, he would barely open his mouth. So as you can imagine, we’re very proud of him now.)
Meanwhile, Bernd and I investigated a range of options. Since Sofiana said she wanted to study computers (not that she knew anything about them), we looked for a vocational course that could give her a head start in this field. We found one and enrolled her, and that will last for two months. We also identified a correspondence course which will allow her to repeat some of her subject-exams next October and – as the best news – we found the only school in the country that will enroll her for a Portuguese language-exam that, as a native speaker, we’re convince she’ll “Ace.” All of this should greatly strengthen her chance for higher grades for 2010, when she’ll try for the University once again.
So that’s where we are. I guess Lucas was right – eventually Sofiana will make it and she’ll be stronger for the experience. Now Bernd and I look forward to calmer times ahead, but we’re happy with how things have progressed. And, as my friend Diane cheerfully signs off on all of her own newsy letters, we add joyfully: “Obama is STILL president!”
