Namibia Report 2023
HUMAN BEING LEADS
YOU’RE CALLED TO STAND
A 9 day’s Workshop-Journey in the north-east of the country with 155 people
Lead by Heike Wegener and Visolela Namises, in Assistance with
Cowen Rivaldo Gurirab
• Exploring or Soul-Connection
• Responsibility of light and shadow in our life
• how to walk our journey in self-love
• principles of healing and trauma awareness
In this time where our collective life brings up insecurity, pain and loss globally it feels like a blessing to have the ability to learn and dialog with so many people in this trauma sensitive leadership training about (self) love in a violated world, our soul-connection and strength of the divine which wants to work through us. This people and their landscape is a prayer for resilience and beauty after (german) colonialization, apartheid, and war. The four pillars above was structuring our trainings. We also learned a lot about our nervous system and how we as individuals and also collectively in a stress or even survival mode.
We explored how to regulate oneself and co-regulate with each other or in the group to find balance and strength again for our next steps of growth and healing in our life.
October 7th-8th 2023 first WS in Windhoek / 5 men and 11 women
A group of the so called OC Rosa movement which is part of a bigger network in Windhoek is deepen their work of empowering themselves and each other in a trauma-informed way. They organize themselves more in local support groups to look at social, financial and political issues. Franscina, who works in the WSN (Women Solidarity Namibia) office was supporting to organize the event.
October 9th-10th second WS in Otjimbingwe / Atsas / 3 men and 35 women
A place of poor infrastructure and employment. The scars of the german colonial time were named. A deep sharing in the group brings connectedness and hope. Silent voices became touch- and hearable. A very healing meeting. People showed up in their strength and vulnerability. Fabiola was supporting to organize the meeting. After the event she was opening up a support group to cooperate in terms of local political issues.
October 11th-12th third WS in Karibib / 33 women
A local male activist from Karibib as organizing the meeting in one day. It was amazing that so many women attend so intensely, present and open to inform themselves. The two days brought up deep issues like poor abilities to find work, general high stress disorders, relationship challenges, violence. We practiced how to regulate our nervous system, find more grounding in each ones beautiful energy. Each women was receiving an oiling, like a blessing through touching on part of the body, which was very much appreciated. They wanted to continue this praxis of compassion and caring for each other. There were elderly women who are doing little business work with sewing who began to look at the younger ones. They were building a meeting house for women there some years ago. It became a ruin because the wind was blowing of the roof and because of financial issues it could not be continued. It’s a big wish of the regional women to built up the center again.
24th to 25th May
We're called to stand
Second Workshop, 6 women (one transgender), 4 men, and one child (3 years)
Again we met a very diverse group. Many people did not come or were hours to late. The theme of „being late" came up and we explored the structure behind this issue. It became a deep inquiry between Visolela and me...finding out, that on part of being late
is a way to rebel against orders of white people now and in the past...letting them wait... and then creating a culture where it became normal that everybody comes late...and what a big amount of energy is lost in waiting...and kept in the pain of colonialism. After a late and relatively short arrival circle where people shared their wishes for the time, we have together we went straight into the knowledge of the four bodies, explored their movements and entered a more embodied sharing. A lot of grief came up for the loss of many people who died from covid last year. The center was filled with pictures of people who were remembered. There were single grief processes of people who knew our work from last years which was beautiful to deepen the connection. We also exercised about the principle of survival (fighting, freezing, fleeing) and how it shows up in our lifes and how it could be to stay in the center of our live stream of being honest, vulnerable and, interested. We witnessed the movement of avoidance and efforting inside of us.
October 15th forth WS in Kombat 12 Women
After the Kombat Festival to honor their tradition, we met the day after. All women came fully dressed in their amazing designed dresses fitting to the region (green of the grass land, yellow of the corn, brown of the copper). It brings them back their dignity to feel their own style and beauty. They transformed the dress of suppression of the Victorian women dress of the colonizers to their own regional fashion. Visolela was starting this first female Damara movement one year ago. It became a strong empowerment, art and healing movement, reconnecting consciously with their history and their deep roots in Namibia. The whole region is bought by one rich black Namibian man who lives in the US. Mostly all men who have work are employed in the local copper mine. The rate of alcoholic man is high, doesn’t matter if employed or unemployed. People said that it is a modern type of slavery within their own fragmented culture. We shares stories, longings, challenges and what we’re grateful for. One women shared a ancient picture of the original women dress of the region (see below). I could feel a very strong bond between the women, which was wonderful. Anneliese who was hosting us seems to represent a meeting and connecting point of different information which are important in the region and beyond.
October 17th we met SAN people in Tsumkwe
The visit in the SAN-people region was very touching. Visolela is known through workshops she gave there with a San organization. The people who usually lived as
nomadic hunters who went with the wild animals had to become sedentary. All generations seams to be disorientated. The young people have to go to the villages to learn and work something. The elder generation missed their old lives. It’s a very sad situation with not such a positive future for this ancient tribe of this natives Namibians. The government and NGO’s are supporting the people with food. Very independent wisdom keeper of the bushes became dependent on food rations. Visolela gives an interview at the local radio station. It’s a network meeting for further visits to deepen the connection.
October 19th fifth WS in Grootfontaine / 41 women
The traditional artifacts Visolelea brought became the center of this meeting. The women were reclaiming their proud to be Damara, reconnecting with their ancestors. The silenced voices were named, the broken heart from the past held, the standing together was felt, strong prayers were shared.
October 20th sixth WS at the Hobes / Meteorit place / 5 men and 7 women
It was a bit like having a future group of Namibian’s; a group of employees who work at the local mostly touristic attraction of a big meteoroid called Hobes: Multigenerational, from different places and tribes, finding a way to be and work together. A very interested group in the topic who were asking a lot of questions and had already created a warm empathic group container. For us it was a big gift to get to know this people and that we were allowed to sleep at the meteoroid. A very old ritual place who was teaching us cosmic power.
Other moments of Networking
Next to this workshops many other moments of networking and exchange of knowledge and appreciation was happening. F.e. we visited a school in Karibib, met different political leaders and supporters of Visolela.
Of each Workshop group we formed a whats app group to stay in connection, exchange information pictures and to reach out when we have the next phase of „we are called to stand - campaign“
In march 2024 another visit is planned. Visolela opened a bank account for her Campaign.
Thank you for learning, healing and finding way’s of being human together, growing in resilience, creativity, connection and uniqueness.
