On the road

Since Sunday 17th July my UNFPA and Namibian Red Cross colleagues and I have been on the road travelling through six regions in northern Namibia which had been affected by flooding, namely Kavango, Caprivi and the four 'O's i.e. Oshikoto, Oshana, Ohangwena and Omusati.


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The purpose of the visit was for me to familiarize myself with the regions, meet key actors involved in flood preparedness and response in regional and local government, local communities and NGOs and to see if there are any outstanding protection concerns now that most people have returned or are about to return home.

Our trip has even involved a two day speed boat ride up and down the Zambesi River in Caprivi region visiting communities that had either moved to relocation camps and were going back to home villages or had been on islands cut off by the floods who had received other displaced people. In between we took in the amazing and beautiful scenery, admiring the transition of vegetation and wildlife along the banks and getting a tad close to crocodiles, hippos and elephants. We camped out under the stars at Kasika and during the night we had some curious visitors, some elephants who wandered into the camp in search of food. I can't say that I rushed out in the early hours of the morning to greet them as it was too cold and they were much bigger than me!

Anyway the trip is nearing an end and we gathered a lot of information. Photos and stories will follow but for now I'm going to get something to eat, pack my case and get ready for an early start tomorrow, back on the road and homeward bound for Windhoek!

...and so ends the first week

It is now Friday afternoon and I'm sitting out on the veranda in the late afternoon sunshine. I can't believe how quickly my first week in Namibia is zipping by. It has mainly been a week of introductions, to my UNFPA colleagues and key people in other UN agencies such as UNICEF, UNHCR, UNAIDs, UNDP, WFP and FAO. Not everyone was around as there are a couple of large conferences going on in Windhoek at the moment including one on Education so no doubt I will have more introductions next week. I also met a counterpart in the Namibian Red Cross who gave me a thorough briefing on the current situation in flood affected areas in the north of the country. I hope to do the rounds at various Government ministries next week and plan a field trip as soon as possible. I have settled into my office, it looks tidy doesn't it? Bet it won't stay like that for long!

In between I've made contact with a couple of estate agents and viewed a couple of properties yesterday. All I need is a studio or one bedroom flat/apartment to rent for 6 months but these seem to be quite hard to come by as properties are quite large e.g. 3 or 4 bedrooms with ensuite, 2 garages etc. I will see another property this evening. I circulated an email around the UN yesterday and received some emails and phone calls of friends of friends informing me of some options plus an invitation to join the International Women's Association of Namibia which welcomes newcomers to Namibia, organises social and charity fundraising events and supports a number of local charities which assist vulnerable women and children. This sounds interesting so I will check them out. It might be a great way to make friends as well as doing something in my free time.