Traditional Life Skills Project

Background    
 

To challenge some negative effects of modernization in small rural communities in the southern part of Namibia, the idea of the Traditional Life Skills Project was born in 2003. The Institute for Education and Career Development formulated the idea, which was discussed and developed with representatives from local communities, The Ministry of Education and the Namibia Association, Norway (NAMAS).

The project idea was met with great local enthusiasm from community members who began teaching traditional skills even prior to the first community visit in May 2004.
The first school communities, spread over the southern region of Karas, embarked on various activities such as needlework, beadwork, leatherwork, agriculture and the collecting and use of herbs as traditional medicine and cosmetics.

The Steering Committee is responsible for the planning of the project activities and budgeting. The Committee consist of Parent Teachers from each school community, representatives from the Ministry of Education and NAMAS. There is a working group responsible for moving the project forward in accordance with decisions taken by the Steering Committee. 

Aims
 

The main aim of the project is to create a focus on the traditional life skills, their practice and customs, and to pass these on to the younger generation. Furthermore the project seeks to nurture a creative and an entrepreneurical attitude among the learners and equip them with practical knowledge as tools for their future, individual development. Additionally this project aims to serve as a bridge between the formal school system and the community.

Activities

Community members, most of them women, become Parent Teachers and they work on a voluntary basis. They decide what to be taught, when and to whom. The traditional life skills sessions are taking place on average one - two afternoons per week. The school communities receive regular visits in order to address locally raised issues, to gain support for the community in strengthening and moving forward with the project. In order to share skills held in the various communities and for the Parent Teachers to learn from each others experiences, several Parent Teacher workshops have taken place during 2005-06. The host communities have been responsible for the practical arrangements, and all participants have co-facilitated the activities.

Each group of Parent Teachers have established an account for the project’s finances, and have received training in basic book keeping by NAMAS. The community receives up to N$ 1000-00 a year from the project to purchase material needed for local activities.
 

Achievements

•  21 school communities are active in the project
• About 440 children are taking part in the Traditional Life Skills sessions 
• 110 Parent Teachers are passing on their skills 
• 6 Parent Teacher workshops have been held. 
• Groups participated at the Keetmans Show in 2004 and 2006, and received the first prize for best stall both years  Children are reaching a basic level of competence enabling them to continue with their handicraft even when no longer in the project 
• Local people claim that the use of traditional dresses has become more prominent since the beginning of the project 
• Many responses from the Parent Teachers indicate that participating children show increased respect for elders, and even perform better in the formal school 
• A growing interest from Principals in the skills and abilities held by the local communities

Future aims

Through onsite visits and workshops there will be continuous skills sharing and upgrading. From 2007 the project will be expanded to several communities in the Erongo region. To establish suitable routines and structures that will strengthen sustainability beyond the period with donor support. Possible interlink with the new subject Entrepreneurship to be introduced in Junior Secondary Schools in 2008 National and international exposure to activities related to traditional life skills and skills sharing Techniques and knowledge of traditional life skills documented in various forms and made available for stakeholders.

Challenges

As the project is run on a voluntary basis, it is a challenge to keep the Parent Teachers motivated to stay with the project for longer periods of time. It is difficult to sustain a greater community involvement, and a few active Parent Teachers end up taking on multiple tasks. The male involvement as Parent Teachers is generally very low, resulting in traditional male activities not being passed on to the children in the project.

The Traditional Life Skills project has brought on the agenda the importance of keeping the life skills alive and to find pride in tradition. By seeing the commitment and eagerness among the Parent Teachers and the learners involved in the project it becomes clear that the previous generations had a solid base of creativity and quality for the future generations to build on. This project can only remain strong and sustainable if all stakeholders join forces to give support and encouragement.

Contact details

The Namibia Association – Norway, NAMAS
Project Coordinator: Kari Småge
E-mail: tlsp@namibiaforeningen.no
Cell: +264 81 381 4222 / +264 81 122 2079
Tel: +264 64 570 293
Fax: +264 64 570 293

Ministry of Education, Karas Regional Office
Regional Inspectors
Private Bag 2160, Keetmanshoop, Namibia
Tel: +264 63 22 2811
Fax: +264 63 22 3800

Ministry of Education, Erongo Region, Omaruru Circuit Office
Circuit Inspector Ms. A Steenkamp
Private Bag 2017, Omaruru, Namibia
Tel: +264 64 57 1051
Fax: +264 64 57 1170
Cell: +264 81 256 3093
E-mail: asteenkamp@eduerongo.in.na