Meet the Anton Fellows: Grass roots activism in Namibia
Evan Wilson's project
A commitment to activism and community development has resulted in a seven month stay for
Evan Wilson '06 in Windhoek, Namibia, first as a participant in Clark's
study abroad program at Augsburg College's Center for Global Education, and then as an
Anton Fellow
volunteering with the Child Hope Initiative Project (CHIP).
Namibia, formerly the German colony of South-West Africa, shares with many other African
countries a colonial past and a serious problem with HIV/AIDs. Like its neighbor and former
occupier South Africa, Namibia also carries a legacy of apartheid. With high unemployment,
HIV/AIDs afflicting approximately 20% of the adult population in 2003, and a wide gap between
rich and poor, Namibia struggles to create a stable government and economy.
As an international development major, community involvement was an important part of Evan's
extracurricular activities before going to Namibia. He was a mentor in Clark's
Brothers and Sisters Program
(CUBS) and served for two years as a resident advisor. During summer 2004 he held an
Urban Development
and Social Change Summer Fellowship and worked with other UDSC Fellows
conducting surveys of residents and businesses in Worcester's Green Island neighborhood,
an area slated for redevelopment. The Fellows submitted a report of their findings to the
Department of City Planning.
Evan's desire to engage in community activism in southern Africa was inspired in part
by three courses:
Sub-Saharan Africa: Issues and Problems and
Gender, Politics and Development in Africa, both taught by government professor
Beverly Grier, and
Local Action, Global change, taught by IDCE professor
David Bell. The theme for his semester abroad at the Center for Global Education was
"Nation-Building, Globalization and Decolonizing the Mind."
During June and July 2005 Evan is working with orphans, vulnerable children, and people living with HIV/AIDS in some of the informal settlements in Katutura, the former black township in Windhoek. The HIV/AIDs epidemic has left many children there parentless and homeless. The Child Hope Initiative Project (CHIP) started in May 2003 as a collaboration between two local, community based organizations to help these orphans and vulnerable children, as well as people with HIV/AIDs. CHIP's main outreach activities involve a feeding program for orphan and vulnerable children, a psychosocial support group for people living with HIV/AIDs, a school readiness program for out of school youth, and a youth group. Evan will help organize and structure CHIP's newly formed Youth Group/School Readiness Program, assist with grant and report writing, and work with vulnerable youth who need help with school placement and connecting with productive activities. He also plans to conduct research about educational development in Namibia in preparation for a senior honors thesis.
Evan has agreed to share with us, via email, news of his experiences and reflections on his work this summer. Check the listings below to see what he's doing!
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Additional Resources
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Read Evan's emails from Namibia:
6/6/05 |
6/24/05 |
7/18/05
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Evan with children at feeding program.
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Downtown Windhoek.
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Informal settlements.
Photos copyright Evan Wilson.
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