Euro-African Life in Namibia

“The month of March is almost here and with it the celebration of our country’s 24th year of Independence. In light of this we, at FNB Namibia, wish to celebrate with our Government and people by ensuring that we constantly and consistently try to find banking solutions which will make our Namibians financially free while also remaining affordable to all Namibians.” So says Desery van Wyk , Manager: Cellphone Banking, First National Bank (FNB). (Photograph: Desery van Wyk , manager, FNB Cellphone Banking) She went on to say that eWallet , one of the most innovative banking solutions by FNB Namibia launched in October 2012, remains undisputed to date. “Customers can buy airtime and electricity , send money to someone with a bank account or anyone who does not have a bank account and m oney can be withdrawn at any of the 214 ATM’s in Namibia via eWallet – what more do you want?” She added that FNB Namibia has a record of more than 266 000 wallets to date. “Another advant...

The Recycle Namibia Forum (RNF) is once again inviting schools to participate in the 6 th Schools Recycling Competition (SRC) which commences on 1 March 2014 . Prizes for the top three schools with the most collected recyclables, includes N$10 000 as first prize sponsored by Namibia Breweries Limited, N$5 000 for second prize sponsored by Collect-a-Can and a third prize of N$2 500 from Plastic Packaging.  There will be additional prizes for the best performing school in the Khomas, Coastal and Northern regions. (Photograph: Eleanor Savage - f, Jonathan Wepener - b and Alex Hawala - r, of  the Windhoek International School Environmental Club) RNF chairperson Patricia Hoeksema comments: “The winner of the 2013/14 competition will be announced in Windhoek on the 12 th of March 2014. In total, 52 schools participated last year i.e. 2013/ 2014. To date, the schools have in total collected just more than 108 tons of recyclables , which consisted of ...

     A massive Sunday lunch followed by malva pudding ; the weekly dining ritual, and cause for a small flare of excitement in the humble lives of ordinary Namibians. The problem with a massive (hearty) good old-fashioned, traditional Sunday lunch, laid out to perfection on a cotton damask tablecloth (not polyester, mind you), is that it is a considerably generous spread (across the plate) and discerning Namibian diners instinctively know they have to make 'extra space' in the belly because there must be room for a mouthful or two of malva pudding.                                                    (Photograph: Malva pudding with custard and cream)      Malva (pronounced 'malfa' like 'alpha') pudding is rumoured to be almost 800 years old and while some claim it is named after a mysterious South Afr...

Veteran photojournalist, John Liebenberg and international photographic artist, Tony Figueira,  present the vivid and poignant  ‘every one hundredth of a second’ , a collaborative photographic exhibition of images taken during the late eighties and early nineties, at Omba Gallery from Friday, 21 February - 19 March 2014 . Liebenberg and Figueira, through a selection of 20 images each, present personal visual collectives of events in Namibia, South Africa and Angola , during the most turbulent times of human interaction in the region. The images cover a wide variety of topics, with emphasis on the struggle for liberation in Namibia which led to Independence on 21 March 1990. (Photograph: John Liebenberg) John Arthur Liebenberg was introduced to Namibia in 1976 when, together with his fellow conscripts, he was sent to   Ondangwa   air force base near the border with Angola. He later returned to Namibia and in 1985 was appointed photographer for ‘ the na...

Diploma graduates of the Applied Arts at College of the Arts (COTA) will exhibit their work in product development at Omba Gallery, starting Friday, 7 th February 2014 . This is the sixth time the popular and innovative ‘New Beginnings’ exhibition will be hosted by the gallery, affording the public a unique opportunity to see new works of graduates in visual arts. The exhibition is scheduled to run at Omba Gallery for two weeks. ‘New Beginnings’ , an initiative of College of the Arts, in partnership with Bank Windhoek , serves as a springboard for visual artists at the beginning of their careers. All the works exhibited were made by the graduates in their own studios; no college works will be on display. The aim of the exhibition is to give young visual artists, and their former teachers, an opportunity to assess what was learnt, absorbed, where and which progress was made and whether lessons taught during their years of study, formed lasting impressions. The ‘New Beginnings...

A week away from final judging of the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards , the student competition which drew over a 1,000 entries across the African continent and encouraged students to write either an essay or design a poster about the benefits of satellite technology in the continent ,  the Ghanaian government has put its weight behind the third edition of this unique event and confirmed Minister of Education, Honourable Naan Opoku-Agyeman, as guest speaker at a prestigious gala dinner to be held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra, Ghana, on the  5 th  of February 2014 . (Image: Roger Gertze, GM, Multichoice Namibia , and Michael Kauatjitotje , essay finalist) Industry players will gather for the announcement of the essay winner who will walk away with a once-in-a lifetime prize to see a rocket launch into space and a trip for the poster category winner to Eutelsat’s headquarters in Paris. In the spotlight for the final prize are finalists from 13 countries in Africa:...