Namibia

Windhoek is a beautiful city, modern and clean with just about any amenity you could wish for. It's still German-speaking in many areas, a remant of a colonial power that exited the country in 1917. I've enjoyed my time here. I ate at a restaurant so trendy and nice, I could have just as easily been in New York City or Stockholm as Namibia. I tried oryx for the first, and maybe it's because I haven't had red meat in a long time, but it tasted amazing.



Yesterday, I visited an urban community development program run by the Lutheran Church of Namibia. It was nice to be back in touch with what the Lutheran church is doing around the world. This group organized an early childhood development center, self-sustaining bakery, and community garden for the area of Katutura, on the outskirts of Windhoek.

Windhoek's designer image hides another remant of Namibia's colonial legacy, the apartheid system that existed under South African rule until 1990. During this time, all blacks were moved to Katatura, which means "place we will never call home." The area still lacks infrastructure: water, electricity, and even roads. Many of the houses are made of zinc, which gets both ferociously hot in the summer and cold during the winter.


The poverty in Namibia is less striking than in Zambia. I was struck by how much less trash was in the streets as compared to Lusaka which was fairly covered in garbage thanks to a dysfunctional sanitation system. Income inequality in Namibia is greater than many other places around the world however, which allows upwordly mobile people to wine and dine only miles from others who lack even the basics a society should provide: food, electricity, and water.