Arandis, Namibia: Colors of Namibia

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Colors of Namibia

28 February 2006

I was going through the pictures I had taken, trying to decide which one to use with this post and this one, just now, came to mind. First of all, I've been thinking about how to write this post for a while now. And, I’ve sort of been writing it over the last few days. I’ve been thinking about how to not have it misconstrued or twisted into something it wasn’t intended to be. Keep that in mind before jumping to any conclusions…

I had been in Arandis for well over a week and at least for two weekends. I probably had walked all over town, during the day and at night, been to the homes of the foster families, attended church services, purchased items in the little grocery store and would say “hallo” to virtually everyone I passed by; young or old.

One afternoon, as I was walking from the ministry center to one of the homes, I looked ahead and was surprised to see…a white girl, most likely in her late teens but maybe quite possibly in her early twenties, crossing the street a little ways in front of me. For some reason, it struck me as odd that, aside from Brenda, I wasn’t the only other white person in town. She was the first (and ultimately the only one) I had noticed in town on this particular trip; although I think that the owner’s of the little grocery store in town are white but I don’t remember seeing them this trip.

Anyway, I wasn’t close enough to say hello and didn’t feel it would be right or appropriate to yell, whistle or try to get her attention from so far away. As I kept moving forward, I watched as she continued to walk across the street, towards and into the public pool area.

As I continued on my way, I wondered why seeing another white person had suddenly made me aware of my own skin color, that I was very much among the minority in town. I then thought about Tresford’s church service; and how during the church service, I had been the only white person in attendance, well until Brenda would show up anyway.

It’s like it took seeing someone of my own color for me to realize that everyone else around me…was not! Up until that point, I think I can honestly say that I never saw “color”, only people, brothers and sisters in Christ.

Since being home, I think about that often and my mind wanders to the days when the color of your skin really made more of a difference. What was it like there in Arandis years back when apartheid was more prevalent? I won’t be naïve to think that it still doesn’t exist now, but would I have been as comfortable 5, 10 or 15 years ago as I’ve felt when I was there? Would I have been so at ease to walk around town, day or night?

Sylvia Beukes is the director of Hope’s Promise in Namibia. She lives in Rehoboth and works with the ministry center there. Last July when we came down as a group there is one thing I will remember her telling us. She said when you come here to Rehoboth whether you realize it or not, you are affecting change like you can never imagine. And you’re doing it not by dancing, not by talking at the schools, not by helping around the ministry center. While all these things do help, they do not have the same impact as simply hugging a child here; a child who is black or coloured.

Up until Hope’s Promise, or other missionaries, began coming to Namibia, it is quite possible that these children never got the chance to interact with someone who was white. Why would they? How could they? Why would someone who was white come to Rehoboth? Racial barriers, she said, are being shattered to pieces here just by you hugging a child; or allowing a child to hug you, to touch you. By hugging a child here, you are helping an entire generation not feel or see the differences, the injustices, the fear or the rage that their parents or grandparents may have grown up with.

That’s pretty cool to think about.

After struggling with the “What the heck am I doing in Africa? question, I’ve learned to not question it at all. You see, I realize now that maybe it doesn't come down to where we decide to help, but to where we have been called to help. And, did we answer the call.

What about you?

If you look over to the right hand side of this blog, under “What Matters” you will see this quote, “Sometimes it’s not about your ability to do something, but your availability to do it that is more important.”

This sunset was in Arandis. These colors are the types of colors that are most vivid to me when I think about Namibia. These are the colors that, to me, are worth noticing and remembering.

posted by Don @ 11:25 PM

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