Oniipa Training School

In previous years of 1870, few written records exist detailing the history of Oniipa and the general areas surrounding the community. In 1870, the first missionaries from the Finnish Missionary Society came to the Northern part of Namibia. By 1889 Oniipa held one of the two parishes established in the Ondonga region of Namibia. By 1900 the Finnish missionaries had baptized over 800 Owambos. The formation of ELCIN was realized in 1954 and remains a major institution in Oniipa to this day. The other major institution in Oniipa is Onandjokwe Hospital that was constructed by Finnish missionaries starting in 1908. The hospital has undergone significant changes since its construction, most notably the increases in the size of the hospital and the number of patients that it is able to serve.

Introductory meeting with community leaders

In August 2004, Health Communication Project organized a meeting with community leaders from the health, political and religious sectors in and around Oniipa . The purpose of this meeting was to introduce the Community Mobilization Activities (CMA) to the community and gain their guidance and support for the process. The coordinator of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) and several representatives from Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital, helped HCP identify key representatives of the community that were to be invited to this meeting. Among those attending were the mayor, several religious leaders, representatives of ELCIN, hospital staff, members of the community and traditional leaders. Toward the end of the meeting, the community leaders nominated a few representatives from among themselves to serve as an advisory group (hereafter called the Working Group) that would help guide the CMA process in Oniipa^[1] Despite the many prevention efforts aimed at addressing this illness, the increase in HIV infection had not been stemmed in Namibia. Given this, a process of inward reflection was critical to understanding what caused HIV transmission and how HIV/AIDS affected the lives of people in the community. Gathering information from a wide range of people about what they thought, felt and experienced in relation to HIV/AIDS would be extremely useful to the community and other organizations working in this area, and would put the community in a much better position to develop effective interventions. CMA is a community-driven process. HCP emphasized that the success of CMA depended to a large extent on the participation of the community. Communities have first hand knowledge about their own problems and what is causing them. HIV/AIDS issues in particular, are best discussed and elicited by the community members from the inside given the sensitive and private nature of the disease. HCP assured the group that it would play a supportive role throughout the CMA process.

Concluding Comments

As is evident from this report, the general lack of information, high-risk life style and poverty increase the vulnerability of the community to HIV infection. From these findings, the community in Oniipa has created a Community Action Forum to begin addressing their problems en route to preventing further HIV infections and providing care and support to those already infected. Addressing problems of alcohol abuse is a priority since it contributes to risky behavior that may lead to HIV infection. As seen above, many people in Oniipa are having sex with multiple partners, and are in many cases are driven by the need for rewards including food and money when choosing a sexual partner^[2]

References