Walvis Bay

Oh hello there...

So, last week was my first full work week in Namibia. As kind of an orientation to the organization that I will be working with, BEN Namibia sent me on a three-day field trip to the coast. Tough life, right? A new colleague/friend and I traveled to Walvis Bay to complete some research at the new Bicycle Empowerment Centre (BEC) that is in the middle of training there. Our job was mainly to complete surveys of individuals in the area that will have direct contact with the BEC, so as to gather some baseline data for BEN Namibia to use and compare throughout the life of this new Centre...

It was really a great experience for me to get to actually see the organization at work and to meet some of our partners. It was probably the coolest work orientation I've ever had. The reality of what life is like for many living in that area was hard hitting, however, with most of the people we surveyed telling us that they are living on less than N$400/US$50 a month for a whole household...challenges/opportunities, i guess...

We also had a chance to go to the Walvis Bay BEC and meet some of the people that are being trained...what BEN Namibia does is locate a community and community partner that has the capacity to handle large quantities of bikes, and a need for bikes as an affordable form of transportation. A container carrying tons of donated bicycles (the containers come from all over the world) is arranged and transported to the area.

From here, the local organization that BEN is partnering with identifies about 5 community members to be a part of the new BEC. These individuals then go through 4 weeks of bicycle mechanic training and two weeks of business training and then the container, in a sense, becomes their business and their workshop.

Outside of BEN being there for support and monthly communication, the BEC becomes an independent income generating business for the people involved. The donated bikes are repaired and sold into the community by the efforts of these persons who went through the training. It's really a neat model.

It was a fun trip to get to see what I will be participating in for the next couple of months, as well as getting to see a bit of Namibia for my little traveling heart. On the way out of town we were able to stop and scale some massive sand dunes, one of which I think is the fourth tallest sand dune in the world...the sweetness of life. :)

peace and love.

Mary :)