Jim Brown, associate professor of history, recently spent seven weeks in the northwestern Namibian town of Opuwo, population 5,000, in southwestern Africa. He was there volunteering with an organization that works to raise awareness of issues relating to HIV/AIDS, which has devastated that country. The organization, Ombetja Yahinga, has been working with Elon’s Periclean Scholars.
Brown traveled there on his own and visited villages with one of the Ombetja Yahinga workers, educating young adults on HIV/AIDS transmission, testing and treatment. The area around Opuwo is the least developed region of Namibia (the nearest paved road was 100 miles away) and is sparsely settled by ethnic groups that rely on nomadic herding to survive.
Brown reports that he regularly traveled 50 to 80 miles over gravel roads to reach isolated villages. Says Brown, “It was a tremendous opportunity to do humanitarian work as well as to learn about the mix of cultures in the area.” He said it was often difficult to reach groups of young people because they were tending herds of cattle or goats throughout the open countrside. He said the land is communally held, so there are no fences and livestock roam freely.
Brown returned with many photos, stories, and fond memories, as well as with feelings of frustration with the magnitude of the work that remains to be done and the scarcity of resources that are available to carry it out.