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Prostitute priest awarded for his life-long dedication

Prostitute priest awarded for his life-long dedication

The dedicated, life-long, unselfish work of an octogenarian Catholic Priest, Father Hermann Klein-Hitpass was publicly honoured this week when the Rotary Club Windhoek bestowed a fellowship on him.

Rotary International, through the Rotary Club Windhoek, honoured Father Hermann Klein-Hitpass with a Paul Harris Fellowship Award. President Hans Kriess of the Rotary Club Windhoek presented the award to Father Hermann in the catholic hospital in Windhoek where he is currently residing.

The Paul Harris Fellowship, named after the founder of Rotary, was started in recognition of Rotarians who contributed significantly to the Rotary Foundation. From the late 1970s onward the award was also given to members of the public who distinguished themselves through extraordinary service to the community. Famous Paul Harris Fellows include US President Jimmy Carter, astronaut Jim Lovell and UN Secretary General Perez de Cuellar.

Father Herman received the award for his decades long commitment to uplift the poor, the sick and the vulnerable in Namibia and in particularly for highlighting the plight of sex workers in Katutura and offering them support and consolation without judgement.

Father Joseph of St Mary’s parish in Windhoek lauded the example that Father Hermann has set for young priests, emphasising the importance of the cloth to always assist those in need, no matter their background or predicament.

The Rotary Club Windhoek is Namibia’s oldest rotary club with the biggest number of members.

About The Author

Daniel Steinmann

Educated at the University of Pretoria: BA (hons), BD. Postgraduate degrees in Philosophy and Divinity. Publisher and Editor of the Namibia Economist since February 1991. Daniel Steinmann has steered the Economist as editor for the past 32 years. The Economist started as a monthly free-sheet, then moved to a weekly paper edition (1996 to 2016), and on 01 December 2016 to a daily digital newspaper at www.economist.com.na. It is the first Namibian newspaper to go fully digital. He is an authority on macro-economics having established a sound record of budget analysis, strategic planning and assessing the impact of policy formulation. For eight years, he hosted a weekly talk-show on NBC Radio, explaining complex economic concepts to a lay audience in a relaxed, conversational manner. He was a founding member of the Editors' Forum of Namibia. Over the years, he has mentored hundreds of journalism students as interns and as young professional journalists. From time to time he helps economics students, both graduate and post-graduate, to prepare for examinations and moderator reviews. He is the Namibian respondent for the World Economic Survey conducted every quarter for the Ifo Center for Business Cycle Analysis and Surveys at the University of Munich in Germany. Since October 2021, he conducts a weekly talkshow on Radio Energy, again for a lay audience. On 04 September 2022, he was ordained as a Minister of the Dutch Reformed Church of Africa (NHKA). Send comments or enquiries to [email protected]