US Ambassador’s visit provides overview of support for Tsumkwe community
The United States Ambassador to Namibia, HE Randy Berry, recently visited Tsumkwe to meet community leaders, students, conservation actors, and health service providers.
During his two-day visit, Ambassador Berry stopped by the Mangetti Dune Health Centre, where he met with the nurse-in-charge and a Tuberculosis field promoter, to tour the facility.
The nurse highlighted HIV/TB services available at the site through the support of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a CDC-backed initiative. She emphasized the community’s concerns, such as distances to health care services and transportation issues.
Furthermore, the Ambassador visited the Tsumkwe Secondary School, where he interacted with grade 11 learners. The Ambassador provided an overview of the efforts of the US Embassy via increased free trade and investment to create an inclusive Namibian economy, enabling a rules-based democracy, and unlocking Namibia’s human potential through health and education. He also discussed the many options provided by the Embassy and urged learners to strive for excellence in their educational endeavours.
Ambassador Berry also paid a courtesy visit to the Chief of Ju’/hoansi Traditional Authority, Tsamkxao ‡Oma Bobo. During their conversations, Chief Bobo emphasized the dual challenges that his community faces, namely extreme poverty and lack of education.
Ambassador Berry then visited the Tsumkwe Clinic Integrated Food Systems Project, which intends to create an integrated community-based food system around the clinic. The goal is to empower small-scale agriculture in the community, allowing for better nutrition and economic opportunity. He further saw economic and community development in villages outside the Tsumkwe settlement, where enterprising farmers grow and sell higher-value crops like papaya and drying devil’s claw harvested from the area.
These efforts, supported by the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation Namibia, seek to strengthen communities in and around Tsumkwe by improving their economic and social well-being.
Ambassador Berry concluded his day by meeting with the Nyae Nyae Conservancy and Community Forest responsible for managing the natural resources in the Nyae Nyae area.
US Ambassador Randy Berry visited the World Food Programme and supported Tsumkwe Clinic Integrated Food Systems Project.
