Fostering a Namibian reading culture

By Rosalia David

THE chairperson of the International University of Management’s (IUM) governing council, Dr David Namwandi has encouraged young people to share their stories through writing memoirs while pointing out that many have left the earth without leaving a legacy behind.

Namwandi said this at the occasion of the handover ceremony where Ndeulipula Hamutumwa, author of a book titled ‘‘Pioneer: Offspring of the Namibian Liberation Struggle’ donated five books to IUM recently.

“I am thrilled to receive this book. The title of the book fascinated me and I believe that happiness depends on what you can give and not what you get and these five books will surely add value to IUM,” he remarked.

Namwandi also highlighted the importance of reading saying that without a reading culture one’s vision becomes bleary.

“If you don’t read you won’t go anywhere and if you don’t record your own history someone else will just like this young man has done.”

Hamutumwa’s memoir is centred on the struggles of his childhood as an exile child during Namibia’s liberation struggle.

Supporting Namwandi’s sentiment, Hamutumwa said that his aim is to motivate and inspire while adding on to the body of knowledge.

“I believe that in the golden books of history we can operate on global standards and add to a journey of excellence while making sure that Africa becomes a better continent through developing young women and men. I asked myself what can we leave as a legacy for those who fought and were raised in refugee camps; and that is how I came about writing this book,” he explained.

He went on to emphasise the importance of recording history, urging Namibians to write more books and share their historical stories with the rest of the world.

“I would like to encourage students that we are worthy to share our history and appreciate the sacrifice that was made and to shape their own characters through where we come from.

“People need to write their stories, otherwise we would be a nation that never develops,” he noted.

In the opening chapters of his memoir, Hamutumwa details his life as a child in Swapo exile camps, particularly in Kwanza-Sul in Angola, where he endured a life of uncertainty and hardship.

He further remembers another drastic turn in his early childhood when he had to leave Angola for Germany and face a whole new challenge of adapting to a first world country.

In all these experiences, the memoir provides key insights into Namibia’s history from a different perspective and shares key lessons of a journey worth lived.

The book was published by the El-Shaddai Family Trust and is dedicated to his wife Kadiva and their three children. The book is available for purchase.