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Namibia: WAD Gives Voice to Voiceless
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New Era (Windhoek)
25 July 2008
Posted to the web 25 July 2008
Anna Ingwafa
Oshakati
Women Action for Development (WAD) has engaged the Oshana Regional Council and Oshakati Town Council for the establishment of community voice bodies.
These regional community voice bodies are intended to fast-track rural poverty alleviation, enhance development and reduce the number of jobless people.
WAD Executive Director Veronica de Klerk told regional councillors that the project seeks to establish "community voice bodies" in each region.
They will be stationed in the regional capital of each region from where future training workshops will take place. She explained that the number of community members would be drawn from Oshakati to undergo a selection process by WAD trainers while regional council representatives have been mandated to select the most talented members.
"All training will be conducted free of charge for poor, unemployed and unskilled people," explained WAD's executive director. The project requires assistance from the Oshana Regional Council and the Oshakati Local Authority to ensure it is successful, according to De Klerk.
She appealed to both regional councils and local authorities to assist WAD in its efforts to identify talented and active community members to serve as trainers on the "Oshana Community Voice" .The selection meeting is scheduled for today. De Klerk appealed to the two local authorities to provide a suitable venue for the training of community voice members to take place from 28 July to 01 August.
The venue will also serve as an office and training facility where future socio-economic and social upliftment training programmes can take place for community members.
She stressed that regional community voice bodies are being established mainly for the upliftment of poor rural communities.
"All regional community voice members are required to take an oath to honour the WAD code of ethics, which among others, complements government efforts to reduce poverty and unemployment in the country and to uphold WAD's non-party political philosophy," she said.
The voice bodies are required to work in close liaison and co-operation with all constituency councillors who in turn should report to the full regional council and local authority on progress made in each constituency that the projects seeks to strengthen.
They are also expected to support existing development structures of Government with the unconditional support of local and international donors who would like to see a marked positive difference in the lives of poor rural communities, according to her.
She said the proposed national project would enhance the realization of the Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015 as well as Vision 2030.
According to De Klerk, this is "in keeping with the statement of President Hifikepunye Pohamba during a meeting with NANGOF earlier this year and at which time the President stressed the importance of NGOs such as WAD strengthening the efforts of Government to reduce poverty and to fast-track the advancement of marginalized communities in the country".
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The WAD Executive had a similar consultative meeting with the Omusati Regional Council on the same proposal earlier on Tuesday.
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