Hunter, The Bible and the quest for Developmental JusticeCoalition, and well-known anti-Apartheid poet, writer and commentator,
who called for an in-depth study to be conducted into the matter with the
aim of possibly introducing the grant in Namibia.
The BIG Coalition introduced a pilot project of the basic income grant in
the settlement of Otjivero at Omitara, near Gobabis in the North-East of
Namibia in 2008. A basic grant of N$ 100.00 (± 10 Euro) was paid to
each person in every household. Bishop Kameeta reported that this was
a huge success and brought complete change in the community with
some business activities going on, more children going to school and
more people seeking work because of the fact that they have money for
transport and basic foods. In fact, he said that the BIG project in Otjivero
was proof that people did not become “lazy” after the grant. Rather, they
are encouraged to seek work and to become active (see the report of the
Republikein, 11 May 2010; see also NANGOF 2008).
The controversy about introducing a general income grant in Namibia is
going on, with political commentators from other countries, such as
South Africa, Germany and Sweden, joining the debate (see, for exam-
ple, the New Era article of 4 June 2010).
Another initiative, specifically aimed at orphans in Namibia, which
should be mentioned, is the Churches’ Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), a
sister organisation of the Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN). This
organisation has initiated various projects with the aim of assisting and
educating orphans in Namibia. Foreign donors, such as USAID (United
States Agency for International Development), have come to the aid of
CAFO as can be seen in articles published in the Namibian and the
Republikein on 10 June 2010. In the specific case reported, CAFO re-
ceived 70 metric tons of food packages from the Center for International
Health to be distributed to OVC in Namibia.
Advocacy, Church and Bible
“Advocacy is an effort to influence a law, a policy or some other decision.
Advocacy can be directed at various levels of government, government
bodies, or other institutions or individuals” (LAC, p. 3).
To start with the Bible: It should be clear that there is no way for us to
directly apply either Old Testament or New Testament texts to our situa-
tion. It is perfectly clear that the Old Testament saw children as part of a
religious community, which ultimately, was also intrinsically part of the
government of the day, however one would like to define this link. In the