The Bushmen people is an ethnic group living in Namibia and Botswana, in the Kalahari Desert. Bushmen are spread in different areas, from South Africa to Zimbabwe, and are considered to be the first inhabitants of South Africa. Being non-blacks in a black Africa, having a yellowish skin and some Asian, mongoloid facial features, Bushmen have been a puzzling people for a long time now.
From a genetic point of view, the Bushman tribe in Namibia is one of the oldest population of the known world. What is interesting to know is that the over 7 billion people that make up the world population today have in their DNA only a few markers, transmitted hereditary from only three or four races.
In Namibia there are over 10 tribes which constitute the native population, not the colonists. The colonists are white people. If you were to visit the cities in Namibia, you would see the residents being half white and half black. The natives belong to 11-12 tribes.
In order to preach the Gospel or to do any other work there, first and foremost, you have to know the country. Secondly, you need to be aware of the fact that this country is organized tribally. You need to realize how tribes function because you don't go there to evangelize the white people. Therefore, it's very important to know and understand as much as possible about the tribe you are going to.
Most of the Kalahari Desert is in the territory of Botswana, but it extents to Namibia and South Africa. Namibia is a land of contrasts, being one of the countries with the lowest population density: it is three times bigger than Romania in size, but the population is almost equal with the number of people living only in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Namibia is a country renowned for its wildlife, having the largest natural parks in the world.
This Bushman tribe had never had a warrior spirit. They survived through hunting. There is no way of surviving there besides hunting. It is important to know that, even if we speak about the Kalahari Desert, it isnt quite a desert. Not in the classical sense of the word. Its not a desert with sand dunes, extreme heat all year round and no vegetation. No ! Kalahari is a desert from the perspective of lack of water. There is no water source or water supply above ground. There are no rivers or springs on a territory bigger than Romania. Walking around, you will see trees, but you wont see any drinkable water, except maybe for a small quantity in a hollow, two or three days after it rained. Only then you can drink that water until it gets infested.
Namibia's official languages are English, spoken by only 7% of population, and Afrikaans, spoken by 60% of the white people. Bushmen speak a click language. There are 5 clicks, each of them having a different sound.
The language of the Bushmen has a glottal onset. Its sounds are difficult to pronounce for any speaker of another language because the sounds are produced in the larynx and not with the help of the oral cavity, which is a complicated thing to do. If you had grown up in their midst, you can learn this language, otherwise it's very difficult.
Their unique language, their history and the fact that they had been identified as one of the oldest population in the world now, they've been here for thousands of years, maybe from the foundation of the world, gives them a particular character to relate to.
A few years ago, a Romanian family understood Gods wish of saving lost souls, bringing hope and building a better future for the tribe in Bushmanland. Kalahari New Hope is a Christian mission organization that succeeded to bring together young Romanians willing to let go of their personal comfort in favor of living alongside the poorest people of the world.
Namibia is made up of many tribes.Our mission base is set up in the middle of the Bushman tribe, otherwise known as the San tribe. They are the least developed and the poorest tribe in the country.
It broke my heart seeing that those people have nothing. All they have is the clothes they are dressed with. Somebody said you know them by the clothes theyre wearing, not by their name. They dont have a watch, they use the sun as a guide. They dont have names, children dont receive a name at birth. They dont know their age. If you ask a parent how old is his child, he would indicate with his hand childs height. But I noticed how happy they are in spite of not having anything at all.
I was speaking with a 4th grader and he started telling me we are like God for them. We, the white people, came to save them and bring them food. I would walk with them in their little forests full of thistle and I would find plant gum that I too used to eat as a child sometimes, but they see it as a delicacy. I would take it and give them to eat it. They had nothing sweet to eat. We would go to villages, organizing Sunday school meetings. We would sing, teach a Bible lesson and play. We would give them candies and, if they werent enough, they would crack them between their teeth, giving everyone a small piece. I thought we went there to teach them how to be civilized, but we were the ones to leave enriched. I saw them sharing everything with the others.
Those coming and ministering here in Namibia are young people. We have a site where we can be contacted: kalaharinewhope.org. People can find more details about what we do here and some contact information. We welcome everyone who wants to come and join us.
Thank you to everyone who came from Romania for everything you taught us. You taught me daubing, but as I was learning to daub, my soul was set free. My heart is full of joy and I want to learn how to daub better. They are good people and I want them to come here again to teach us things and to be like brothers, to continue building homes, daubing and being together again. Thank you to everyone and dont forget to come here again.
More news and stories from Romania produced by Alfa Omega TV here: https://alfaomega.tv/en/news-from-romania
