Walk a Mile in My Shoes: Stories About People in the Formal and Informal Settlements in Katutura Namibia

Can you imagine going to kindergarten for the first time at the age of 13, living in a shack with eight other children and sleeping on a small foam mattress on a dirt floor? Or selling your clothes and searching the streets for returnable bottles so you can feed your children? Or being abandoned by everyone in your family when you are a toddler because they think you have a disease they don’t understand and that they fear? Or having twelve children because you were an only daughter and your mother wanted lots of grandchildren to work endless hours on the farm? These are the realities of some women and children who live in poverty in the former township of Katutura, a suburb of the capital city of Windhoek, in Namibia. This book shares not only their stories and the stories of others, but it shows how one small organization, Family of Hope Services, is able to uplift these children and women and to give them a future.

Walk a Mile in My Shoes is a fund-raising book with 100% of all proceeds from sales going to educate, feed, and to empower orphans and vulnerable children in Katutura. By buying this book you will empower a child and contribute to his or her future and hope. Reading this book will be your blessing; a realization of the good fortune in your own life.

“When I first met Abigail Bachopi and her team, and began to learn about Family of Hope Services, I found myself deeply moved by the vision and wisdom with which they run their Centre. They see clearly what is required to foster dignity, self-confidence, and not just an impression of hope but the real possibility that all of the children and youth who come through their doors will experience a more fulfilling life. I have witnessed the life-changing results of their programming over the past few years.

Everything they undertake is done with the utmost integrity and honesty. They inspired me to share some of their stories so that others could see the challenges they face and to see the good work that they do. It is truly humbling to be in the company of these generous people with such big hearts, and incredible insight.” Danette Jaeb, Author

About the Author

Danette Jaeb is a writer, blogger, and web developer living as an expat for more than seven years in Namibia in southern Africa. From day one Namibia stole her heart, and she keeps a blog on her Namibian experiences and travels, gets into debates about the history of the country, and spends a lot of treasured time getting to know people in the former black township of Katutura.

Before moving to Namibia from Canada, Danette spent 20 years as the principal of a consulting group and did a variety of work including marketing, curriculum development, training, strategic planning, product development, event planning, business development, and program delivery including operating a regional tourism information service that handled tens of thousands of inquiries annually. Her work encompassed extensive commercial writing including penning speeches for politicians and executives with Fortune 1000 companies, and authoring numerous articles on a variety of topics. Her projects took her as far afield as Japan, Germany, Hawaii, Fiji and throughout the United States and Canada.

When she’s not immersed in Namibia and her writing life, she can be found sailing with her husband in the Mediterranean.