Institutional Capacity-Building

Two of the most significant achievements in the area of institutional capacity-building were the historic first workshop involving San of Angola, South Africa and Namibia, and the establishment of the South African San Council. A crucial capacity-building mechanism is the WIMSA General Assembly which convenes for its annual general meeting (AGM) in South Africa, Botswana or Namibia, these being the southern African countries with the largest San populations. During the period under review the AGM and second meeting of the WIMSA Board of Trustees were held at Platfontein in South Africa. The first board meeting for this period was held at !Khwa ttu San Education and Culture Centre in the Yzerfontein area near Cape Town, South Africa. San capacity-building also entails maintaining close contact with all WIMSA member organisations in the region.

First Workshop of San of Angola, Namibia and South Africa

In July 2001 WIMSA and the Trócaire Angola country office established e-mail contact facilitated by the Irish Agency for Personnel Service Overseas (APSO). The subsequent intensive correspondence resulted in Trócaire supporting its partner organisation, the Lubango-based Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), in facilitating the attendance of San representatives residing in the Cunene, Huila, Namibie and Cubango Provinces of Angola, as well as a representative of the Nhãneka-Humbe Traditional Authority in Huila Province and YMCA officers at a four-day workshop in Windhoek in January 2002. WIMSA invited Khwe- and !Xun-speaking San from Schmidtsdrift, South Africa, and !Xun speakers from Tsumkwe District West, Namibia, to meet with their Angolan counterparts. The discussion focused mainly on the current situation of the San across the region, land tenure, traditional leadership, gender, health and the way forward.

General Situation of Angolan San

The workshop established that the San in Angola are even more marginalised than those in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. The sole female Angolan San participant reported to the workshop that, "San people in Angola are starving because the Government does not assist us. There is no income for people to ensure their survival. To buy clothes we try to sell our crafts." YMCA research has found that many San in Angola work for commercial and communal farmers and lead a life of serfdom. Possessing no land, San in Angola have no opportunity to determine and develop their own way of life. They are also maltreated, for example there have been instances of San producing crafts using raw materials from the land and landowners taking the products away from them. Also, San hunting in the traditional manner have been shot at by farmers and other people wielding firearms. The participants stressed and reiterated that a community's dignity is respected only when it has access to a piece of land.

Leadership

With regard to San traditional leadership it was reported that San communities in Angola are governed by leaders of other ethnic groups appointed by the Government. The Angolan participants expressed their wish to see traditional leadership and community development systems similar to those in Namibia and South Africa established in Angola.

Gender

In discussing the gender issue the Namibian and South African San women stressed that gender equality in all spheres of life is a strong and important attribute of the age-old San culture. Yet today the majority of San men appear to believe that in everyday life women and men have gender-specific roles to play and this attitude is hindering San development. The Angolans noted the importance of addressing this issue continually in their development efforts.

Health

The participants were informed that the health situation for San in Angola is appalling. Many people die just because they cannot afford to cover the costs of hospital or clinic services, and sometimes rural San do not even know where to find a hospital or clinic. Also, as in the other countries, San in Angola tend to feel shy about visiting public institutions as they do not have decent clothing.

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