The St John Association of Namibia
Who we are
St John activities in Namibia started in January 1978, when eight people from Khomasdal, a township outside Windhoek, began providing first aid services to their communities. When Namibia became an independent sovereign state in 1990, a newly created St John Council assumed responsibility for St John affairs from the Priory for South Africa.
St John has continued to offer valuable services to the community of Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia. This has included providing First Aid at most sport events organized by various schools, churches and businesses and assisting nursing staff at the Casualty Department at our Katutura State Hospital. Our ambulance service is mainly used for transporting casualties to the hospital when needed and additionally as a shelter for treatment of casualties when St John is on active duty at sport events.
As a voluntary organisation, St John Namibia depends on the funds which it receives from its services (mostly First Aid). In September 1997, the City Council of Windhoek donated an ambulance to allow St John to render its services to the community.
Currently St John operates from a residential area in Windhoek but we are in the process of looking for a permanent building to act as a new head quarters.
Namibia at a glance
The Republic of Namibia lies on southern Africa’s Atlantic coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south. It gained independence from South Africa in 1990. Its capital city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.
Namibia’s economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Mining accounts for 20% of GDP. Rich alluvial diamond deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. However, the mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while 50% of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Despite this, Namibia is a net importer of food stuffs.
Per capita GDP is relatively high within the region but in the case of Namibia it hides the world's worst inequality of income distribution. Over 21% of the population are infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
St John Namibia Vision
St John Namibia is a voluntary and charitable organization with the ability and commitment to provide first aid and home care to our communities.
St John Namibia Mission
To save lives and promote recovery through:
- Providing First Aid and care
- Delivering emergency services
- Training and mobilising volunteers
- Assisting at old age homes and hospitals
Structure
St John Namibia is registering itself as a welfare organization. Currently the organization is managed by a Council including a Chairperson and other senior officers.
Branches
We established a second branch of St John in Otjiwarongo, a northern town of Namibia, where there is great potential and a large number of students willing to be trained and to work in their communities. Co-operation with the local hospital, Fire Brigade and Town Council is good and they assist as and when needed. We are planning to expand our activities in this area over time.
Operations And Training
The operations and training work of St John Namibia is based within the communities of Katutura, Khomasdal and the City of Windhoek.
At present, our active membership is small and we are seeking to recruit new members and volunteers through expanding our formal training.
Demand for our first aid services at public events can be very high and all our members are required to be on active duty. We maintain full telephone contact with the ambulance in such circumstances.
The young people who are members of St John provide a range of important caring services within our communities. Many of them volunteer at Katutura State Hospital during the weekends to assist nursing staff in the casualty department. This provides them with valuable experience. They also offer a community service in first aid and home care within their home communities.
In line with our vision and mission, St John Namibia strongly believes in the importance of training and mobilising youth to provide care in their own communities. In this way, they gain skills and experience and are able to use their free time to contribute to society.