Miss Universe Namibia’s Impactful Damaraland Trip

CITW Namibia board member, Chief Commercial Officer at the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation and Chief Executive Officer of the Miss Namibia pageant, Mrs Umbi Karuaihe-Upi and our own Namibia Impact Manager, Agnes Tjirare-Kerii, invited Jameela on this Wilderness journey to share our impactful conservation and community empowerment initiatives in the area.

Shining the spotlight on our three impact pillars, Educate, Empower and Protect, they shared the story of Wilderness’ first camp in Namibia, a joint venture with the resilient community of the Torra Conservancy. Working with Wilderness, the Torra residents have moved from human-wildlife conflict to co-existence and conservation.

Jameela’s next stop was a visit to DeRiet a small and remote village located in the Torra Conservancy, set some 80 km away from the closest town, Khorixas. She experienced The DeRiet Women's Project (Buruxa //Garus, an electricity-free slow-cooking “hot bag”) and the Poultry Project, both run in partnership with Children in the Wilderness, with the objective of upskilling the local community members to be more self-sufficient, thereby reducing food insecurity and poverty.

Jameela was in awe of her experiences at Damaraland Camp and said the service and food were probably the best she has ever experienced on her travels. She shared details of her Wilderness trip and our positive impact with the entire country on her social media platforms, saying "I'd like to thank Wilderness for empowering the women and youth in DeRiet village by providing the women with the necessities to sew the Buruxa //Garus and assisting the youth with their craft shop to create revenue for themselves. Education is a powerful tool and Wilderness has made it their priority to allocate sponsorship for these youngsters to cultivate their minds in the most suitable environment”.