Ondangwa

Ondangwa, also spelt as Ondangua, is a small town found in the northern parts of Namibia. It is 540km from the north of Windhoek and just 80km from the Angolan border. The word Ondangwa means “the end of the Ondonga area.” Ondonga is one of the kingdoms of Ovamboland, currently being ruled by king Kaulum who also resides in Ondangwa sometimes but his permanent home is a few kilometres south of Ondangwa. Most of the people that reside in Ondangwa are Oshiwambo speaking, Ndonga to be specific. The landscape is flat, monotonous and dotted with settlements. One may find trees such as the Mopane, Marula and Wild fig tree. Not forgetting the Makalani plum tree which serves as a symbol of Ovamboland. During (and sometimes after) the rainy seasons of the year, you will find a number of lakes and ponds allover the town. The water comes from the Cuvelai River reaching from the north to the Etosha Pan The landscape might be monotonous, but the town itself is the very opposite. It is a town that continues to grow everyday and when i say growth, i don’t mean the population only. Here people try to make ends meet with whatever they can, hence the large local business sector that continues to grow daily. Local business may include food, clothes, furniture, building equipment, car repair, banks, post office, pharmacies, private and the list goes on. A number of people that start businesses here are not so well off and so they make use of the open market. Which is the heart of Ondangwa. At the market locals as well as tourist can enjoy delicious Oshiwambo cuisines such meat, beans, dried spinach, mahangu pap and even a dish of mopane worms and just to cater for the shopaholics the ladies at the open market also make traditional Oshiwambo attires. Apart from the open market, Ondangwa also has a shopping mall and facilities for tourists. The Nakambale museum is also part of the town. It was built in the 1870s by Martti Rautenen. The museum shows the history of the missionaries as well as the Oshiwambo speaking people. There is also a place called Onanjokwe , this was the first Christian Mission. The missionaries brought Western health and institutions where locals were taught brick layering and carpentry. Today Onanjokwe is now one of the biggest private hospitals in Ovamboland. There are also a number of schools in Ondangwa, some of these include the Andimba Toivo ya Toivo as well as Heroes Primary school, which is one of the best primary schools in the north. Since independence, the government has settled up an industry in the north, to create jobs and improve the poor infrastructure. Rössing Foundation, Kayec and Cosdec are the three vocational skills schools training young people in building maintenance, sewing, cooking, and Internet Technology.

references

www.namibia-travel.net/northnamibia/oshakati.htm www.tripwolf.com/en/guide/show/387133/.../Ondangwa