Rosa Namises facts for kids

Visolela Rosalinda "Rosa" Namises (born 1958) is a brave Namibian politician and a strong voice for human rights. People sometimes call her the "Rosa Luxemburg of Namibia" because she fights for what's right. She is also a chief of a group called the ǀKhomanin, who are part of the Damara people.

Rosa Namises used to be a member of the Parliament of Namibia. She also helped start a political party called the Namibian Congress of Democrats (CoD). She cares a lot about fairness for everyone, especially women and children. She works to stop violence against them. Today, she is the director of Woman Solidarity Namibia and helps at the Dolam Residential Child Care centre, which is a special place for children who need care.

Early Life and Learning

Growing Up in Namibia

Rosa Namises was born on April 20, 1958, in a place called the Old Location in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia. She was one of nine children. Her father was from Angola, and her mother was from the Damara people.

Rosa lived with her father until she was 15 years old. She went to the Augustineum Secondary School in Windhoek. After finishing school, she first worked as a cleaner. Then, she became a nursing assistant, helping people in a hospital. At the same time, she continued her studies through a special course to get her high school diploma.

Education and Challenges

Rosa's strong belief in fairness led her to become an activist. Because of her political work, she was put in jail and even had to leave Namibia for a while. These challenges meant she had to stop her education for some time.

However, when Namibia became independent in 1990, Rosa was able to go back to school. She earned a diploma in Adult and Basic Education from UNISA. She also got a diploma in Gender Development and Planning from the University of London. Rosa has also studied Women in Management and learned skills in helping people and giving advice.

Political Journey

Fighting for Freedom

In the early 1980s, Rosa Namises joined the SWAPO party. At that time, SWAPO was not allowed by the government. Rosa helped organize meetings, found new members, and shared information. She was caught and spent two months alone in jail. But she didn't give up and soon went back to her activist work.

In 1985, she lost her job at the hospital. This happened because she was seen holding hands with a white doctor in public. This was against the unfair rules of apartheid, which separated people based on their race. She was also jailed a second time for her political actions, this time for 14 months.

New Paths and Independence

After being released from jail, the Catholic Church offered Rosa a job helping communities. Around the same time, Ben Ulenga was released from prison. Rosa and Ben met and became a couple. In 1987, Rosa was pregnant with their second child. Because they chose not to marry, Rosa was fired from her job. She also decided to leave her Catholic faith.

Rosa then went to live in Europe and America. She only came back to Namibia after it became independent in 1990. After independence, some unfair things that SWAPO had done in the past came to light. When the party didn't want to talk about these issues, Rosa decided to leave SWAPO in 1992.

Joining Parliament

In 1999, a new political party called the Congress of Democrats (CoD) was started. Rosa Namises was one of the people who helped create it. In the elections that year, the CoD won seven seats in Parliament. As the party's secretary-general, Rosa became a Member of Parliament.

In the next elections in 2004, the CoD won fewer seats, and Rosa did not return to Parliament right away. However, in 2009, after another politician left the party, Rosa took her place and served in Parliament again for a short time.

Activism and Helping Others

Standing Up for Rights

When Rosa was not working in politics, she spent her time as an activist. Her first official role after leaving SWAPO was at the Legal Assistance Centre in the early 1990s. There, she helped find and fight against human rights problems. She described this work as a way to make things right.

Supporting Women and Children

Today, Rosa Namises is the director of Woman Solidarity Namibia. This organization works hard to stop violence against women and children. Rosa also started and runs Dolam Residential Child Care. This is a day-care center for children who need extra support and care. As of 2014, there were 21 children at the center.

In the Media

• Rosa und Uria: This is a German film about the lives of Rosa Namises and Uria Kariere around the time Namibia became independent.
• Portrait einer beeindruckenden Frau (Portrait of an impressive woman): This is a piece written by Dora Borer about Rosa.