Windhoek: 'Obama for Africa'

Today we went into ‘town,’ taking cousin Megan along, so the kids could see it. Mave had a memory of Windhoek, but Kuno did not. Windhoek has grown quite a bit since independence and now boasts a huge Supreme Court that overlooks the central car park, where a hotel and casino are in the process of being built. There are new shops and even new small malls, new government buildings, a new National Archives and so on. The kids wanted to go to the pedestrian mall at Wernhill and that is what we did. There have always been large spreads of African wares, mostly geared to tourists, at this spot, and we were not disappointed. From there we decided we needed some lunch and they all went KFC which they had been hankering after and I went off to the Craft Centre for some gift shopping and perhaps lunch. At least at the Craft Centre most of the items are Namibian made. From there one can pick up tours of Windhoek and surrounding areas. From there we headed back to Jakes’ nicely and newly renovated house in Dorado Park and pretty much hung out for the rest of the day.

As we got out of the car, a young man walked by wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Obama on it. On the back it said quite simply: ‘Obama for Africa.’ Everyone here in Africa does believe that he is theirs; indeed, they believe that Obama is a gift – to the world.