The Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe (Dreams) program in Namibia has come through with the certification of 23 young women as No-Means-No instructors with the license to train adolescent girls in techniques to protect themselves against gender-based violence (GBV).
At the graduation ceremony in Windhoek, the chargé d’affaires of the United States Embassy, Jessica Long, noted that the training is important given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children and GBV. Certified Instructors will play a pivotal role in addressing violence against children and GBV given that the training is targeted towards strengthening self-esteem in young women with exercises in self-defence.
The new instructors are expected to provide No-Means-No training in certain regions including Khomas, Oshikoto, and Zambezi regions where the DREAMS program is implemented by Project Hope Namibia and its partners.
The Dreams training program which has already enrolled more than 50 000 young women and girls in Namibia is funded by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Acting USAID country representative for Namibia, Mark Anthony White, stated that their organization is committed to its work in addressing gender inequality and GBV. According to him, everyone has a role to play, and people should support programs that address GBV as a social ill.
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