Copenhagen: Meet Alexia and Eveline from Pots of Hope, Namibia

 

Alexia Naris and Eveline Gowases from one of Spor Media’s partner organizations in Namibia have been invited to Sweden and will have the opportunity to visit Denmark, where Alexia has many contacts from her previous work at Ibis – now Oxfam Denmark.

 

You will have the opportunity to meet Alexia and Eveline from Pots of Hope at Spor Media, Nørrebrogade 5, 1.tv on June 18 at 19.

 

Alexia initiated Pots of Hope 20 years ago when AIDS was a huge and life-destroying problem in Namibia.

After discussions with women and youth about how to stop the spread of HIV, she realized she could make a difference among women and children in the Kunene area, where people like Alexia speak Damara.

Alexia spoke to her mother Cecilia Naris, a well-known and skilled potter with her own kiln in her home in the black township of Katutura near Windhoek.

Cecilia was confident that her daughter could make a difference, and the women in the project came up with the name ‘Pots of hope’ as a tribute to the old potter and as an expression of their hope for the future.

HIV/AIDS education

Initially, Pots of Hope focused on raising awareness about HIV and AIDS to prevent further spread, but it soon became clear that it was also about addressing the underlying causes of the spread of the virus such as alcohol abuse, stigma and gender-based violence.

Alexia heard many stories of women who had to stay in abusive relationships due to financial dependency, which sparked the idea of income-generating projects and the possibility of making money from ceramics, and her mother, who had the same dream, decided to contribute with her professionalism and her kiln.

“My dream is to start a big project to train other people, especially women and children. It is good to share your craft and skills with others,” Cecilia Naris told Sister Namibia magazine back in 1997 in an interview.

Cecilia started working with ceramics in 1978 when she was working in a factory and her employer asked her to help his wife, Doreen Hildehagen, make pottery on weekends.

Although she didn’t like working with ‘dirty’ clay at first, ceramics quickly became her passion.

Cecilia worked with Doreen as an apprentice for ten years and also studied ceramics at the academy in Windhoek for almost six years.

Cecilia died after a few years in Pots of Hope, and Alexia subsequently experienced the greatest sorrow when she lost her own son to suicide in 2020.

Today, ceramics plays a minor role in Pots of Hope, but violence against women and violent issues facing young people in Namibia constantly demand her attention.

Pots of Hope, together with Positive Vibes and other organizations in Namibia, seeks to address violence and influence decision makers so that young people can get help and opportunities.

Read about Pots of Hope’s activity, Take Back the Night I Outjo.

Copenhagen: Meet Alexia and Eveline from Pots of Hope, Namibia

Alexia Naris and Eveline Gowases from one of Spor Media’s partner organizations in Namibia have been invited to Sweden and will have the opportunity to visit Denmark, where Alexia has many contacts from her previous work at Ibis – now Oxfam Denmark.

You will have the opportunity to meet Alexia and Eveline from Pots of Hope at Spor Media, Nørrebrogade 5, 1.tv on June 18 at 19.

Alexia initiated Pots of Hope 20 years ago when AIDS was a huge and life-destroying problem in Namibia.

After discussions with women and youth about how to stop the spread of HIV, she realized she could make a difference among women and children in the Kunene area, where people like Alexia speak Damara.

Alexia spoke to her mother Cecilia Naris, a well-known and skilled potter with her own kiln in her home in the black township of Katutura near Windhoek.

Cecilia was confident that her daughter could make a difference and the women in the project came up with the name ‘Pots of hope’ as a tribute to the old potter and as an expression of their hope for the future.

 

HIV/AIDS education

Initially, Pots of Hope focused on raising awareness about HIV and AIDS to prevent further spread, but it soon became clear that it was also about addressing the underlying causes of the spread of the virus such as alcohol abuse, stigma and gender-based violence.

Alexia heard many stories of women who had to stay in abusive relationships due to financial dependency, which sparked the idea of income-generating projects and the possibility of making money from ceramics, and her mother, who had the same dream, decided to contribute with her professionalism and her kiln.

“My dream is to start a big project to train other people, especially women and children. It is good to share your craft and skills with others,” Cecilia Naris told Sister Namibia magazine back in 1997 in an interview.

Cecilia started working with ceramics in 1978 when she was working in a factory and her employer asked her to help his wife, Doreen Hildehagen, make pottery on weekends.

Although she didn’t like working with ‘dirty’ clay at first, ceramics quickly became her passion.

Cecilia worked with Doreen as an apprentice for ten years and also studied ceramics at the academy in Windhoek for almost six years.

Cecilia died after a few years in Pots of Hope, and Alexia subsequently experienced the greatest sorrow when she lost her own son to suicide in 2020.

Today, ceramics plays a minor role in Pots of Hope, but violence against women and violent issues facing youth in Namibia constantly demand her attention.

Pots of Hope, together with Positive Vibes and other organizations in Namibia, seeks to address violence and influence decision makers so that young people can get help and opportunities.

Read about Pots of Hope’s activity, “Take Back the Night” in the town of Outjo in Namibia.

 

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