Namibia: Turkish aid agency starts development program

ANKARA (AA) – The state's Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has launched a rural development program for one of Namibia’s most important ethnic groups, the San people, an official statement said Saturday.

The San, also known as the Basarwa or Khwe, have deep roots in Namibia going back some 20,000 years.

TIKA said that as part of a rural development program, stationery and school equipment, clothing, and other aid materials have been delivered to the San people who live in Tsumkwe, located in northeastern Namibia’s Otjozondjupa region.

The agency will also work with local municipalities to teach farming techniques to the San.

The San people faced suppression and slavery at the hands of the German empire in the 19th century, and the Namibia Holocaust, considered one of the first genocides of the 20th century, was carried out by Germans against the Herero and Nama peoples in southwestern Africa.