2025 PLU Gateway - Namibia

This year, Willamette student Emma Burtin joined in our PLU gateway experience, and got to intern at Windhoek General Hospital:

“I have had the privilege of shadowing doctors in multiple disciplines at the hospital. I have met many inspiring providers that have a passion for improving care for all Namibians. With my new experience at the Windhoek Central Hospital, I hope to get closer to finding a fulfilling health career for me that allows me to address health inequities back home.

In addition to shadowing, I supported the Infection Prevention and Control Unit at the Windhoek Central Hospital. The IPC works to decrease the spread of hospital-associated infections in order to keep staff and patients safe. While visiting different wards in the hospital I have learned the about the process of case surveillance and the importance of public health education among healthcare providers.

The photos above show me at the World Hand Hygiene Commemoration event at the hospital. Here, many esteemed public health officials and even an ambassador from Japan spoke about the progress of hand hygiene in Namibian hospitals. I created education materials and volunteered at the event to make sure it ran smoothly.”

Awesome experience, Emma!

While in Windhoek, several of our students got the chance to intern with local organizations. Double major (Gender Race and Sexuality Studies and Global Studies) Nya Spivey interned at the organization here’s her thoughts on the experience:

“I have had the pleasure of interning with Penduka. They are a nonprofit organization that empowers women who have faced displacement from the workforce, through various art forms.

Penduka has shown me first hand the power that come with giving women the roles they deserve. There aren’t any men that work for Pendukas production or management, and that crates such a different type of feeling through the company, that has been amazing to experience.

I have really enjoyed my time with Penduka all of the women are so kind and I’ve loved getting to know them. Art is something of I have always loved doing and Penduka has shown me new ways of expressing that and I’ve loved every moment. One of my favorite things they do is batik.

Batik is a traditional from of dying fabric using a paste made of flour. The paste is applied to fabric and once dried water based fabric paints are applied. Once everything is dry the paste is removed leaving the design clean.”

PLU student Damaris Ibrahim recently competed with UNAM’s track team in Mariental!

Today was our last day of classes here at University of Namibia! This is some of those who participated in Global Studies 387: Public Space, Social Memory, and Decolonial Futures. We were so lucky to have UNAM students join this PLU-led course!

Look familiar? Yeah, that’s ‘s own Joey Haugen playing for the University of Namibia Wolves! The Wolves are a Khomas Basketball Association (Namibia’s national organization) Premier League team.

On Mother’s Day, our group got to visit N/a’an ku se Lodge and Wildlife Sanctuary just outside Windhoek.

The N/a’an ku se Foundation does amazing work in conservation, community health, ecotourism, and reducing human-wildlife conflict.

During our Behind-the-Scenes tour, we got to witness how the staff train anti-poaching dogs, learn about animal collaring and tracking as a way to reduce animal-farmer conflict, and meet animals that are unable to live in the wild due to their contact with humans.

The beautiful cheetahs are orphaned triplet brothers Bullet, Blaze, and Flash. They enjoy walks, tree climbing, marking territory, and runs as part of their enrichment.

The baboons were playful and enjoyed using is as free rides! We know it’s unusual to be able to be in this proximity to them, and appreciate how we learned about their personalities and behaviors.

Huge thanks to for all they do, and for our continued interactions!

The end of our Sputhern Study Tour took us to the beautify coastal town of Swakopmund and the amazing rocks of Spitzkoppe.

About last week.

Can we just say wow? Our Southern Study Tour took us, first, to Sossusvlei and Sesriem. Part of the Namib-Naukluft Desert, the oldest desert in the world, Sossusvlei includes amazing climbable dunes and trees that died hundreds of years ago. We climbed “big daddy”, the tallest climbable dunes. Later, we explored Sesriem Canyon.

Camping at the Sesriem Campsite provided fantastic stargazing. The next day we moved on toward the coast, stopping at the Tropic of Capricorn. Check the vintage PLU sticker!

On 21 March, Namibia celebrated 35 years of independence. People commemorated by dressing in their ethnic attire, dancing, and inaugurating the country’s first female president! student Ashawna-Leigh Bicoy had the amazing chance to note the event with youngsters at the school she’s interning at. As she said,

“Working at MH Greeff has brought back my passion for education. For the longest time I started to loose sight of my passion for becoming a teacher. But being here in Namibia has sparked and even empowered me more to become a teacher. Working with children in a non-western education system has helped broaden my perspective as a student and also has helped me learn about using the resources we have rather than going out and buying it. Being able to be a part of the Independence Day Celebration was beautiful. I was able to engage with different cultures of Namibia and see how proud everyone is of gaining independence (as they should). My teachers bought me a beautiful Oshiwambo Dress which was one of the best gifts I could ever receive.”

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Phew! Another from us - catching up on the very end of February! After leaving the Khorixas area we went to Opuwo - which was cloudy with gorgeous sunsets! On the way, we skirted Etosha National Park and saw a stunning elephant.

In Opuwo, we visited a rural primary school set up for nomadic populations. There was an epic soccer game that reminded us that fields are…. Wherever you want them to be! We got to visit with some children and families from the Himba ethnic group.

We also visited a maternity waiting home and learned about the challenges of health care access in rural areas.

From there, we went into Etosha National Park. We saw so much - from dazzles of zebra to lone wildebeest and more. This is just a small glimpse. Come visit this gorgeous country!!!

Phew! The past two weeks have been a whirlwind!

Two weeks ago today we were touring tge city of Windhoek, from the fanciest neighborhood, to city centre and the site of concentration camp during the 1904 genocide by German colonizers, to monuments of freedom fighters, and the former township location under South African rule.

Then, Thursday, we toured Heroes’ Acre and the Independence Museum.

We left for the Kunene region on Saturday, where students spent a few days in a rural farming village, learning how to dung a house, catch goats, and celebrating a very sweet birthday of the youngest resident.

After an afternoon to recover, we headed further west and had the magical@experience of tracking and watching desert-adapted African elephants! Followed by viewing 6000 year old rock art in Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO world heritage site.

We’ll pause there for now… and will latergram the rest of the trip. We’ve now been in a month, and it’s both flown by and seems like we’ve been here longer. So grateful for all we’ve learned, seen, and experienced of this beautiful country.

And…. for all the elephant pics. They are ELEPHANTS! And there are several talented photographers amongst this student group!



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