Born in Gaborone, Botswana, to Namibian refugee parents, Ngatuuane Tjipueja, is a young woman who relishes challenges.
Raised by both her parents in exile in Mankato, Minnesota in the United States of America (USA), Tjipueja has three brothers and two sisters. She started her education at Jefferson Elementary in Minnesota. She came back to Namibia and went to school at the Holy Cross Convent, and later went on to Centaurus High School. Tjipueja recalls her teenage life as a rough one. “I was a difficult teenager, I was very rebellious and very curious about life itself. I feel my teenage life made me who I am today, I remember as a teen I made irrational and very irresponsible decisions and of that I learnt who I am today,” she says.
Tjipueja had her first child at a young age. Thus she knows the challenges of being ripped of one’s teenage life to become a woman and a mother. “The challenges I faced was being a single mother and trying to work myself into the industry where I am today. There were a lot of doors closed in my face, a lot of CVs gone, and a lot of rejections from society, but I was and still am determined. And I have my family to thank for where I am, they were tough on me but they were always there for me. I remember looking back on my older brother Roger Herunga, where he was and who he is today. Now he is my biggest inspiration.”
Tjipueja regrets the decisions she had made in her early life but rejoices her challenges because they have made her who she is today, a mother, a sister, a daughter and an influential member of society. Being a young and single mother, Tjipueja struggled to sustain herself until she got her first job as a receptionist at Safari Hotel. “I remember my first salary, Lord knows how I pulled through but I used my poise persona, and abilities to get myself an even better job,” she relates.
One of her biggest passions is charity work and motivational speaking. She is a member of a group called Choppers Group that do national charity work in Namibia. “We cater to the less fortunate and have a hefty amount of charity work under our belt. I like to call myself the voice of this group, hence I do a lot of speaking to young girls and children. We do community outreach, community clean up campaigns as well as food slots where we cook and make lunch for the less fortunate as well as old age homes,” she says.
What breaks her down is failure. “Right now in my life that is the biggest fear, I try to be the best, and I refuse to fail. I have no time left for failure. Right now the most important thing to me is my children, my career, my studies and my family, nothing else simply matters,” says Tjipueja. After many ups and downs she managed to put a lot behind her and picked herself up. Besides being part of a charity organisation, Tjipueja is a Marketing Assistant for the Trade and Marketing Division at the Meat Board of Namibia. “I interact with so many influential beings within my industry, and this has built me into a very confident woman.”
“Today I see myself as an inspiring business woman, I see myself being called Dr. Ngatuu Tjipueja, I have a vision of opening my own Woman’s Home, that would cater to young women that were not given the chance to study, the chance to embrace their inner abilities, a place they are able to call their won, a place where a victim becomes a testimony of victory. I see myself as a woman that changed a Namibian girl, to a Namibian woman of substance,” she says.
Tjipueja advises the youths to never allow their past to determine their future. “We are all destined to win, and we are all destined to be somebody in life. The road to where you want to be will never be a smooth one, there will be potholes, slippery roads and hazards but it’s how you drive yourself though it all to get to where you truly want to be.”