Lahja Nashuuta
Asmara Kaffer, also known as Ann Kaffer, is a skilled individual with vast expertise in youth matters who has been working for the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service since 2011.
Kaffer, a youth officer stationed at Keetmanshoop, spent over two decades working with young people and various community organisations on initiatives aimed at improving their well-being as well as advocating the rights and interests of young people at different levels of government.
She is responsible for capacity building, training, and supporting young individuals
with the skills and knowledge needed to become responsible, self-actualised citizens. “I love my community and more so with the fact that I can now contribute towards uplifting and developing as many people as possible. I love creating space where every child can grow up in a society that is safe and growth friendly in every way,” she said.
Kaffer strongly believes that working as a public servant has provided her with the opportunity to serve a larger population, as well as to reach out to those in rural areas.
Born and raised in Lüderitz, Kaffer has an interest in capacity building and providing opportunities for the youth in her region to develop relevant life skills. According to Kaffer, her roles include planning and organising programmes and projects that foster capacity building among young people.
Currently, Kaffer is part of a team responsible for the youth programmes intended to advance and develop youth initiatives in the community.
She is renowned within her community for being actively involved in youth matters and community work.
“Since high school, I have been part of other youth programmes and activities in different focal areas including but not limited to media, democracy, leadership, youth development, and socio-economic development.
She is also the co-founder of the NGO Keetmanshoop Youth Initiative (KYI). Kaffer holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Management from Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). She is also an alumnus of the 2018 YALI-Mandela Washington Fellowship, a leadership programme hosted in the United States of America, which she attended at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Kaffer was part of the Media and Information Literacy Learning Initiative (MiLLi) in 2017 as a facilitator and later joined the certificate course to qualify as an educator.
She was initially trained as a photography facilitator and received a Train-the-Trainer course from the DW Akademie to train facilitators at the MiLLi’s Summer School.
She was also part of the team that trained youth on a medium that was designed to react and educate around disinformation during the pandemic as well as MIL and Elections.
Humble beginnings
Kaffer is not a novice in public service, having joined the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service in 2011, after completing her diploma in Agricultural Management at Polytechnic of Namibia, now known as NUST in Windhoek.
Before that, Kaffer worked as a facilitator for “My Future is My Choice”. She also worked at Birds Mansion Hotel for a few months and volunteered at the veterinary department of the agriculture ministry.
There is no job without challenges and according to Kaffer, insufficient finances is one of the major challenges hampering her efforts to execute her duties.
“One wants to do much more but with lack of financial assistance, the work we do is limited. Limited in size of project as well as reach. At times I use my salary to conduct activities,” she said.
Staying put
Kaffer did not mince her words when she said she is not planning leaving the civil service anytime soon.
She enjoys the security that comes with her job, as well as the opportunities to further her studies.
“The future is uncertain, but I plan staying for as long as I feel I can bring positive change to those I’m serving,” she said.
She plans advancing her career in agriculture, youth, and community development.
-lnashuuta@gmail.com