Rev. Jan Scholtz
The reason for me to spend the night of the 13th April 2019 in Aus was for this year’s constituency independence celebrations. The place Aus is rich in history and started with Khoisan using the fountains in the area. One particular fountain was called “Snake Fountain”, which is translated to the name Aus. The story goes that the fountain was guarded by a large snake that was living in peace with the people but one day someone killed the snake and from then on the abundance of water became less.
Aus always played an important role for grazing, settling, farming and just living in a peaceful environment. When farming became difficult, tourism became an alternative source of income for the community. Visitors appreciate the beautiful nature and peacefulness of the desert. During my stay I also visited the Garub wild horses that were recently brought to my mind again due to their current fight for survival. The wild horses have inhabited the Garub area for more than 100 years and have become part of the desert environment.
On 2 April 2019 I opened a public workshop held in Lüderitz about the future of the wild horses, after the Ministry of Environment and Tourism had asked for stakeholders to give their input. From a personal point of view, it was good for me to be part of the process and in my closing remarks I stressed active collaboration will be the key to the long-term survival of the wild horses which play an important role in local tourism.
Experiencing the hospitality of the Aus community myself during the independence celebrations, I could confirm that the independence festivities bring history and people together and are a pillar of our quest for a better future. I was also part of a community meeting on Sunday 14th April 2019 and while driving home through the beautiful desert landscape I thought again about the previous days’ events and I concluded that there is so much potential in !Nami#Nüs Constituency.
Tourism is part of out local development and is one ray of light, life and hope for the improved prosperity for all our people.
*Reverend Jan. A. Scholtz is a holder of a Diploma in Theology, B-Theo (SA), a Diploma in Youth Work and Development from the University of Zambia (UNZA), BA (HED) from UNISA. This article is written in his personal capacity.