Julina Kaakunga
Talks of Reality is a newly Namibian non-profit organisation that is dedicated to empowering, nurturing young leaders, entrepreneurs, through mentorship education and career development initiatives. It is an international organisation that is actively operating in countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana.
Originally, Talks of Reality was founded in Nigeria, by Godswill Okwori in 2015. Okwori, together with the national director of Namibia Beata K Ashikuni, worked for an international organisation called AIESEC during 2020 where they met during an international summit and also worked for the same department internationally. This is where Okwori reached out to Ashikuni to join and open a branch in Namibia. “I always wanted to establish an initiative that will bring the youth together to develop them or a space where people could share their gifts and talents but I didn’t know it will be anytime soon,” said Ashikuni.
After declining the offer on several occasions due to not being well equipped and still wanted to dive deeper into the adequate knowledge about the organisation, Ashikuni later agreed. The Organisation in Namibia was founded in 2021, and began to operate in January 2022. The primary aim is focused on augmenting moral decency, cultivating mental hygiene, and promoting societal relevance. With a vision to inspire individuals to become agents of positive change, they are dedicated to building a society characterised by comfort, order, and sanity. The organisation consists of five ambitious students from The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), The International University of Management (IUM) and The Namibian Association of the Deaf (NNAD).
On 27 October 2023, they held a gala dinner under the theme “Africa to the world”, here they invited guest speakers Otto Kapuka an author as well as a motivational speaker, Rachel Amoomo a civil engineer, and they both shared their two cents that evening. Under the notion ‘I am, because we are’, Kapuka urged the nation to focus on talents. “You have to sit down and ask yourself what your contribution to this country is, and start doing something before we perish,” he stated. Discussing how Namibians need to decolonise their state of mind.
“Sometimes the lightning that is going to strike some of us is still gyming somewhere, and I hope the day it comes, we are ready,” jokingly he added. He also explained that it is not always about the money people have, but the knowledge gained. Amoomo spoke of the reasons she believes the country is not developing, as it should. “I think we are our biggest enemies at the end of the day, especially the educated young professionals,” she said, adding that people tend to neglect the community that raised them, after being successful.
The gala dinner was an evening of inspiration, networking, and celebration, bringing together prominent leaders, industry experts, and philanthropic individuals. Apart from that, Talks of Reality has also had other projects such as Community Outreach Projects, Poetry Event Volume One in 2022 while hosting another outreach project in April this year as well a Talk-On in April.
They have held online webinars and conferences where they discussed topics such as emotional intelligence, forward leader, personal growth and mental health as well as an Instagram live session, where they shared a guide on how to survive being a young adult.
“We are growing bigger and better and for the upcoming year 2024, we are looking forward to amazing projects and activities, skill based projects, leadership events and so much more. We are open to partnership, collaborations and sponsorships with other organisations,” stated Ashikuni. The executives of Talks of Reality Namibia are, Beata K Asipuni, the director, Cecilia Sagaria, country manager, Beata Nuuyoma, the counsellor, Emma Ashipuni, the administrative officer and Karuu Ndjarakana, the project officer.
-julinak990@gmail.com