In the past 14 years Namibia’s education system has undergone a transformation so sweeping that it could be described as extraordinary. Since gaining independence from South Africa in 1990, this young nation in Southwestern Africa has gone from an apartheid educational model that served only the privileged few - and even those students were racially segregated - to a structure that welcomes all children into integrated classrooms.

VSO

The Programme Manager will be responsible for the development of VSO's programmes in the areas of participation and governance and for seeking suitable partner organisations. Successful applicants will be experienced in overseas development work and have strong communication and networking skills.

Concern Worldwide

Concern Worldwide are seeking applications for the post of Programme Coordinator in their DRC team. You will be responsible for leading the research and development of the HIV/AIDS and education programmes and for providing support to the Field Officer in managing and Developing the food security and nutrition projects.

Save the Children, UK

The post holder will be responsible for the management and strategic planning of SCUK's programme in Mozambique and for representing the organisation at a senior level to a range of stakeholders including government, partners and bilateral agencies.

Six thousand new teachers are to be employed by next month, the Kenyan Government announced this week. Five thousand will be hired for primary schools, with the remaining 1,000 going to secondary schools. More teachers are needed to tackle the shortage caused by free primary education last year which has seen pupil numbers increase by 1.4 million to 7.3 million. Unions immediately termed the number to be hired as a drop in the ocean and said there was a shortage of more than 60,000 teachers.

Assistant Minister Alicen Chelaite has raised the alarm over increasing cases of pregnancies in five primary schools in Nakuru, where 28 girls have dropped out. Chelaite, of Gender, Sports and Culture, said she was shocked that some parents and teachers in the schools, located in the sisal growing area, were covering up the cases.

Young people in northern Uganda are facing increased risks of gender-based violence, recruitment into government military forces, and other human rights abuses due to the continued lack of security and protection, according to a new report by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children. "In the absence of adequate government protection, displaced people are seeking alternative means of protection," says Matthew Emry, project manager of the Women’s Commission’s Children and Adolescents Project, and a lead researcher and author of the report. "An estimated 50,000 'night commuters,' most of them children, adolescents and women, leave their homes in rural northern Uganda each night to escape attacks from the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and spend the night in the relative safety of town centers, walking as far as six miles each way."

Funding applications from thirty NPOs in the arts sector have been announced as successful by the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) for their current funding cycle, reports the Witness. More than R1,2 mn will be distributed, due to donations from the Royal Netherlands Embassy.

This just released publication, developed by Raising Voices in collaboration with the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention, is a practical and easy to use program tool for NGO staff, trainers and field workers interested in preventing domestic violence. The book is divided into four sections: 1) Becoming Aware of Gender and Rights; 2) Deepening Understanding of Domestic Violence; 3) Developing Skills and Personal Qualities; and 4) Taking Action to Prevent Domestic Violence. Each section offers a series of two-hour modules designed to strengthen capacity of participants to prevent domestic violence. All the interactive modules have been extensively field-tested in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya and are designed to be easy to follow, even for those with minimal training experience.

A call for a full ban on ivory trade was the outcome of a meeting between representatives from 12 African Francophone countries, which took place in Paris, France from 28-29 June 2004. The meeting was organized by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the National Society for the Protection of Nature (SNPN) and drew together representatives from Congo, Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, Mali, Togo, Cote d’ Ivoire, Senegal and Guinea.

A magisterial court in Monrovia, presided over by Judge Joseph Fayiah, has placed an injunction on publication of the privately-owned "New Broom" newspaper. According to Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sources in Liberia, a 14 July 2004 letter signed by the court clerk instructed all printing houses in the country not to print "New Broom" because the newspaper's management had failed to appear in court to answer to contempt charges.

The International Leprosy Association is planning a regional African Leprosy Congress at Midrand north of Johannesburg, South Africa from 31st January to 3rd February 2005. The Congress will bring together leprosy workers and scientists fighting the disease in Africa and from elsewhere. The purpose is to exchange information both scientific and operational, to accelerate progress towards the elimination of the disease and to ensure that the legitimate needs of leprosy-affected persons are met both in humanitarian and rehabilitation terms.

An Internet search tool designed to source scientific publications on slow connections is now being tested in Africa. The Electronic Library Information Navigator has been developed in cooperation with a wide range of publishers and information providers and allows more than ten million records to be accessed. It is now being adapted to meet the conditions faced by researchers in universities and research institutions in developing countries.

CAF Southern Africa will be hosting its first conference on Corporate Community Involvement (CCI) on the 28th September 2004 in in Johannesburg. The event will bring together CCI practitioners and non-profit organisations to discuss how time, skills, knowledge and talent can be best used to build meaningful partnerships.

Although African-Americans represent more than half of all new AIDS cases diagnosed in the United States every year, they were virtually invisible among the hundreds of presenters at the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok. Black organisations in the US have complained that whilst there were 5,000 presentations at the conference, only 10 were related to African-Americans. 21,000 are diagnosed with AIDS every year and more than 185,000 are living with AIDS today.

International Rescue Committee

Based in the field, the Regional Director will oversee IRC's field programs in West Africa and will provide effective support to field staff by working closely with HQ staff and liasing with the donor community. The successful applicant will have a minimum of five years field work experience in developing countries, including field experience as a Country Director of similar.

Christian Aid

Christian Aid is seeking a regional representative for Eastern Africa. The position is based in Nairobi and the holder will be responsible for overseeing the work of the country programmes in South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Educated to degree level, applicants should have at least 5 years of international development work including at least two years experience in a Country Representative role or similar.

Oxfam UK

Oxfam is seeking two programme coordinators to develop and manage the delivery of its humanitarian and development programme in Darfur. Successful candidates will have a proven record of long-term vision and strategic planning as well as proven experience of humanitarian and development planning, preferably within a chronic conflict environment.

Concern Worldwide

The Country Director will be responsible for the leadership of the senior management team in Concern Burundi and for the production and implementation of its second country strategic plan. The successful candidate will be fluent in French, hold a masters degree in a related discipline and have five years management experience, ideally in the Great Lakes Region.

Save the Children, UK

SCUK are seeking applications for a livelihoods and poverty technical manager to be based in Addis Ababa. The post holder will be responsible for providing technical support in these areas and for piloting new approaches to address poverty in the pastoral and agro pastoral areas. The successful candidate will have at least 4 years experience in this sector.