Inspiring a generation of young Africans

Steven Bernadus /Hara#geib is passionate about youth voter education and inspiring the young Namibia and Africans to take part in civil society. The 29 year old holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Namibia (Unam). After he graduated he went on to South Africa...
Octavia Tsibes
Octavia Tsibes



Besides the social work, he is involved in motivational speaking and training men and boys how to respond to gender based violence and being agents of change.

He also hosts workshops and seminars for young leaders and is passionate about caring for marginalised and vulnerable young people.

“Currently, we are busy putting a strategy into place to make African youth more passionate about their continent. We want Pan-African youth to have the chance to pursue their master's degrees in different African countries, with the aim to expose them to different cultures and learning experiences,” he says. He believes that young people should take an active interest in rooting out corruption in their countries in order to ensure a better economic and political climate for the continent.

“We should mould young minds to be passionate about their continent,” he said.

His journey

Many young people are discouraged by their circumstances, well that does not ring true for Steven. He was born in Usakos and raised in Karibib.

“I was raised by my grandmother and she didn't understand why someone should be taught in English. When I started school I was taught in Khoekhoegowab,” he adds.

For his primary school education he moved to Windhoek went to Bet-el Primary School.

“For secondary school I was admitted at Jan Jonker where my love for caring for the community developed,” he said.

The school had a lot of social clubs that he was involved in.

These clubs made it a priority to give back to the community. It was through this involvement that he decided to study something that could make a difference in the lives of people and decided on social work.

He is currently serving as a One Young World Diplomat as well as the Southern African Commonwealth Youth Representative.

He received outstanding praises from the Preparing Global Leaders' Summit in Macedonia as well as the YALA citizen journalism programme in Jerusalem.

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Namibian Sun 2024-09-22

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Currie Cup: Fidelity ADT Lions 14 vs 16 Hollywoodbets Sharks XV Rugby Championship: Argentina 29 vs 28 Springboks | Australia 28 vs 31 New Zealand Premier League: Crystal Palace 0 vs 0 Manchester United | Tottenham Hotspur 3 vs 1 Brentford | Southampton 1 vs 1 Ipswich Town | Liverpool 3 vs 0 Bournemouth | Leicester City 1 vs 1 Everton | Fulham 3 vs 1 Newcastle | Aston Villa 3 vs 1 Wolves | West Ham 0 vs 3 Chelsea LaLiga: Real Madrid 4 vs 1 Espanyol | Valencia 2 vs 0 Girona | Osasuna 2 vs 1 Las Palmas | Real Valladolid 0 vs 0 Real Sociedad | Deportivo Alaves 2 vs 1 Sevilla | Leganés 0 vs 2 Athletic Club SerieA: Lecce 2 vs 2 Parma | Juventus 0 vs 0 Napoli | Venezia 2 vs 0 Genoa | Hellas Verona 2 vs 3 Torino | Cagliari 0 vs 2 Empoli European Championships Qualifying: West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 0 Plymouth Argyle | Sheffield United 1 vs 0 Derby County | Luton Town 2 vs 1 Sheffield Wednesday | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Swansea City | Cardiff City 0 vs 2 Leeds United | Burnley 2 vs 1 Portsmouth | Bristol City 2 vs 1 Oxford United | Sunderland 1 vs 0 Middlesbrough | Queens Park Rangers 1 vs 1 Millwall FC | Norwich City 4 vs 1 Watford | Stoke City 1 vs 3 Hull City English Championship: West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 0 Plymouth Argyle | Sheffield United 1 vs 0 Derby County | Luton Town 2 vs 1 Sheffield Wednesday | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Swansea City | Cardiff City 0 vs 2 Leeds United | Burnley 2 vs 1 Portsmouth | Bristol City 2 vs 1 Oxford United | Sunderland 1 vs 0 Middlesbrough | Queens Park Rangers 1 vs 1 Millwall FC | Norwich City 4 vs 1 Watford | Stoke City 1 vs 3 Hull City Katima Mulilo: 18° | 34° Rundu: 21° | 35° Eenhana: 22° | 35° Oshakati: 22° | 35° Ruacana: 21° | 36° Tsumeb: 21° | 31° Otjiwarongo: 19° | 31° Omaruru: 18° | 33° Windhoek: 16° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 13° | 22° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 07:45, High tide: 14:07, Low Tide: 20:11, High tide: 02:00 Swakopmund: 13° | 16° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 07:43, High tide: 14:05, Low Tide: 20:09, High tide: 02:00 Walvis Bay: 12° | 23° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 07:43, High tide: 14:04, Low Tide: 20:09, High tide: 02:00 Rehoboth: 17° | 31° Mariental: 19° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 20° | 35° Aranos: 17° | 33° Lüderitz: 14° | 22° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 35° Oranjemund: 15° | 24° Luanda: 22° | 23° Gaborone: 10° | 25° Lubumbashi: 19° | 33° Mbabane: 7° | 19° Maseru: 8° | 20° Antananarivo: 14° | 28° Lilongwe: 17° | 23° Maputo: 13° | 23° Windhoek: 16° | 29° Cape Town: 15° | 28° Durban: 12° | 23° Johannesburg: 9° | 21° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 32° Lusaka: 16° | 23° Harare: 12° | 26° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.26 | EUR to NAD 19.53 | CNY to NAD 2.48 | USD to NAD 17.5 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.16 | RUB to NAD 0.19 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 131.91 | USD to AOA 927.77 | USD to BWP 13.17 | USD to EGP 48.46 | USD to KES 128.48 | USD to NGN 1593.37 | USD to ZAR 17.42 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1831.97 Down -0.38% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14246.86 Up +0.44% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30937.69 Up +1.96% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9651.25 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 622.23/OZ UP +1.35% | Copper US$ 4.31/lb DOWN -0.0032 | Zinc US$ 2 884.80/T DOWN -0.23% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.74/BBP DOWN -0.0019 | Platinum US$ 976.09/OZ DOWN -0.0067 Sport results: Currie Cup: Fidelity ADT Lions 14 vs 16 Hollywoodbets Sharks XV Rugby Championship: Argentina 29 vs 28 Springboks | Australia 28 vs 31 New Zealand Premier League: Crystal Palace 0 vs 0 Manchester United | Tottenham Hotspur 3 vs 1 Brentford | Southampton 1 vs 1 Ipswich Town | Liverpool 3 vs 0 Bournemouth | Leicester City 1 vs 1 Everton | Fulham 3 vs 1 Newcastle | Aston Villa 3 vs 1 Wolves | West Ham 0 vs 3 Chelsea LaLiga: Real Madrid 4 vs 1 Espanyol | Valencia 2 vs 0 Girona | Osasuna 2 vs 1 Las Palmas | Real Valladolid 0 vs 0 Real Sociedad | Deportivo Alaves 2 vs 1 Sevilla | Leganés 0 vs 2 Athletic Club SerieA: Lecce 2 vs 2 Parma | Juventus 0 vs 0 Napoli | Venezia 2 vs 0 Genoa | Hellas Verona 2 vs 3 Torino | Cagliari 0 vs 2 Empoli European Championships Qualifying: West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 0 Plymouth Argyle | Sheffield United 1 vs 0 Derby County | Luton Town 2 vs 1 Sheffield Wednesday | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Swansea City | Cardiff City 0 vs 2 Leeds United | Burnley 2 vs 1 Portsmouth | Bristol City 2 vs 1 Oxford United | Sunderland 1 vs 0 Middlesbrough | Queens Park Rangers 1 vs 1 Millwall FC | Norwich City 4 vs 1 Watford | Stoke City 1 vs 3 Hull City English Championship: West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 0 Plymouth Argyle | Sheffield United 1 vs 0 Derby County | Luton Town 2 vs 1 Sheffield Wednesday | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Swansea City | Cardiff City 0 vs 2 Leeds United | Burnley 2 vs 1 Portsmouth | Bristol City 2 vs 1 Oxford United | Sunderland 1 vs 0 Middlesbrough | Queens Park Rangers 1 vs 1 Millwall FC | Norwich City 4 vs 1 Watford | Stoke City 1 vs 3 Hull City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 34° Rundu: 21° | 35° Eenhana: 22° | 35° Oshakati: 22° | 35° Ruacana: 21° | 36° Tsumeb: 21° | 31° Otjiwarongo: 19° | 31° Omaruru: 18° | 33° Windhoek: 16° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 13° | 22° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 07:45, High tide: 14:07, Low Tide: 20:11, High tide: 02:00 Swakopmund: 13° | 16° Wind speed: 18km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 07:43, High tide: 14:05, Low Tide: 20:09, High tide: 02:00 Walvis Bay: 12° | 23° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 07:43, High tide: 14:04, Low Tide: 20:09, High tide: 02:00 Rehoboth: 17° | 31° Mariental: 19° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 20° | 35° Aranos: 17° | 33° Lüderitz: 14° | 22° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 35° Oranjemund: 15° | 24° Luanda: 22° | 23° Gaborone: 10° | 25° Lubumbashi: 19° | 33° Mbabane: 7° | 19° Maseru: 8° | 20° Antananarivo: 14° | 28° Lilongwe: 17° | 23° Maputo: 13° | 23° Windhoek: 16° | 29° Cape Town: 15° | 28° Durban: 12° | 23° Johannesburg: 9° | 21° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 32° Lusaka: 16° | 23° Harare: 12° | 26° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.26 | EUR to NAD 19.53 | CNY to NAD 2.48 | USD to NAD 17.5 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.16 | RUB to NAD 0.19 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 131.91 | USD to AOA 927.77 | USD to BWP 13.17 | USD to EGP 48.46 | USD to KES 128.48 | USD to NGN 1593.37 | USD to ZAR 17.42 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1831.97 Down -0.38% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14246.86 Up +0.44% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30937.69 Up +1.96% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9651.25 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 622.23/OZ UP +1.35% | Copper US$ 4.31/lb DOWN -0.0032 | Zinc US$ 2 884.80/T DOWN -0.23% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.74/BBP DOWN -0.0019 | Platinum US$ 976.09/OZ DOWN -0.0067