The storyDementia, witchcraft, and one building in Swakopmund.12 paragraphs
Namibia lies in the south of Africa and is a young democracy. It is the third least densely populated country in the world and home to many different African cultures and peoples. The country is stable and has a female president.
“They take this knowledge back to their communities, where it can literally save lives.”
Apart from a handful of cities, people here still live entirely in harmony with nature. It is a breathtaking country that we lost our hearts to, a land of great potential but also of great challenges. Just as it is at home, dementia is everywhere here too. Dementia knows no borders.
Travelling through Namibia, we saw enormous differences. In Swakopmund, a small town on the desert coast, there is a dementia centre called ADN, which stands for Alzheimer's Dementia Namibia.
ADN was founded around sixteen years ago, and people with dementia live there. It is a family home where residents are supported wherever needed and cared for wherever necessary, all grounded in the values of a family. The knowledge and experience here are remarkable. In the Netherlands we would call this the care home of the future. It is where I would want to live myself if I ever developed dementia. This knowledge is exceptional, and we want to spread it, both in the Netherlands and across the rest of Namibia.
Because in the remote regions there is no knowledge of dementia at all. People do not even know the word. Even qualified nurses in Namibia learn almost nothing about it.
In some communities in northern Namibia, dementia is seen as witchcraft. People with dementia are sometimes accused of being witches. Some are tied up until they die, or worse. There is no knowledge, no training, and no care infrastructure. We want to change that.
We are renovating a building in Swakopmund into a training centre where unemployed nurses can learn dementia care. The site will have classrooms, bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen, because distances in Namibia are vast and trainees cannot afford transport or housing.
Every quarter, a new group of ten nurses trains on-site for four months. After their training, they go to work in dementia care in the Netherlands. On one hand, they help ease our staffing shortage. On the other, they gain valuable experience that they bring back with them when they return to Namibia after three years.
We are setting up 'buurtzorg' (neighbourhood care) projects in Namibia, where by then they can pass on their knowledge and experience to the community they grew up in. This is how we want to help spread ADN's knowledge about dementia.
But with the planned facilities for the training centre in Swakopmund, ADN can also train families and informal carers every three months. Each quarter, people from remote communities in Namibia start as well. They are trained free of charge at the dementia centre on the same site, including room and board. They take that knowledge straight back to their community, where they already care for their father, mother, brother, or sister, and where it can literally save lives.
With your contribution, you help grow knowledge about dementia, both directly and indirectly. Literally every euro, around twenty Namibian dollars, can already make a difference in the care for people with dementia. This is something we can only do together, just as we care for our loved ones together.
Update, 26 May 2026 — the ticket is booked and on 18 June Ton flies back to Namibia. We have discussed the plans to convert two existing buildings, and there I will meet the contractor in person. Together we will work out how the first ten nurses can be housed in six months' time. The work will likely start in July and be completed in August or September. The contractor has detailed the plans and estimated the cost at around 5,000 euros. In the Netherlands that amount would not get you far, but in Namibia it goes a long way. Once again, it shows that every euro makes an impact!
