My name is Elizabeth Shimweefeleni, I was born in 1989 in Onainghete in the north of Namibia close to the Angolan border. My father passed away from a stroke when I was 27, I still miss him because we were a close family. I am the oldest of 4 children. One of my sweet memories is playing soccer, I still love to do it. As a child, I was helping at home with carrying the wood, fetching water and cooking, even my grandmother said to me : ‘are you not tired of cooking?’ I failed school exams because not enough lessons took place there, but I would still like to catch up and study – I would love to become a nurse or a tourguide.

My husband comes from my home village, we got married in 2012. I was 18 when he proposed to me and we are very happy together. He doesn’t drink or fight. We have 2 boys , 4 and 2 years old, they live in our hut up North which I built together with my husband last year. I visit over the weekends if I get a chance to get a lift for the 800km distance. At Penduka, I am part of the hospitality team. Soon I will attend a special training at a bistro in Otjiwarongo in preparing and serving food, which will make me even more confident when dealing with our visitors.