Fingerprints of a Nation’s Heart

MYD Journal III

The production of the third 99FM Master Your Destiny Journal happened parallel to the unfolding of the COVID-19 catastrophe. It was poetically ironic, getting this book of positive, life-affirming Namibian stories published while photo shoots, the printing press, businesses, lives and life in general were drastically disrupted.

Economic turbulence in the country had already threatened the project as budgets got cut and funding the MYD Journal became almost impossible.

Thanks to the generous support of B2Gold – who championed the Master Your Destiny movement from the onset – and the handful of sponsors that make magic happen we managed to go ahead.

The end product is another extraordinary testimony to the strength of the human spirit and the generous spirit of people in Namibia. This is a very important truth to behold, when corruption, economic failure and poverty cast their dark shadows over our country and a question mark on our national identity.

We will, however, only discover our identity when we begin to understand the context of our individual and collective lives. In our self-portrait, the people around us make up the canvas, the texture, the colours and the light that illuminates the whole picture.

In the eye of the COVID-19 pandemic, we, the individuals who are part of families, communities and nations, were faced with the same questions: How do we live through this? How do we not just survive, but how do we move through this crisis with our souls intact?

In our selfportrait, the people around us make up the canvas, the texture, the colours and the light that illuminates the whole picture.

For these answers we do not turn to the news, to scientists, forecasters or analysts. For these questions we need wisdom, not data. And so we turn to ancient texts, holy books, history books. The stories of our ancestors, of the people who have been and seen. To the songs, poems and prayers of our people.

In this Master Your Destiny Journal there are many stories of our people – Ignatius Mwanyekange who tells of surviving the horror of Cassinga Day, Tuhafeni George Dasilva Hishitelwa who tells of rising out of poverty and overcoming the injustice of discrimination, Gina Figueira on the loss of loved ones, Meunajo Tjiroze on bearing the cross of crimes committed by us and against us...

If you want to know if and how it is possible to live – through this pandemic and beyond it – and be triumphant, if you want to know who you are and what you are capable of and who we are and are capable of, you will find some of the answers inside this book.

Copies of the MYD Journal are distributed free of charge.

You can collect your copy from TribeFire Studios, 44 Hyper Motor City, Hyper Motor City Path, Windhoek, or call +264 (61) 383 450 to order.

Follow MYD Africa on Instagram @mydafrica.