Code of Honour and Oath Taking Ceremony

The Code of Honour Ceremony is an important day at the Social Work Section at the University of Namibia. The second year students, who have just finished their first term of their second year, had a big ceremony where they took an oath to uphold social work ethics, as they are about to begin to do work in the community. These are the students that I just finished teaching, so I know quite a few of them very well. While the Social Work section usually has very little funds for events, this year, due to an accounting error, there was money to hold this event off-campus. We had it at a little lodge on the edge of town. The students came dressed to the nines. While the students generally can’t afford to buy books, they can afford to buy shoes! It was worth the whole event to watch them teeter about in their leopard print or polka dot heels, or their knee high, shiny boots.
The event consisted of two separate singings of the national anthem (which is a beautiful song that makes me cry almost every time I hear it -- (you can hear a version of it on youtube at this link, though wish there was a better one!), a scripture reading, three singer/songwriters, some raunchy dancing to gangsta music, a point where we all got up and danced, a speech by the deputy Minister, and lots of protocol. I gave the “keynote” speech, which was a pleasure because I really enjoy these students and know that they are going to make such a difference in their countries. The main part of the event was when each of the student was called forward, signed the oath, and lit a candle. After all the candles were lit, they read the oath out loud together. It was very touching. After the event, thousands of photos were taken. I only took a few, but will try to get some more from some of the students.