One of the concepts that Gondwana Collection Namibia came up with over the last year is ‘Hearts across horizons’, symbolising the company’s dedication to community upliftment and environmental conservation, sharing and spreading love.
As part of the Care Trust’s project, large heart-shaped frames have been set up at the Gondwana lodges throughout Namibia, from the Fish River Canyon in the south to the Zambezi in the north. The hearts provide wonderful photo and Instagram opportunities for travellers, who are captured in the frames with the magnificent Namibian landscapes as a backdrop, and have even served as ideal settings for wedding proposals. They will feature in a Kiss competition next year and send out the message that with Gondwana every day is Valentine’s Day.
So, it was a major highlight for me when we managed to arrange with the Windhoek municipality recently to erect a heart where the statue of Curt von François once stood. The controversial statue was taken down in 2022. Although a part of the country’s history, Von François was not considered the founder of Windhoek. Many had preceded him and the name Windhoek had been established long before he arrived in the deserted settlement in October 1890 to construct a fort to create a buffer zone, taming the conflict between the warring Nama and OvaHerero factions. The place had attracted people over the centuries because of its springs. The oldest recorded name ‘/Ai-//gams’ (Fire Water) is attributed to either the Damara or Nama. When in the late 1700s the OvaHerero moved from the north into central Namibia, a man called Tjiraura is said to have called the place ‘Otjomuise’, ‘The Place of Smoke’, after the steam that rose from the springs. It was Jan Jonker who coined the name ‘Wind Hoock/Windhoeken’ (Wind Corner) or ’Winterhoek’ in 1840, a name that was later adapted to Windhoek.
Thinking of the old statue brought back many memories for me of my teenage years. Together with a few of my friends we ‘decorated’ the statue one night with toilet paper. We were not thinking of the controversial nature of the statue but were just being naughty boys out on the town and up to mischief.
That was 45 years ago and I was present at the ceremony two years ago when the statue was carefully wrapped in plastic and lifted by crane. At the time, I met family members of Von François and learned that there is always more to a story than is commonly known. I learned that like many Namibians who have mixed blood in their genealogies, Von François had married Amalia /Gereses, daughter of a Damara king, and had a daughter Josephine who herself had four children.
It was such a special moment two weeks ago when I watched one of Gondwana’s massive hearts lifted and put on the very same pedestal where the statue had stood. I had never in my wildest dreams ever thought that it would be replaced with a heart – and LOVE.
How very apt and what a perfect ending. After all, whatever the question, ‘Love is always the answer.’