With this internet performance I would like to introduce you to our association “Unternehmen Buschmänner e.V.” (“enterprise bushmen” to support the San people).  

Our association was founded on March 15, 2002. It is our one and only goal to help the ancient inhabitants of Southern Africa –the San people. In this region you can find aprox. 7 groups of the San. We are mainly  in contact with the Hai//om and the Ju/´hoansi, who live in Namibia.

We are ready to finance tertiary education, so that the younger San children can be tought in their mother tongue in the classrooms. San should be enabled to organize themselves and to be competent in meeting their rights within their country of origin. We would like to support the San so they can have access to land which will eventually be their property again. We also buy handicraft from the San so that they can finance their children’s expenses for school. In Namibia school fees are generally to be paid!

If San could live in their natural environment and had access to water, this would be the basis for a fertile future. They then had the chance of growing some vegetables and fruit or keeping some domestic animals. Larger cattle would soon exploit the plants and prevent routs and other edable plants from growing. With these conditions men and women would be able to transport their old culture into modern times.

We don’t exactly know from where the San moved into the southern part of Africa. We can only distinguish their looks, their unique culture and language compared to other ethnic groups. The San call themselves the “ordinary people”. 

We know, we do need to help them – it’s our duty! Thank you for being interested.

Yours sincerely,
Carlo von Opel
Chairman of the „Unternehmen Buschmänner e.V.“

Committee:

Karlheinz Böhm, founding father of the project “people for people” in Athiopia.

Dr. Hubertus Hausburg, former president of the German-Namibian-Development- Organisation.

S.D.M.E. Prinz von Thurn und Praxis.