Welcome to Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) & Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG) Trust
Before Independence, informal settlements were rare in Namibia. Since Independence in 1990, rural to urban migration and urbanization have radically transformed Namibia's cities.Today we must acknowledge the fact that more than 40% of Namibia’s overall population and around 80% of its urban population are currently living in informal settlements or backyard shacks. Upgrading these settlements to well-serviced and integrated neighbourhoods poses a daunting challenge to the Namibian Government and Namibian Society.
SDFN
The Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN), is a community-based network of housing saving schemes, aiming to improve the living conditions of urban and rural poor, while promoting women’s participation. People who are unemployed or earn less then N$ 5,000 per months can join SDFN.
The Federation was founded in October 1998 by 30 grassroots housing groups, which were active since the late eighties. By now the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) consist of over 1,000 saving groups in all 14 regions of Namibia. With a total number of over 33,000 federation members who saved over N$ 34 million.NHAG
The Namibia Housing Action Group (NHAG) Trust, is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), supporting the peoples’ processes of the Shack Dwellers. It was established in 1992 to support the savings groups of the Shack Dwellers as an umbrella organization.
The nine NHAG employees deal with all administrative/financial matters, give technical support to SDFN in the process of informal settlement upgrading and house construction and administers the Twahangana Fund. NHAG is a Welfare Organisation register since 2005 with the Ministry of Health and Social Services and has the legal status of a Trust, registered with the Master of the High Court of Namibia.
Affiliate of Slum/Shack Dwellers International - SDI
The Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) is affiliated to the Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI). Within the 32 SDI Affiliates across Africa, Asia and Latin America, there are currently 12 “mature” federations within the SDI network – Namibia is one of them! The definition of a “mature” federation is any federation that has achieved national or citywide scale and has worked with governments to secure and develop land for the urban poor.
Shack Dwellers Youth
Namibia has one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in southern Africa. The youth unemployment rate in Namibia continues to rise and is currently reaching an all-time high of close to 50%. Youth empowerment in Namibia is thus crucial for the sustainable development of the country. SDFN youth is involved in the Community Land Information Program (CLIP) to collect data towards scaling up informal settlement upgrading. They are active and visible in fundraising activities to pay tuition fees and to do youth projects. SDFN Youth also enjoyed implementing the Know your City TV Project (KYCTV), funded by Shack/ Slum Dwellers International (SDI). Click on the link below to view their KYCTV videos:
Know your City TV (KYCTV)
First Lady of Namibia is the Patron of the Shack Dwellers
In 2015 the First Lady of the Republic of Namibia, Monica Geingos became the patron of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia. Please read the Foreword, which the First Lady wrote for our Annual Report 2020/2021.