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Christian Bobst Photography

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Christian Bobst Photography

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  • (2008) Whenever possible, Hermann ventured out into the townships to assist with problems or to get a sense of the conditions in which those he cares for were living. The priest talked to women and children on the street about the dangers of AIDS and other STDs. He encouraged them to get tested for AIDS and passed out condoms, even though the Catholic Church forbids it.
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  • In his tiny office, the priest advises women and girls. A recently conducted survey presents a gloomy picture: of 20 women and girls between the ages of 11 and 45 who registered with him one day, all were HIV positive. Sixteen of them sayed that they had been raped multiple times, the youngest at eight years old, with one 12-year-old having already been violated 10 times. All of those interviewed indicated they suffered from depression. Many say that they had attempted suicide more than once.
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  • (2008) Father Hermann Klein-Hitpass stood up for the weakest members of society in Namibia´s capital, Windhoek, for many decades. For the past 20 years his special focus has been on girls and women whose poverty forced them into sex work. Most of those women do not call him “Father” only because he is a priest – many say that he is like a real father to them.
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  • (2008) At his daycare facility, Father Hermann hands out milk powder to prevent small children from contracting HIV by their mothers from breastfeeding. In 2008, when this photo was taken, sex workers who registered with Hermann received a ration of food and second-hand clothing once per week. The bookkeeping of Father Hermann was always meticuluous. He knew exactly who got what and when.
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  • (2008) This image shows the "kitchen" of Winnies home. Winnie has to share the six square meters sized shack with two other girls to be able to pay the rent.
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  • (2008) The bookkeeping of father Hermann is meticuluous. He knows exactly who got what and when from him. Every day of the week, about 300 of the registered women and girls are entitled to collect some food and cloth and to stay at the centre from morning to evening.
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  • (2008) A woman exits Father Hermanns car in Havanna, a district of Katutura. Sometimes Father Hermann drives  some women from the townships to his daycare or back. But most of them have to walk ten kilometers and more to get to his daycare.
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  • For single women, life in the rough ghettos around Katatura is very difficult, particularly for those with small children. Because there are few jobs, prostitution is often the only route to survival. Many become infected with diseases. Sick, weak and ostracized as whores, they have almost no chance of finding normal work and become trapped in a vicious circle.
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  • (2008) For single women, life in the rough ghettos is very difficult, particularly for those with small children. Because there are few jobs, prostitution is often the only route to survival. Many become infected with diseases. Sick, weak and ostracized as whores, they have almost no chance of finding normal work and become trapped in a vicious circle.
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  • Sixteen-year-old Winnie stands in the entrance of the hut that she and two roommates have rented. Often, the girls are sought out and sexually assaulted by unknown men in the hut, particularly when they are drunk and defenseless. They can't protect themselves because the door has no hinge and no lock.
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  • (2008) A portrait of Irène at the age of eleven. Two years later she became pregnant and ran away from home. Irène tried to abort the baby with illegal pills, lost consciousness, was raped by a young man, and passed away.
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  • (2008) Father Hermann talks to a streetwalker who is looking for clients at the Ausspannplatz, a street-walkers patch in the city center of Windhoeck. This area is not safe for the women, especially not at nighttime. Sex workers can´t expect any protection from the police, because prostitution is illegal in Namibia. „When it‘s dark the ladies are wanted by many people, but during the day in parliament they want to burn them out.“ says Hermann in an interview with a local newspaper.
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  • Father Hermann holds a deeply depressed woman to comfort her. Two weeks previously she had lost her baby and been thrown out by her husband and left her to a life on the street.
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  • (2008) Father Hermann poses with his old Toyota in front of the roman catholic church at Pioneers Park, where his home, a two room apartment, is located. He always has a big key chain with him, because he has to lock everything tp prevent it from getting stolen.
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  • (2008) Most women in the shelter are infected with AIDS or venereal diseases. Sick, weak and ostracized as whores, they have almost no chance of finding normal work. "We give them food once a week and a bible. This is just to keep their hopes alive." Klein-Hitpass says,
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  • (2008) "When it is dark enough the ladies are wanted by many people, but during the day in parliament they want to burn them out." says Father Hermann. He notes, prostitutes face an immediate mortal threat of HIV infection - something the government seems unwilling to confront.
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  • (2008) Eunice at the age of 17. At that time, she was already a young mother.
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  • Damara 6, Katutura township (Windhoek), November 27, 2013. Father Hermann rests while some girls are doing their hair. It took a few years until the women started to trust the priest. But now many say that he is like a real father to them. He became part of the family, part of the people in the township.
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  • Am Ende der Prozession wird ein grosses Holzfeuer entfacht, in das ein Knallkörper eingebaut ist, ähnlich wie beim Sechseläuten in Zürich.
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  • Die Mönche der Felsenkirchen von Lalibela (links) begleiten die Prozession der Priester mit Trommelschlägen und ihren Gesängen.
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  • Die Priester singen und tanzen während den Feierlichkeiten zum Rhythmus von Trommeln.
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  • Gesang und Trommelrhythmen begleiten die Feierlichkeiten.
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  • Father Hermann’s shelter, November 22, 2013. Father Hermann examines an x-ray of a young boy at the daycare facility. The boy’s mother worries about the health-state of her son an asks for Hermann’s advice. Many women come to the shelter to be examined by Father Hermann when they or their children feel sick. If necessary, Father Hermann admits them to a doctor or to a hospital to claim an appropriate medical treatment, which would not be granted, if the women would go their on their own.
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  • (2013) Father Hermann buys food at a gas station´s supermarket which is close to the church where the priest lives in a two room appartment.
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  • The family of Councilor and priest Degu Melese (54) sits together to eat injera at their home in Ahuri. Photographed for Helvetas Switzerland  (CBoC Capacity building of Councils, CBoC Capacity building of Councils).
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  • CBoC Capacity building of Councils, CBoC Capacity building of Councils, Councilor and priest Degu Melese (54) attends the monthly assembly of the council in Ahuri.
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  • Tee ceremony at the house of Councilor and priest Degu Melese (54) in Ahuri. Photographed for Helvetas, Switzerland (Project: CBoC Capacity building of Councils, CBoC Capacity building of Councils)
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  • (2013) Alexia (28) became pregnant by her father at the age of thirteen. Her relatives chased her away from home. She survived by doing sex work for more than ten years. With Father Hermann´s help, Alexia now runs a little shop that allows her to make a living. "He gave me back my dignity" Alexia says about the priest.
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  • November 2013, Father Hermann´s daycare is half-abandoned because the priest is weakened by age and diabetes and reaches his limits. Hermann says that he will have to close the daycare soon because there is no successor and his strength is quickly fading.
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  • (2008) At his daycare Father Hermann tries to comfort a woman who suffers from severe depression after losing her child. Many sex workers suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts, especially when they are infected with AIDS or STDs. But many of these women are not victims only.  They are used to the rough life on the streets.Some try to take advantage of the priest´s kindness, a fact that Father Hermann is well aware of.
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  • Father Hermann’s Apartment, Windhoek, November 23, 2013. Father Hermann gives shelter to a woman who knocked on the door of his apartment late at night, looking for help. When in adversity, the women often come to Father Hermann’s home at the Catholic Church in Pioneers Park, Windhoek. Due to the alarming extent of his work and serious health issues the priest has more and more difficulties to keep his apartment clean and tidy.
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