Rehoboth Pride breaks barriers to essential services

0Transgender woman Raun Strauss says Rehoboth’s first Pride event increased LGBTQI+ visibility while bringing essential health and support services closer to the community.

The event, organised by MPower Community Trust in September, featured a Pride Village where participants could access health information and services alongside human-rights and psychosocial support.

“What was really important was that it showed that visibility was key. As minorities and key populations, it was amazing to be part of the first pride taking place at Rehoboth,” Strauss says.

She says having HIV testing available at the event helped reduce some of the barriers people may experience when seeking services at health facilities.

“Having services so close to you was really important. For example, the HIV testing that was there was one of the outstanding parts because sometimes, because of stigma and discrimination, you feel so boxed in when going for HIV testing at a facility,” she says.

“They brought the testing to you, and that was one of the outstanding parts of it. For me, it was historical, it was amazing, it was new and it was really needed,” Strauss says.

The programme also included a Women’s Corner, organised in partnership with the Women’s Leadership Centre, where women from diverse backgrounds could share their experiences and support one another.

Human-rights information was also made available, including information on support and assistance for people experiencing discrimination, violence or other rights violations. Events project manager Hakeem Noabeb says the HIV testing services were provided through a collaboration between MPower Community Trust and the Walvis Bay Corridor Group.

Noabeb says the approach was intended to create an environment where people could access services in a supportive and community-friendly setting. “The event was held under the theme ‘Proudly Rehoboth, Proudly Namibian, Proudly Me’,” he says.

He says the pride activity brought together lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and other (LGBTQI+) people, allies, community members, civil society organisations and service providers.

“Although planned police support for the walk was unavailable because of funeral-related commitments, organisers and community members proceeded with the activity,” Noabeb says.

MPower Community Trust says the event demonstrated the value of community-led approaches to health, human rights and inclusion.

Rehoboth Pride forms part of the organisation’s programme under the Marang Southern Africa LGBTQI+ Fund, which supports community-rooted initiatives focused on human rights, visibility, safe spaces, psychosocial support and advocacy.

The programme is being implemented at Rehoboth and Gobabis from August 2026 to August 2027.

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