Devoted Youth Activist Shoki Kandjimi

Shoki Kandjimi is a journalism and media technology student at Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso)’s Khomas regional secretary general and a radio presenter at NUST FM.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the energetic young man describes himself as ambitious. Someone whose calling in life is to help uplift young people.

“I am an advocate of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 which promotes inclusive and quality education for all and promotes lifelong learning. This is why I keep my hands in all these fields because they are all centred on education,” said Kandjimi.

Kandjimi was born and bred in Windhoek, a place he attributes his strong work ethic and hunger for success to.

Sadly, he lost his parents at an early age and grew up with his grandmother and cousins.

“Windhoek has taught me to be strong, independent and a hard-working person,” he said.

His love for politics and activism stems from his father and his grandmother. His father was a bodyguard to the minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry John Mutorwa and his grandmother always took him to political rallies and meetings. “Being close to my father and my grandmother exposed me to the world of politics and as I was growing up I developed a love for it,” he shared.

His role model as far as politics is concerned is South Africa’s Dr Mbuyiseni Quintin Ndlozi, who is the the youngest member of the Economic Freedom Fighters in Parliament and the party’s national spokesperson.

“He is very ambitious, confident, hard-working and has achieved so much in his life for someone his age that is why I look up to him and hope one day I can emulate what he has done,” said Kandjimi.

He is inspired by people from disadvantaged backgrounds who do not allow their circumstances to stop them from achieving their dreams. “I am motivated by people who did not have it easy when they were growing up but are resilient enough to fight for what they want in life,” he said.

Being the Khomas Regional secretary general of Nanso, Kandjimi told YouthPaper that his responsibilities are to administer Nanso’s activities in the Khomas Region. Kandjimi says he loves being a part of the organisation because it allows him to help others.

“I honestly just want the best for everyone and I am glad to be selfless enough to want to see everyone have it easy in life,” he said.

On his studies, Kandimi says he initially had dreams of becoming a lawyer but later realised that was not his calling. He opted for studying journalism because when he was young he always wanted to voice his opinions on the airwaves and he loves working with people, hence he is majoring in public relations.

“Public relations is another area in journalism that I have discovered along the way and I am majoring in it because it exposes me to work with so many people and thus building my brand and honing my interpersonal skills.”

Kandjimi takes this further by working as a public relations intern at Poiyah Media. He says he has learned so much about public relations through this endeavour.

He told YouthPaper that tertiary institutions do not equip students with the needed experience and urged students to gain experience in their respective fields while studying.

“Experience is an important element in the working world, and I am grateful to be gaining first hand experience in my field from Ilke Platt-Akwenye, someone who has been in the industry for a very long time,” he said.

Speaking on his future endeavors Kandjimi says he hopes to start an organisation that will enable young Africans to share and exchange ideas on entrepreneurship and leadership.

A few years ago, he attempted to start such an organisation where he established contacts with a few Namibian and South African young people who understood his vision.

“Due to commitments at school we really did not achieve much with that initiative but it is something I consider revisiting in the near future,” he said, adding that he believes young Africans are talented in various fields and he wants to create a sustainable platform for them to learn from one another.