PERSPECTIVES ON FORBES AFRICA’S “30 UNDER 30” with Sandra Mwiihangele

Sandra Mwiihangele is the founder of Kiyomisandz, a Namibian cosmetic- and toiletry-manufacturing company. In 2016 Kiyomisandz won the Development Bank of Namibia Innovation Award, and in 2017 Sandra was selected by Forbes Africa magazine to be on the “30 Under 30” list. Since then, she has seen her name and her brand spread across the globe.

In keeping with its ethos of making a difference, Kiyomisandz recently announced its recycling programme. The programme encourages participants to bring back six empty product containers in exchange for a free Summer Rain product.

Sandra, raised by a single mom, went to the Holy Cross Convent and found her calling doing her project for the compulsory Young Scientist competition.

“I entered the Young Scientist competition with my best friend. An idea came to mind to create lipstick. We did some research and found that, at the age of eleven, we actually didn’t know anything about organic chemistry, so we had to figure out a way to create lipstick with the natural resources in our back yard and in our kitchen. We managed to successfully create a high-performance matte lipstick that won us first prize in the competition, and we were selected to represent the country in Pretoria at the time.

“The whole process of creating the lipstick, the problem-solving and the field experiments awakened a passion in me to create a product from nothing.

“The majority of cosmetic products contain water. Water has two hydrogen ions, which affect the pH levels in products. If these levels are too high or too low, they can burn, so you have to do a lot of tests when you create a product.

“When I started, I didn’t have the funds to afford hi-tech equipment; I had to find a way to create a well-functioning product that does the job but doesn’t contain water. I wanted to create an exfoliating scrub that removes dead skin cells from the surface of your skin, but adds an extra advantage of moisturising,

because it turns into a lotion you can rinse off after massaging it into your skin. So I created an anhydrous exfoliating scrub, which is a formulation that I’m currently in the process of patenting. That’s really what made Kiyomisandz – that was the first product that really set us apart.

“It has been crazy. Ever since the list was announced, I keep getting calls for interviews, international media contacting me wanting to interview me on my business journey, putting Namibia on the international business map. There’s been a lot of business opportunities as well to export my products and to offer the contract manufacturing-services part of my business to potential clients around Africa and overseas. So there have been a lot of opportunities, but I like to filter out my opportunities because not every opportunity is a good opportunity.

“After almost twelve months I was drained. I was depressed. I was just physically and mentally exhausted. I felt like a failure

because at the time I was surrounded by friends who were doing their master’s, PhDs; a lot of them were buying flats, a lot of them were buying cars and there I was, at the age of twenty-five, still a student and broke. Still depending on my mom’s pocket money.

make the choice to want to take myself out of that dark hole. The way I did that was to focus on things that I’m passionate about and love, which was cosmetic development.

“I started creating formulations, I started to focus on developing my Summer Rain collection. I put energy into it and slowly it took me out of depression and into the light. From there, it’s been like an ongoing roller-coaster ride. I think responsible for the happiness in your life. So I really had to

it’s impossible for me to go back to the dark place because I’m so infused in the light.”

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Plagued by an astronomical unemployment rate of more than 21%, a culture of alcohol abuse, domestic violence, HIV prevalence and shocking numbers of teenage pregnancies, even in primary schools, the //Kharas region in the south of Namibia is in desperate need of change – change that is only possible through education and personal empowerment.

This is where the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) comes in. It reaches out to the region’s youth, engaging them through the non-threatening media of roleplaying, dances, songs, youth-friendly magazines and creating safe spaces with generous support from the Debmarine-Namdeb Foundation.

OYO is a Namibian Trust that aims to increase social awareness using the arts. All their projects have an art component (such as dance, DVDs and youth publications) and all address social issues. In 2020, OYO partnered with the

Debmarine-Namdeb Foundation, MTC and Stichtung Horizon to create a comprehensive set of activities in the //Kharas region. Each project works closely with learners, their schools and, when applicable, the surrounding community.

Philippe Talavera is the director of the OYO Trust and the creative force behind the project: “The arts have many advantages. They appeal to your heart, not to your brain. Unlike a lecture or a workshop, they are not intellectual. They make you feel more than think. If you feel something, I believe you are more likely to actually remember it.

“If you feel happy, sad, angry or concerned by something that happens in a piece, you will remember that feeling. If one day you find yourself in a similar situation, it will help trigger a response. You will also remember the options that are offered to you: ‘I want to do like this character did,’ or, ‘I don’t want to become like this character.’ With gender-based violence or teenage pregnancy it is particularly important. We talk a lot about GBV but when we suddenly see it played out, we are likely to react differently. We might think it’s fun to go out with a sugar daddy but when suddenly we see the girl coming back pregnant, we get scared for her.

“Seeing is a powerful tool and feeling is an even more powerful one. And we know it works. It is quite magical when you perform to a school of 300 to 500 learners and see them all focused on what is happening on stage. They love the physicality of the dance – we use lots of lifts and jumps – and relate to the characters. Often, after the pieces, they come and talk with the dancers. It has an impact. It is not always

an immediate impact but we know that years later they’ll remember the piece and more importantly they’ll remember the message in the piece.”

Recently the OYO dance troupe went on tour and visited thirteen schools, performing its repertoire on GBV and engaging in discussion with learners. A youth counsellor was present to attend to learners who needed support.

Mary Jane Andreas, OYO dancer and lead in the piece titled ‘Concrete Angels’, said: ‘‘We must fight against GBV to encourage more women and men to communicate with one another so that they can reduce the levels of violence against children and women. It gives me great pleasure as a woman to be out there spreading the word to fight against GBV because it undermines the security and dignity of its victims. It keeps growing in Namibia because we have a culture of silence. I want the silence to break, allowing the victims to come forward so we can change the narrative and build strong future leaders.”

Monray Garoeb, famous for his part as the General in OYO’s DVD ‘Salute!’ and also a lead in ‘Concrete Angels’, added: “I’m fighting GBV because it is affecting our whole upcoming generation and the Namibian structure of peace and stability. The //Kharas tour was important as I am very familiar with this region and there are more cases on GBV there because there is a lot of drug and alcohol abuse. It starts with the parents and relatives at home, the children going through that and later they start taking drugs and repeat the cycle. For me as a public figure, I want to pass on a message that we have choices in life and to not be scared to talk to someone if you need to.”

Following the dance troupe’s tour, OYO organised two weekend camps full of learning, sharing and fun. Five girls and five boys from each of the schools were invited on separate weekends, and participants had a chance to learn from one another in safe spaces.

The important work done by OYO in the desolate southern region of Namibia is like rain in a barren desert. And just like drought-stricken land, the work will have to continue for years to come if it is going to change the landscape and prospects for the communities who have to make life work, against and in spite of the odds – odds that they will have to change themselves.