Hulda Kamboi Shipanga (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Ngatjikare; 28 October 1926 – 26 April 2010) was a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

, and ministerial adviser to the

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n Ministry of Health. She was the first black nurse in Namibia to be promoted to

matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person ...

, the highest rank.

Biography

Born in

Aminuis Aminuis is a cluster of small settlements in the remote eastern part of the Omaheke Region of Namibia, located about 500 km east of Windhoek. It is the district capital of the Aminuis electoral constituency. Economy and Infrastructure Ami ...

South-West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

, and educated in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, first as teacher, then as nurse, she returned to South-West Africa (modern-day

) to work in the Native Hospital in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

. Shipanga studied further to become a midwife, a profession she then conducted at Windhoek's

Old Location The Old Location (or as it was known then the Main Location) was an area Apartheid, segregated for Black residents of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. It was situated in the area between today's suburbs of Hochland Park and Pioneers Park. Histor ...

, a segregated area for black residents. On 10 December 1959, the day of the Old Location Uprising, she was one of three nurses attending to the wounded when doctors (all white at that time due to the restrictions of the

Bantu Education Act The Bantu Education Act 1953 (Act No. 47 of 1953; later renamed the Black Education Act, 1953) was a South African segregation law that legislated for several aspects of the apartheid system. Its major provision enforced racially-separated educati ...

) at the hospitals in Windhoek refused to treat them. After further qualifying as

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

nurse and specialising in

paediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

and

orthopaedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, she was the highest qualified nurse in the twilight days of

and during the period of the interim government in Namibia. Shortly after Namibian Independence she was the first black nurse to be promoted to the rank of

Matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person ...

− before, such promotion was discouraged by

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

laws. She served in this position at

Katutura State Hospital Katutura State Hospital is a hospital in Katutura, a black township of Windhoek, Namibia. Together with the Windhoek Central Hospital, it is one of two State Hospitals in the Windhoek area, and Namibia's only general referral hospital. In November ...

until her retirement. Founding president

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...

appointed her as special advisor to the Minister of Health

Nickey Iyambo Nickey Iyambo (20 May 1936 – 19 May 2019) was a Namibian politician and physician who served as the first Vice President of Namibia. A member of SWAPO, Iyambo was a member of the Cabinet of Namibia since independence in March 1990. He was the ...

although Shipanga was already of pensionable age. She later also served under

Libertine Amathila Libertina Inaviposa Amathila ( née Appolus, born 10 December 1940) is a Namibian physician and politician. She was the deputy Prime Minister of Namibia from 2005 to 2010. Early life Amathila was born in Fransfontein, Kunene Region. Under the S ...

, Namibias second Minister of Health. At the age of 74, she returned to Aminuis to farm. Shipanga was married twice and had no children. She died in 2010 in Windhoek.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shipanga, Hulda 1926 births 2010 deaths Namibian health officials Namibian midwives Namibian nurses People from Omaheke Region