The Father of Katuturas Streetwakers

„If single women in the townships cannot find work and there‘s no more money, then sex becomes a second currency. They use it to pay for necessities like food, clothing and school for the children.“ claims Father Hermann Klein-Hitpass, a Catholic priest from Windhoek.

The 74-year-old priest dedicated his life to help the poorest of the poor. For over 20 years he stood up for sex workers who suffer from hunger, violence, illnesses and social proscription. Most of those women live in Katutura, the largest township of Windhoek, where Hermann started a day-care shelter with financial support from the church and private donors. There he has admitted more than 4700 women with 10000 children into his program. Since 2015, Father Hermann has been in need of intensive medical care. He lies in a Roman-Catholic hospital in Windhoek, where the women that he use to help now visit him faithfully when they can. The Catholic Church shows no interest in continuing Father Hermann´s work. The daycare facility was closed by members of the Catholic Church, following the bishop’s orders. The girls and women are left on their own again.