A passionate and motivated mother

Desiree Gases



Born at Rehoboth, Bernadette Bock spent most of her secondary school years at Concordia College, but then completed Grade 12 at Centaurus High School. An alumnus of Unam where she completed a Bachelor of Economics degree, Bock spent eight years in Germany completing a Masters in Cooperative Economics at the Phillips University of Marburg, after which she worked for an international biodiversity research project, based at the same university, focusing on the impacts of political incentives on natural resource use. Bock gained professional experience in technical and leadership positions overseeing strategic planning.

She has been a director of the University of Namibia for less than a month now. Raising philanthropic funds in a financially suppressed economy will be challenging, she says. It will call for innovation, creativity and perseverance. But she is up for the challenge.

“I chose my career path based on the need to make a difference and to have a positive impact on people’s lives. So, I have always worked in positions where I could develop and implement programmes to strengthen the resilience levels of vulnerable communities, and in that way, making my small contribution to the socio-economic development of Namibia. I also have bit of research experience and saw the role at the Foundation as an opportunity to combine my various skillsets for the promotion of higher education in the country,” she says.

For Bock, success in this position would be linked to the total funds raised in support of Unam’s objectives. Also, a good track record of managing mobilised resources prudently and in accordance with good corporate governance procedures and systems. Trust, transparency and accountability are crucial values to be maintained in this position.

For Bock, being able to complete a master’s course in the German language, after only having it as a third language in high school, was an accomplishment she will always be very proud of. Setting the Namibia Red Cross Society back on the road to recovery within a very short period of time is one of major achievements to date.

Bock adds: “I always seem to attract positions where I need to either set up systems and processes from scratch or where there is need to overhaul what is already in place. I have over the years successfully developed and administrated various grant fund mechanisms linked with international development agencies, while I was also able to improve community support structures of private sector as well as non-governmental organisations. I always enjoy seeing the results of my work and get motivated by it to push harder.”

When Bock is not at work, she loves spending time with friends and family and she has a three-year-old, very energetic son. For the future Bock just wants to focus on transforming the Foundation to reach its targets. She also wants to spend a lot more time with her son as he is growing up much too fast.

“Apart from developing technical skills and experience in your chosen field, also prioritise building yourself a good reputation based on excellent personal and professional ethics. Good ethics will never go out of fashion and no one can take them away from you,” Bock advises young people.



1 PHOTO (CONTRIBUTED)

CAPTION: Bernadette Bock, new director of Unam.