History of Felm’s work in Namibia
1859 Felm was founded
1870 Felm’s work began in Ovamboland in the north of South-West Africa (now Namibia). Felm’s first mission workers arrived in Cape Town in 1868 and reached Ovamboland in 1870, arriving in territory belonging to the Ondonga tribe. These mission workers were Botolf Berhard Björklund, Pietari Kurvinen, Martti Rautanen, Karl Leonhard Tolonen, Karl August Weikkolin, Karl Emanuel Jurvelin, and the craftsmen Juho Heinonen, Erkki Juntunen and Antti Piiroinen.
1877 A Ndongan primer, the first book in the language, was published by Pietari Kurvinen
1883 The first Ovambo Christians were baptized
1903 The New Testament appeared in Ndonga, translated by Martti Rautanen
1911 The first hospital was founded in Onandjokwe by Selma Rainio
1913 The first school of education for teachers was founded in Oniipa
1925 The first seven Ovambo priests were ordained
1954 The Bible appeared in Ndonga and
the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church, born as a result of mission work, gained independence. It is now known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia.
1960 The first college in Namibia, Oshigambo high school, was founded
1990 Namibia became independent
2001 The Evangelical Lutheran churches of Finland and Namibia signed a cooperation agreement
