The Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) was established in 1992 as a women-lead membership-based organization (MBOP) of the poor to secure affordable housing and infrastructure services through savings and sweat-equity groups across thirteen Namibian regions. Yet, to our knowledge, a study on this organization that focuses on the voices of members to assess how they understand and prioritize Federasi involvement has not been performed. Theoretically informed by black feminism, this multidisciplinary, mixed-methodological project considers the benefits of participation for 281 members. Although anecdotal information suggests that the vast majority of women participate to secure stable housing, content and bivariate analyses illustrate the primacy of psychological benefits and collective mobilization.

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How are religious involvement and community-mobilizing related for poor Namibian women? This mixed - methodological study examines the influence of ethnicity, attitudinal, and behavioral traits on religious affiliation and related experiences for 258 female members of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia, a network of neighborhood-based savings groups that attempts to provide affordable housing and related infrastructure services to poor women. In addition to its practical benefits, we consider whether the Federation represents a proxy-church for members. We assess the following research questions: With which churches are Federation women affiliated? Do their ethnicities or views and decisions about the Federation affect their religious ties? Do results suggest that the Federation provides outcomes commonly associated with churches? Results based on statistical and content analyses illustrate differences in religious affiliation and experiential variations based on ethnicity as well as church-like benefits of Federation involvement.

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