Benjamin (Ben) Ulenga was born in Owamboland. His father was a labourer, who from age 16 or 17 had to leave Owamboland to work on various English, Dutch, Scottish and German-owned farms. His father provided a political education and instilled in him a concern for workers rights.

Ndeutala Hishongwa was born in 1952 in Okalili, northwest Namibia. She trained as a nurse and in 1974 joined SWAPO-in-exile in Zambia. She was sent to Sweden to study on scholarship from the Lutheran World Federation and studied at the University of Stockholm and Växjö University.