Black and White Together Partnership Trip to Namibia: In mid-August, a small delegation from the Namibia Support Association in Pfedelbach will travel to Namibia at their own expense to visit projects there and discuss with Namibian partners how donated funds from Germany can continue to be used effectively. Albertina Willem is the manager of the soup kitchen in Okombahe, Hermann Auibeb is the principal of the Martin Luther High School, and Star Kandjii is the project manager of the Namibian support association HANO. The association has invited all three to accompany the German delegation for a week, allowing them to learn about other projects in different parts of the country. While every German tourist in Namibia appreciates the diverse wildlife in Etosha National Park, Albertina had never been to the Etosha Pan. She had never seen many of the country's large animals, such as lions, rhinos, and elephants, in their natural habitat. It's simply too expensive to afford something like this when you otherwise barely have enough food for your family. This will give us the opportunity to meet our African partners as equals, and it's an important step towards genuine solidarity and partnership. During our week together, we'll have time to talk, eat, experience Christian fellowship, and get to know each other better. We in the organization hope that this will help us better understand people's daily lives and unleash positive energy within ourselves and them.
Auf unserer Reise im August besucht die kleine Pfedelbacher Reisegruppe des Namibia-Unterstützungsvereins auch den örtlichen Kindergarten in Okombahe. Obwohl gerade Ferienzeit war öffneten Sabrina und Sieglinde, zwei der drei Erzieherinnen, den kleinen Kindergarten mit 25 Kindern für uns.
Dabei erfuhren wir, dass in der Winterzeit (Juni/Juli) wesentlich weniger Kinder kommen als in der wärmeren Zeit. Der Betonboden ist kalt und es gibt nur sehr wenige Stühle und Tische, geschweige denn Decken und Matratzen.
Für die Zeit von 7 bis 13Uhr sollen die Eltern einen Beitrag von 3.50€ im Monat bezahlen, für einen ganzen Tag von 7-17Uhr liegt der Beitrag bei 5€ im Monat. Doch auch dieser geringe Beitrag ist für die meisten Eltern, die kein Einkommen haben, noch zu viel. Deshalb bezahlen leider nur 11-12 Eltern. Von dem geringen Beitrag sollen Kindergartenmaterialien und Putzmittel angeschafft und Strom und Wasser bezahlt werden und eigentlich auch die dritte Erzieherin. Nur zwei Erzieherinnen werden vom Staat übernommen, sie bekommen 105€ pro Monat. weiterlesen
The Namibia Support Association's travel group visited Okombahe again this summer to see the approximately 60 children and adults who run the soup kitchen. This time, Margret Knoche had planned something special for their stay in Okombahe: to prepare Käsespätzle (cheese spaetzle) over an open fire for all the children and some of the adults.
Just €10 a month can pay for a child's boarding school place and school uniform. You'll be making a difference in these children's lives.
On the evening of the meeting, many participants of the German Protestant Church Assembly were able to sample Pfedelbach bratwurst with authentic Namibian spices. Many were drawn in by the delicious taste of the charcoal-grilled sausages. The Pfedelbach Namibian sausages proved very popular.
Although our stand was somewhat off to the side, we managed to sell about 300 sausages in just over two hours. There was also time for many in-depth conversations with participants who either specifically sought out our Namibia support stand or happened to be passing by.
All proceeds from the sausages and drinks (regional organic grape juice and hot and cold fair trade tea) will be used for the school education of the former soup kitchen children from Okombahe.
Spontane Hilfe in Khorixas
In consultation with our local project partners, our association's committee decided to repair the water pipes at the student residence in Okombahe. The residence was built approximately 40 years ago and originally had toilets and washrooms with running water. However, in recent years the water pipes had become so dilapidated and broken that the young children had to carry water for their toilets and washing from the main tap. Read more
School starts in Okombahe. The long summer holidays, which lasted until mid-January, are now almost over. It's still very hot in Okombahe, and it has only rained briefly once so far. But hopefully, there will be plenty of rain in the coming weeks. The schools and student dormitories are still closed, but Okombahe is slowly awakening from the summer-Christmas season. Many are returning from the farm or to visit relatives. Life is returning to normal. Many students at the primary school in Okombahe are especially looking forward to the new school year. There was something to celebrate at the primary school before the end of the school year. The boys received three new soccer balls and a brand-new set of soccer jerseys with the emblem of their Wilhelm Borchert Primary School. The inspiring headmistress, Valery Haradoes, made these purchases with the money donated during her last visit in August. Now the boys are looking forward to the new school year. There will be a soccer match against the neighboring village of Uis, 70 km away. Many children from our soup kitchen run by Albertina attend this primary school. In addition to the three regular meals in the soup kitchen, we try to make the students' environment more livable. For example, we support renovations in the student residence so that the children again have running water in the toilets and washroom, or the children's church service through a partnership with the children's church in Untersteinbach, or we send disadvantaged children to a student residence or a secondary school.