Namibian Christmas gifts
and delicious food
Friday, December 2nd to Sunday, December 4th (2nd Advent)
Come to the winter village in Kirchberg/Jagst
Namibian handicrafts,
Goulash soup, Kaiserschmarrn,
Namibian beer and much more
Friday, December 16th to Sunday, December 18th (4th Sunday of Advent)
Come visit the Christmas market in Öhringen in the castle courtyard
Namibian handicrafts,
two Namibian winter soups (with meat or vegan)
Tea, coffee, Amarula and chocolate muffins
Seed funding for a start-up in Okombahe
The District Office of the Region of Okombahe has approached us with a request for seed funding for a bakery in Okombahe. Mr. Mauritius Goseb, The first administrative official from the district office would like to, together with the Namibia Support Association to open the first bakery in Okombahe with four trained bakers. This new bakery would provide four families with their own income and contribute to improving the infrastructure in Okombahe.
The idea is for a Seed funding for approximately 4-6 months, in the hope that the bakery can then stand on its own two feet. A practically new oven and a space are available, and Mr. Goseb himself will ensure that the four young men are supported and guided in their start-up. He also intends to establish contacts with schools and sales outlets. The new required A high-voltage power connection costs approximately €1500. The initial purchases, such as work clothes, hygiene products, necessary flour and small equipment, will be The first six months will cost approximately €4000.
Since we these 5,500 euros Since we cannot fully pay for this from our planned club budget for 2022, we ask each of you who would like to support this start-up project to transfer a donation to our club account under the reference: “Start-Up Bakery Okombahe”.
Margret and Joachim Knoche will fly to Namibia again in the autumn and give you detailed feedback on this project.
14,481 km
Three weeks of STATRADELN in Pfedelbach are over and in “Team Namibia” were 59 active cyclistsThese 59 people cycled a total of 14,481 km and thus even surpassed the first place among all Pfedelbach teams and the third place All teams in the Hohenlohe district achieved their goals. The average distance per person was 245km, three people even cycled over 1000km, and one person cycled over 2000km in the three weeks.
Congratulations to all the drivers and to the team captain.
The entire team cycled to raise money for the club's projects in Namibia. Seven sponsors had pledged to donate one cent per kilometer cycled to the school and children's projects in Namibia.
The seven sponsors are
· Achim Rohr from the cyclists' meeting point,
· Eberhard Bauer from the Bauer printing company,
· Karlheinz and Gudrun Ungerer from the Ungerer winery,
· Fritz Lösch from the Winzerstube in Windischenbach,
· Fabian Sinn of Erdbau GmbH,
· Mrs. Berner from Berner GmbH in Künzelsau
· and a seventh unnamed donor.
7 cents per kilometer, that's 7 times 14,481 cents, totaling €1013.67.
Many thanks to our generous sponsors!
Especially the approximately 130 children the two soup kitchens and the 80 students The students in the dormitories are delighted. Due to the current difficult Corona situation and the war in Ukraine, many people in Namibia again lack sufficient work and many families are suffering from hunger, something that was not so severe in recent years.
Cycling and doing good at the same time!
The Namibia Support Association is once again participating in the STADTRADELN cycling campaign in the municipality of Pfedelbach. from June 20th to July 10th part. With the kilometers cycled of the “Team Namibia” We would like to Supporting people in Okombahe / Namibia, who are suffering particularly badly due to the Corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine, are hungry or have become unemployed.
All cyclists are helping out and now Already 7 sponsors applies:
- At 11km Can a child eat a healthy meal at the soup kitchen?
- At 25km A child can attend kindergarten for one month.
- At 130km Can a child eat in a soup kitchen for a month?
- At 145km A young person can attend the student residence (boarding school) for one month. Read more
Will you become a sponsor for “Team Namibia”?
So far, five sponsors already Declared 1 cent per kilometer cycled (100km corresponds to €1) from the total “Team Namibia” to donate to the association?
If you wish, I will also mention you among the sponsors afterwards.
10 years
Namibia Support Association eV
Pfedelbach
Following a newspaper interview on June 1, 2012 Approximately 10 people met to found the Namibia Support Association. Bylaws were drafted, the first soup kitchen project was planned, and further priorities were considered.
That was 10 years ago!
What has happened in the meantime?
April 30th, 7 PM - Live in person again! The Namibia Support Association invites you to Oberhöfen. Margret and Joachim Knoche spent five weeks in Namibia in March visiting and further developing the association's projects. They dedicated considerable time to the two soup kitchens, the supported schools, the 80 students in the dormitories, the toy library, and the apprentices. They spoke with local leaders and further developed the projects, which receive regular financial support from several individuals in the region. As this will be the first public event in two years, we will also take the time to present the progress of the projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. Date: Saturday, April 30th, 7 PM to approximately 8:30 PM in the old schoolhouse in Oberhöfen. Beautiful photos and personal insights will transport you to the fascinating, yet also conflicted, country of Namibia. Cold drinks will be provided.
32 years of independence
On March 21, 1990 Namibia gained independence from South Africa and has been a sovereign state ever since. During this time, much good has happened in Namibia, without denying the negative aspects. A stable democracy with many free and fair elections; three elected presidents who succeeded each other peacefully after their 10-year terms; the people's self-confidence has risen significantly; corruption is surprisingly low; water, electricity, and communication are available everywhere, albeit only on a prepaid basis; the number of cars, stone houses, and jobs has at least doubled – yes, Namibia can be proud of everything it has achieved in the last 30 years. Fittingly, this year's weather has been even better. It has rained more everywhere than in the last 11 years – Namibia is a GREEN country! There are still some things Namibia can and must work on – but this weekend is more of a time for celebration; everyday life will resume next week.
In the area of post-secondary education, Namibia still has much to do in the coming years. In Germany, skilled workers are the backbone of economic success, and this needs to be the case in Namibia as well. However, there is still a long way to go, as education is very expensive for families. Currently, the government only provides loans for very good qualifications or for a limited number of fields of study. Even then, living expenses, transportation, and rent still need to be covered, which is impossible for most Namibians.
As a Namibia support association, we want to become more organized in this area, which also entails significant costs for us. In addition to the two soup kitchens, the toy library, and the 80 students in the dormitories, we are already helping six young people this year to complete a one- or two-year apprenticeship. However, this costs us approximately €1,500 to €2,000 per apprenticeship per year. Read more
Church clocks tick differently in Namibia.
Confirmands from Untersteinbach support confirmands in Okombahe
In 1842, the first missionaries from the Rhenish Mission arrived in Namibia. 180 years later, Namibia is a country largely shaped by Christianity. Approximately 90% of the population are baptized Christians. However, the church structure is quite different. There are no church taxes and no state subsidies for religious institutions. The vast majority of Namibians are Lutherans or other Protestants (approximately 65%), alongside a large Catholic community (approximately 22%) and members of independent African churches, whose charismatic spirituality is gaining popularity.
In Namibia, Christians are asked to pay for religious rituals. Baptisms, funerals, weddings, confirmations, and other services must be paid for. These revenues benefit the congregations, the pastors, and the church leadership. The church councils can set the amount themselves; for example, a confirmation in a city can easily cost €100. In Okombahe, however, the price is around €40. In addition to a hymnal and a picture frame with the confirmation verse, the confirmands receive a headscarf, and the boys a tie with the church emblem. The remaining amount is recorded by the church council as income, from which the pastor is then paid according to a salary scale. Some young people are also baptized at their confirmation. Read more
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Micron in Namibia?
Notes from Namibia, January 10, 2022
It's currently the height of summer in Namibia, and the summer holidays officially ended this week. All the students are returning to their boarding school from their parents or relatives, whether from nearby villages or remote small farms. Around 80 children and teenagers are happy that their boarding school fees, uniforms, and a few extras for this school year have already been paid for. Five young trainees are also thrilled with the opportunity to receive basic vocational training for the next year. This marks a new chapter in their lives. The two soup kitchens, serving approximately 80 and 40 children respectively, are also reopening. The toddlers and primary school children are also looking forward to visiting the toy library, a room filled with many interesting games and materials.
Thank you for your donations, which help us to carry out these projects.
And what is the situation with Corona in Namibia?
The influence of the Omicron variant has also been spreading in Namibia since the end of November. Until then, the numbers were very low (incidence rate below 3), but rose significantly in December. The peak so far was on Christmas Eve with an incidence rate of 311. In the last two weeks, the incidence rates have been declining considerably, currently standing at 116. The death toll is still rising, but not dramatically. Apart from a few restrictions (masks, social distancing, limits on the number of participants, etc.), public life appears to be proceeding normally.
Seventy households now have food for Christmas. Last week, a plea for help came from Yvonne and Pastor Andreas in Okombahe. They had compiled a list of 70 households they knew in Okombahe would have nothing to eat or earn until Christmas. The effects of the COVID-19 lockdown and the lack of tourism are still very much felt. Christmas without food, while we are so well off here! We in the Namibia Committee thought this was unacceptable and spontaneously approved €1400 for a Christmas distribution in Okombahe. In consultation with the larger grocery store in Omaruru, 70 packages were packed with essentials: maize porridge, pasta, flour, rice, various sauces, coffee, tea, sugar, sweets, vegetables, fruit, potatoes, and more – now Christmas can come to these households as well. As they say, the way to someone's heart is through their stomach. Pastor Andreas also included a Christmas greeting in each package. Our committee was only able to approve the funds so quickly because we received several additional donations from you in recent weeks, some of which we are now using for this purpose. We hope that this emergency aid, which only alleviates hunger and is not sustainable, will become unnecessary in 2022 when economic conditions change to the point where everyone can provide for themselves.