HISTORIC SILVER MEDAL FOR NAMIBIA AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS
Christine Mboma (18) becomes the first Namibian woman ever to win an Olympic Medal. Her compatriot Beatrice Masilingi, also 18 set another personal best as she finished sixth in the women’s 200m.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN
Our partnership with ACS International School Cobham enabled the Namibia Project to use the ACS JustGiving Platform to raise our profile and much needed funds for our Projects in Namibia.
Trustees sponsored virtual fundraising events which included:
“The Global Night for Namibia” - hosting a dinner party in your home.
“Sponsor a Child” – funding food for a leaner for a year.
“100 Mile Cycle Challenge” – to fund a class set of books for the 7th grade + blankets for the hostel.
£17.976 raised thanks to over 81 generous people
To date we have paid for:
Food supplies for 150 orphans and vulnerable children and supported the senior citizen’s soup kitchen at llKhuta!hoas Primary School and purchased 50 blankets for the hostel.
Funded a class set of books for the Grade Seven learners in English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Natural Science, Elementary Agriculture and local language books.
The money raised has supported 150 learners, 2 university scholarship students and 10 teachers.
NEWS FROM OUR UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS IN WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA
We are delighted to report that OLIVER S. SHIRUNDA received the Best Second Year Student Award, Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Power Engineering NQF 8 at a Merit Award Ceremony at the Namibia University for Science and Technology on 8th July 2021.
Oliver receives his Award at the Namibia University of Science and Technology – Windhoek
THE NAMIBIA PROJECT registered with the Stephen Hawking Foundation for access to
educational resources designed to promote critical thinking and provide reliable, well-sourced information to help school-age students and their families to make informed decision about vaccinations. The materials are in use in more than 1000 schools in the UK, have been endorsed by the National Education Union and have been downloaded by schools in more than 30 countries.
Find out more here: https://stephenhawkingfoundation.org/vaccines/
The educational resources are designed to promote critical thinking, ask big questions and provide reliable, well sourced information to help school age students investigate complex issues regarding science and society, within a classroom setting.
The programme is the brainchild of Ed Stubbs, a secondary school teacher at Morpeth School in Tower Hamlets, East London, who became concerned at a growing sense of fear in the classroom about vaccinations and the prevalence of ill-informed conspiracy theories. Ed developed the project in collaboration with science writer and educator Dr Emily Grossman.
The presentation was reviewed by Professor Daniel Pennington, Centre Lead for Immunobiology, Queen Mary University, London.
REPORT FROM DR ANDREAS ELOMBO AFTER CATCHING UP WITH OLIVER AND IMRGARD
On the 31st July Andreas linked up with Oliver and Irmgard to see and hear how they were doing.
Irmgard
Irmgard has registered for her final semester of the third year and she has not reported any concern regarding her academic work. The only concern is regarding her teaching practice requirement, which she was not able to do since schools have had to close down due to the nationwide lockdown. I have expressed to her that she should keep me updated on that and that we would be happy to support her if she needs any letter from the Charity to support her applications for placement.
Oliver
I have advised Oliver to register for the second semester of the third year and he has agreed to do so within this week. I also followed up on his Arduino project, which he says that they have now been allocated into groups instead of the initial approach of individual projects. I advised him to inform us in time if he needs to contribute toward procuring the required items for the project.
In general, both Irmgard and Oliver are doing well, both in terms of their academic work and health. As an extramural activity, we went for aerial yoga and we thoroughly had fun and a good body exercise. I am sure they will write positively about the experience we had — see attached photos. Thereafter, we got some take-away food for lunch and I then dropped them off to their respective residences. We could not have a sit-down meal as the Covid restrictions only got lifted from August 1st. I am very proud of the growth and commitment of our students and I encouraged them to stay on course throughout their studies. Their steadfast commitment toward their studies gives immense pride and the motivation to care for them.
I have discussed with the students the proposal to purchase new outfits at the start of the final year (which is next year 2022). They were very ecstatic about the initiative and they have agreed to the proposal. I reminded them of about how fortunate they are to have such a caring Charity that looks after them so exceptionally.
Thank you so much for caring for the students. I am very privileged to be involved in this big project of the Namibia Project Charity. The Charity has chosen the best gems for the scholarship programme.
Aerial Yoga a workout of mind and body for Oliver, Irmgard and Andreas
BRIEF NEWS ITEMS
llKhuta!hoas Primary School re-opened on the 4th August after an extended winter holiday due to the pandemic. At the moment they are feeding 121 orphans and vulnerable children and 48 senior citizens. The soup kitchen is run by volunteers and operates 3 days a week. Stina reported that the government feeding scheme of maize meal had operated intermittently last term and that they were very thankful that they had been able to feed the children thanks to the help from the Namibia Project.
One of our very generous donors, Lainey VZK sent a surprise package to Oliver and Irmgard. Andreas was responsible for negotiating with Namibian customs so that the package could be safely delivered.
Irmgard’s response: “ Ow my gosh!!, I don't even know where to start. I received the parcel and it's so beautiful and I loved everything that was in. Lainey it's like you knew what I wanted to get by myself and you got it for me, I'm so touched. Firstly, I want to start sewing, I noticed I developed so much interest in sewing so I make my own cute clothes. I saved up and I recently managed to buy the sewing machine, I was on the plan to save up again and buy the remaining tools and you just got them for me.
In addition my backpack was quite old and I was planning to replace as soon as school starts because we are currently on a term break and you got it for me as well. I feel so blessed and you are really an angel.
ACS Sustainability Impact Report 2020 was shared with Viktoria and Andreas Keding,
founders of the Namib Desert Environmental Educational Trust (NaDEET). A number of the NaDEET projects are aligned with the aims of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals which means that they could qualify for the carbon removal credit system run the South Pole company? South Pole has developed over 700 climate action projects with verified and certified impact reports and NaDEET could look into the options of becoming a partner?
Teach ESD ( Education for Sustainable Development)
NaDEET is a founding permanent member of the Namibian Environmental Educational
Network (NEEN) and they are mandated to advise and support the implementation of the
National EE/ESD Policy for schools in Namibia.
The Namibia Project, the ACS students and llKhuta!hoas School have benefitted from
partnership with NaDEET. When things return “to normal” and our fundraising improves we
will look forward to linking the “Tree Planting Project and Compost Making Initiatives” with
the ACS Early Childhood Garden, NaDEET and llKhuta!hoas Primary School.
The Namibia Project should also consider:
Co-Sponsoring a 2 year teacher training programme to teach ESD = £70 per person.
Sending a school class to the NaDEET centre for a week = £2,501.
ISA Award for Outstanding International Involvement
The Namibia Project’s application for this Community Service Award records Oliver and
Irmgard’s journey from their village to university in Windhoek. The deadline was 30th July.
Many thanks to Barnaby Sandow, ACS Cobham Head of School, for giving us this
opportunity to promote the work of the Namibia Project and to raise awareness that it is
thanks to the generosity of the ACS school community that the charity has been able to
change lives in the UK and in Namibia.
Ann and Rijn Brandse
6th August 2021