Mandela Day-Remedial School outreach

The UNDP Namibia staff for the Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July visited the Family of Hope Services Centre in Havana, Windhoek. The centre feeds children, sponsors them for school through a remedial school, provides counseling & medical care and promotes self-esteem building.

The UNDP Namibia staff members assisted in the Remedial School by helping the children with homework. Annually, the centre supports 450 Orphans and Vulnerable Children in the Havana informal settlement in Katutura. During the introductory remarks about the centre, Ms. Foibe Silvanus, the Project Manager of the centre gave the staff a tour of the premises and explained how it operates. “For 14 years, the FHS Centre has been helping orphaned and vulnerable children in Namibia” she stated.

Some of the areas that the centre focuses include; educating children to instill life skills so they have a chance in the world. Additionally, they feeding these children through a feeding weekday feeding scheme for 260 children. The centre also finds sponsors for school, donors for food, sponsors for counseling and medical care, volunteers for tutoring and self-esteem building. The centre also has a Remedial School that helps older kids (between 10 and 16) who have never been to school in their lives, to reach a level where they can get into the formal school system.

During the Mandela Day celebrations at the centre, each UNDP staff member was assigned to a child or a group of children to assist with Mathematics and English homework for at least 67 minutes. The Head of UNDP Programmes, Martha Naanda closed off the visit by thanking the centre for hosting UNDP and explained how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) work in making the world a better place. Further, She encouraged the children to work hard “I would like to see all of you contribute to the SDGs and work hard to make Namibia a better place” she stated.

The centre also has Income Generating projects to assist with the running of the centre. The FHS has a Bicycle Workshop that repairs old bicycles and re-sells them. In addition to that, the centre also has a garden that is cared for by the volunteers and children. The garden supplements the food in the kitchen to make sure that the children receive enough nutrients. Moreover, the centre also has a playground, a toy-room, a library as well as a computer room for children to do research and enhance their computer skills.