School Projects that are supported by the Gondwana Care Trust

The Gondwana Care Trust has been focusing on supporting as many school projects as possible. Here are a few of the projects that have benefited from the generous donations and support of the Trust and donors.

Witkrans Primary School visits the Kahalari Desert to learn about sustainable development

Witkrans Primary School, which is located 16km outside of the small town of Stampriet and 50km from the Gondwana Kalahari Park, recently visited Kalahari Anib Lodge during a Nature Awareness Project. 

The Grade 7 students were interested in learning about the environment, and thanks to the Nature Awareness Project, an organization that is under the umbrella of the Hunters Support Education Committee, the students were hosted by Kalahari Anib Lodge to have an Environmental Excursion in the Gondwana Kalahari Park. The Witkrans Primary School is part of the Gondwana Care Trusts' Back-to-School Christmas Bag Project, as well as a beneficiary of the  MealForTwo Project for the past few years.  

The students were lucky to participate in the Gondwana Kalahari Park’s annual game count, which took place on the 16th of June 2023. 

After the game count, the students and teachers were taken on a private tour to explore the Gondwana Kalahari Park by the lodge guides and Gondwana Environmental Officers. After lunch, the students were taken to the water recycling plant and to the solar panel site. 

They all learned the importance of taking care of nature (not littering, taking care of the animals, being of aware of the amount of water that is used and using renewable (solar) energy) and its link to the Namibian landscape and all the people that live on it. 

Thanks to the combined support of the Nature Awareness Project and the Gondwana Care Trust, such trips are possible. Meals, transportation, and the time offered by the guides make these experiences unique and a valuable learning experience to the younger generation. 

We extend a thank you to everyone for your valuable support. Education is the most precious gift one can share. 

Women at Work Training Center - Cooking Training Session

Following the large donation of butternuts, thanks to the Capricorn Foundation and Lithon Foundation, the Gondwana Care Trust was able to enroll 4 organizations to a first cooking training done by Women at Work. Following the success of the 1st session, the Gondwana Care Trust sponsored a second training class for 12 more participants. 

Women at Work Training Center trains the participants on how to preserve the butternuts with the following skills and techniques:

• Freezing
• Pureeing
• Jam-making
• Pickling
• Preserving the whole butternut
  

The training took place from 08h00 to 16h00, and was highly valuable to all the participants, giving them further skills in cooking and using ingredients to their fullest potentials. Food and refreshments were provided during the day. We are very thankful to be able to support the development of skills for women so they can manage and develop a sustainable future in their cooking endeavors. 

Many of the women who took part in the cooking training are planning on selling some home-made products, such as jams and preserves, to increase their revenue at the end of the month. Participants for the 1st and 2nd training, who are also partners and beneficiaries of the Gondwana Care Trust, were Lidar Foundation, BOH, Haingura PP, Etuhole PP, Lighthouse Community of Hope, Khaibasen Center, PAY Center, and New Life Center. 

The cost for the 2nd cooking training session was valued at N$10 890,00 and the pumpkin purchase was valued at N$19 750,00. 

Women Community Center – DRC Swakopmund 

The DRC (Democratic Resettlement Community) Women's Project has welcomed mothers and young children, living near the dumpsite in the DRC district since 2010, for many years. The project grew stronger every year, developing skills to have crafts sold all over Namibia and Germany. 

Activities and after-school homework classes are now being offered at the center, which will only strengthen the impact of the center in its community. 

Ms Anja Rohwer has been the driving force behind the center for many years. Today, the center has a vegetable garden that produces veggies used in the kitchen. The center trains women in the creation of artifacts sold to the public and in curio shops, and welcomes over 100 pre-school students. It offers sewing projects, a library, an after-school homework support, has a janitor who builds all the school tables and chairs, and the center has a soup kitchen that serves a warm meal to the children and women living close by.

The DRC center was also a recipient of the pumpkin donation and the children enjoyed the pumpkin so much! 

Etuhole Pre-Primary

Situated in Katutura (Havana District), Windhoek  

Cell phone: +264 81 346 2361 / +264 81 2966023

Email: eunikeiiyambo@gmail.com   

Etuhole Pre-Primary and Day Care Center was created in 2012. Etuhole PP has 7 permanent staff members and the school venue is secured. They have water and electricity.  

In Havana, the percentage of children below the age of seven (7) years, that do not go to school, is increasing every day. Most of the children at their early age do not start school which cause them to wander around in the street instead of getting the essential basics for education. Etuhole PP welcomes about 130 children now. Most children will receive their only meal of the day there.   

Thanks to the recent donations, Etuhole was able to furnish the teachers' classrooms, to provide a warm meal to the children and the community around the school. 

Etuhole was also a beneficiary from the cooking training session to learn how to cook and preserve butternuts and pumpkins.

The Lighthouse Community Hope Center – Windhoek   

Most of the children visiting the center, come from disadvantaged and broken homes. Namibian Schools close at 1:00 PM, and students are on their own for the rest of their day. When the children arrive at the Lighthouse Community, they are welcomed with a hot meal, and a safe place to study and play.   

The Lighthouse Team encourages the children to develop healthy social relationships that will guide them into their adult years, choosing good friends and making wise choices.   

The Gondwana Care Trust, through the MealForTwo Program, assists the Lighthouse Community Hope with groceries on a monthly basis so the children can receive a healthy meal.  

We have further feedback on the pallets donation from CB Enterprises and Okapuka Safari Lodge.

The children were so happy to harvest their veggies! They built the gardens and look after the plants, so that they can collect the success of their labour.

By donating to the Gondwana Care Trust, we are able to support and assist this project with educational goods and requests, such as pallets, to enable the students to create products and to contribute to the center with garden maintenance.  

If you have any wood pallets to donate, please contact caretrust@gcnam.com  

Promiseland – Walvis Bay  

Project Coordinator: Jenny Esterhuizen

Cellphone: +264 81 398 9641  

Email:  management@promiseland.com.na    

The Promiseland Forming Project consists of a Pre-Primary School, with three qualified Teachers, preparing vulnerable children with good ethical values and character formation for school.    

The Forming Project began in 2012 with the intention of helping to keep children off of the streets by allowing them to spend the day learning and playing at the Promiseland Centre. Over time, it has grown to be much more than just a Day Care Centre.

Since Promiseland Play Centre opened its doors, 60 children aged between 3 and 6 years visit the Centre in the morning. The trust invested in 2 more classroom which, once completed, will increase the school’s capacity to 100 children, while creating 3 more job opportunities for 2 qualified Montessori teachers and one Teacher’s Assistant to join the family.  

The Gondwana Care Trust was blessed to be able to assist the Promiseland Trust with the dispatch of some of the furniture that was generously donated in Windhoek. 

Promiseland is still developing their Resource Center and if you are able to contribute towards any IT equipment or any educational material to help the center, please contact caretrust@gcnam.com or Promiseland directly.  

The soup kitchen is just down the road and provides a nutritious meal every school day to over 300 students on a daily basis, during school days.  

Promiseland looks after the self-sufficient garden, established at the nearby school Tutaleni, and hopes to develop the vegetables garden even further in the future.  

Please do not hesitate to contribute towards the worthy cause that enables Promiseland to develop their action towards education and the healthy nutrition of the children even further.

Thank you very much for supporting the Gondwana Care Trust Projects, by reading our newsletter, by donating, and by sharing our stories with colleagues, family, and friends.

If you would like to donate to any of the above school projects, please click on the heart below and include the school's name as a payment reference, so that we can allocate the funds to the correct project. We thank you very much!

For information on how to donate, please email us, or call us +264 81 242 59 00 (during office hours). 

Bank Windhoek Limited

Gondwana Care Trust 

Maerua Mall Branch / 483 872 

Chk – 800 818 44 91