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We are working hard in the Soup Kitchen and the result is impressive!

huiswerkklasje aan het werk



April 2023

Monica and her team are working hard to create a better future for the children.
The summer holidays for the kids  ended more than 2 months ago and the photos show us that Home of Good Hope is doing well. The Soup Kitchen is used a lot, the homework classes are running at full speed and the sports season has also started again. 

Recently we were told that no less than 900 children use the Soup Kitchen every day, which unfortunately is due to the deterioration of living conditions in the Goreangab slum. The pressure on the soup kitchen is enormous. But refusing children for a nutritious meal a day is not an option. 

The homework classes with Miss Elisia and Miss Elisabeth, both professional teachers, are also a gem. Here the children receive support with their homework and they are brushed up on their language and maths skills. This gives the children more opportunities for the future. The cheerful faces in the photo show that they love going there. That makes us happy!

But the best news is that this year the long-dreamed wish for a permanent building is coming true.  This new building for Home of Good Hope is needed because in addition to the 'Soup Kitchen', it can also accommodate opportunities for activities that are aimed at self-reliance. We have been saving money for several years to design the new building. The money was donated by many charitable organizations for this purpose. 
Hopefully, the formal cooperation and permits of the municipality of Windhoek will soon be completed and they can actually start building. After many years, this is the crowning glory of Monica Imanga and her team. 

Monica met Elisia en Elisabeth op de foto voor de klas

Monica came to Europe, we met her in Aachen

Monica met Maria en Lau op de fotoFebruary 2023

It took some arranging but eventually we managed to meet Monica. The night before I had almost given up again because an 'Umwelt' sticker was needed to be able to drive into Aachen, also for an electric car. But Lau brought a solution because he found out that the football stadium was also accessible without this sticker and that we could have lunch there, in the football canteen (De Klömpchensklub). We are happy to take the costs of all this for our own account. The trip went smoothly and there was plenty of free parking on site.

When we arrived in the Klömpchensklub Monica was already waiting for us (because Maria is always very punctual, haha). It was a warm reunion after a long time. And there was a lot to talk about..... Monica said that she had met the director of Eurowings (low cost airline in Germany) at a meeting in Windhoek and that he promised her to help (financially) with the realization of the new building. He even visited the soup kitchen and was very impressed. Peacemaker had then shown him the 'plot'. Monica expects that construction can start at the end of 2023 and that a new building will be erected at the end of 2024. We'll have to wait and see how it all goes......

When the soup kitchen is in full swing (600 children), four large pans of food are brought to it and that is usually not enough. After that, sandwiches are handed out. Monica does not work with a list of children or with a waiting list. All children are welcome, although the mothers know the children and the families and feed the children who really need it. Children who get enough to eat at home are sent away. 

Of course, we also talked about the homework classes, especially about the Oshivamba children who come from the North of Namibia. I understand these are children of Angolan refugees who returned to Angola after the war to look for work. The children were often left behind, they are not registered anywhere and do not have a birth certificate. Those who still take care of them try to find work in Windhoek. Unemployment is high in the north of Namibia and there is no safety net. The living conditions in the township of Windhoek are terrible for these children. Often up to ten of them sleep on thin mattresses in a corrugated iron hut without water and electricity. The soup kitchen is very important to them.

And when I asked if she will stop working in the soup kitchen when she retires, she said that that is definitely not going to happen. Taking care of all these children, that is the life she chooses, it brings her a lot of happiness and she gets energy and life force from it. She wants to continue doing this for years to come....

 Ontmoeting met Monica in de voetbalkantine

Meals for 600 children and more….

1112 het eten uitdelen bij de soepkeuken

December 2022

That daily meal is and remains very important for the children from the Goreangab Township. With our support and support, the children can visit the “Soup kitchen of Monica” every day. Monica let us know that the children who come to eat with her are doing very well, the children are still enjoying it. The little ones are fed first thing in the morning and the schoolchildren visit Monica after their morning lesson. And every day the pans are completely emptied down to the last crumb after being handed out.

In addition to distributing the food, there is also care for the personal hygiene of the children. For example, teeth are always brushed with the little ones and once in a while the ears are checked, nails are cut and hair is washed and inspected for head lice. Sometimes the children also need to be treated against skin fungi.

1112 Monica wast de haren van de kleintjes

Home of Good Hope's youth soccer team isn't just about winning, it's also about their development.

September 2022

Fortunately, after the Corona period, the football competitions have also started again in Namibia. This is also the case for the renewed youth football team of Home of Good Hope (HoGH). A team of young schoolchildren who, together with about 600 children from the Goreangab slum, are served a nutritious meal every day in the Monica Imanga’s soup kitchen, which has been the driving force behind HoGH Namibia for many years.

A new HoGH football team

Due to corona, there was no possibility to play in competition and they have only been able to train to a very limited extent. There are also too few suitable football fields and due to the recent winter break (it is winter there when it is summer in Europe) football got off to a slow start. And like all children in the world, they love to play and run around with a ball. But now there is an enthusiastic HoGH football team again and they are also working on a netball team for girls.

It's not just about winning. With Peacemaker Imanga (Monica’s son) and coach Morres, serious work is being done to offer sports opportunities for the children of HoGH. The coach said: "We have a very young team and are now 13th in the league in which 16 teams participate. But it's not just about winning. Personal development, having fun with each other and making new friends is also of great importance. We also occasionally let some older children from the neighborhood participate in the training and hope to motivate the younger children."

The HoGH Nederland’s sponsorship makes it possible that they can register for the competition, have a drink and get an extra snack, get football equipment and transport can be used. Although... they walk 6 km to the competition field (a kind of warm-up ...) and afterwards a van takes them back. They change clothes at the edge of the field, the football clothes are in 1 size and therefore too big for the smaller children. There aren’t any showers but that doesn’t spoil the fun.

You can tell the Youth Football Team Home of Good Hope are having lots of fun, They are super enthusiastic and very proud of their outfit. And the goalkeeper is happy to show off his new gloves. 

In this movie a small preview >>>

september onder nieuw

 

 

 

 

Introducing a new teacher

July 2022

A new teacher is teaching the children of the Home of Good Hope (HoGH) soup kitchen in Windhoek.

The new teacher's name is Elizabeth Kudumo. She is 45 years old, married and has four children. She has a Grade 12 certificate.

Elizabeth worked in various places until her husband became very ill at work. She was asked to choose between her job and taking care of her sick husband. It is clear that she chose to take care of her husband.

She has been doing volunteer work at HoGH for a number of years now. She felt like doing something extra for the children of the soup kitchen and can also use her didactic skills for that. In collaboration and with the help of Monica and Elisia, the other teacher, this is becoming increasingly successful. Helping the children gives her great satisfaction.

juli onder

 

 

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