During the Covid-19 pandemic, Solitaire Lodge and &Beyond started working with the school, supporting a soup kitchen and providing essential food items for the scholars and their families. As a result of this engagement, the community and school leadership asked &Beyond and Africa Foundation to help them develop the school and address the needs of the community.
Following a basic needs assessment and consultative process, it was agreed that the priority should be the construction of a multipurpose center, including:
• A kitchen, dining hall and storeroom – to enable the hygienic preparation, cooking and consumption of meals.
• A media center and library – to provide a safe space for scholars to study, and socialize after school, thereby reducing the chances of them falling victim to drugs and or abuse alcohol to cope.
• Additional ablution Facilities – to improve overall school hygiene.
The center will also serve as a connection point for the entire community. A local Non-Government Organization – Women’s Action for Development, has committed to use the center to provide training in a number of fields, including hospitality and tourism, office administration, tailoring and needlework, human rights, constitutional rights, gender-based violence.
Namibia is situated on the southwest coast of Africa, with its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. The country covers an area of 823 290 km2 (317,874 sq. mi) with a population of 2,598,070 people. Poverty is a serious problem in Namibia with 34.9% of the population living off less than 1 USD per day. Namibia has an unemployment rate of 22%, the country’s economy is based primarily on agriculture, tourism and mining, specifically diamonds.
Africa Foundation and &Beyond’s work in Namibia is anchored by the Sossusvlei conservation landscape within the Namib-Naukluft National Park and the &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge Private Conservation Area. Maltahöhe is located in Southern Namibia, roughly 300 kilometers south of Windhoek. The town is home to roughly 6,000 people. The town used to be a centre for karakul sheep farming, but this branch of agriculture has been shrinking. Unemployment is high with only about 500 residents in possession of some sort of job and consequently alcohol abuse is common.
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