Welcome friends, to our fourth Annual General Meeting for our Children’s Sanctuary Namibia Society! Thank you for joining us and thank you for all the ways you supported CSNS last year. Some of you have been donors since we were first registered as a charity in 2018. Your loyal, generous support has made possible what we are reporting on today.
The start of 2022 was also the start of a new life for 16 of the most at-risk children in Drimiopsis. The building erected in 2021 was made habitable in January and February of 2022 by installing water pipes, toilets, showers, electrical wiring and so on. Supplies needed were purchased or donated, including furniture, appliances, cooking and kitchen utensils, bedding, hygiene items, cleaning supplies and clothes for the children. A medicine cabinet was built and stocked according to a list created by a pharmacist friend of Helge. Zuma and Johannes created and painted a playground with funds donated by CSNS.
By February of 2022, Helge had hired a manager, Belinda Tsuses, who moved into the house with her two school age children. Belinda immediately set to work, guided by CSN board member Lazarus Musambani. Because of his many years running a residential care home for orphaned children and dealing with the Ministries involved, he is an invaluable teacher and mentor for Belinda and the house mothers. Lazarus was entrusted by the Ministry to choose which of the more than 70 children requiring a home would be the first to move in. By March, the house was ready, the kitchen full of food, the children’s dressers full of clothes, all preparations made for the move in day of March 7th.
At first the children were apprehensive, as this was a huge step into the unknown. Very soon, they began to feel safe and to thrive, responding to the loving care of dedicated caregivers. For the first time in their young lives, they have health care, support with their schooling, enjoy celebrations for their birthdays and holidays, and are learning their cultural heritage from Grandmother Ita. As you heard Sonja say, they each have a bed to call their own, 3 nutritious meals a day, a home and a family to return to after school.
The fund-raising strategies you supported in 2022 included a house concert, a plant sale, birthday appeals, a Christmas appeal, the sale of popsicles at Canyon Heights Elementary School and Giving Tuesday. It is amazing when you realize these humble efforts raised enough money to change the course of these children’s lives.
In this current year of 2023, we continue to support CSN to enrich the lives of these children, and the many children still awaiting the security of their own home. Our primary objectives continue to be the support of the Mother House, the Food Programs and the garden expansion.
We aim to help CSN to:
1) create a citrus orchard,
2) Buy fertilizer and seeds to grow crops including carrots, spinach, onions, cabbage, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beets, squash, corn and melons.
3) Grow excess food to sell to community members, enriching their nutrition and generating income to make the garden self-sustaining
4) Expand the garden and purchase shade netting to protect the plants during the intensely hot summers to ensure nutritious crops to supplement the children’s meals year-round, at the Mother House, the kindergarten, and the soup kitchen.
5) Provide the operational costs for the MH, including salaries, food, diesel, trips to Gobabis for shopping, medical needs, and banking.
Our goal for 2023 is to raise $35,000 CAD. This will cover:
1) Operational costs for Mother House, the food programs (MH, kindergarten and
soup kitchen) and the garden – approximately $30,000 CAD
2) Garden expansion – planting a citrus orchard, adding vegetables and fruits,
supplying protective shade netting – costing approximately $5000 CAD.
We are also pleased to announce we are joining CSN in a special international fund-
raising effort to bring power to the Sanctuary complex. The MH was prepared for
electrical hookup in early 2022. At the time, the official authorized to provide power
promised to do so but more than a year later that has not been forthcoming. While no
formal explanation has been given, the provision of power is unlikely at a time when
Namibia, South Africa and their neighbours are experiencing severe drought conditions
and extended power outages. Rationing of electricity is a fact of life in all these
countries.
Given these circumstances, the CSN board has decided to invest in solar power.
Together, we are raising money for the purchase and installation of solar panels. These
will be a reliable source of energy for the MH and Sanctuary land, meeting needs for
heat, light, appliances, computer and phone, as well as running the water pump that
supplies water for the house and garden. The estimate for materials and installation is
$21,000 CAD.
It is a joy to collaborate with the CSN board and the people of Drimiopsis to support
their children to grow into adults capable of enriching the quality of life in their
community. We could not do this without your generous hearts. You help us raise up a
community in ways guided by and contributed to by the people themselves. We thank
you from the bottom of our hearts. We hope you will continue to journey with us on this
great adventure, an adventure that is life-changing for all! Thank you for your attention.