Your donations have helped make the following additions possible! Thank you for your support.
Solar Water Pump
Water is wealth, security, and life!
April 25th brought solar panels and a solar-powered water pumping system. CSN Manager Belinda Tsuses reports the system is running “perfectly well” and automatically pumps water. This is a great time saver for Groundskeepers Zuma and Johannes, who are turning their efforts to other needed projects, such as expanding the gardens and making bricks for a new soup kitchen. The solar-powered pump also saves CSN petrol costs.
Shade Netting/ Greenhouse Installed
June brought the arrival of a new greenhouse.
The shade netting/greenhouse is 2.5 m tall and 15m x 30m in size. Shown here is a winter crop of spinach. It is hoped that our CSN gardeners (Joel Zuma and Johannes Kafuru) will receive further assistance/instruction from the Ministry of Agriculture or a local farmers group.
Excitingly, the planting of a citrus orchard is also underway.
Soup Kitchen News
Since this picture was taken last year, the number of children fed through CSN’s soup kitchen has swelled. CSN assists in fighting malnutrition in Drimiopsis, the constituency, and the region. Our agent in Namibia, Helge Mercker, reports, “The Omaheke region (where Drimiopsis is located) is declared as the highest rate of child malnutrition and child death due to starvation in the country. Thus, we will do all we can to help hungry children. At times, we have over 200 children coming for a meal three times per week.”
Belinda Tsuses, the CSN Manager, reports 180+ children receive a regular soup kitchen meal three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. CSN is grateful to the Soup Kitchen volunteers who prepare the meal in large pots over an open fire.
The drought in Southern Africa will affect 24 million people this year—the worst in 100 years. In April, the Governor’s office donated food to CSN, but food donations have been sporadic since then.
A new Soup Kitchen Begins
A new soup kitchen is planned to accommodate the increased number of children receiving a meal from the soup kitchen. The land has been cleared, and Zuma and Johannes have started making bricks for the structure, which will include a shaded area for the waiting children. CSN hopes to purchase a gas stove to replace the traditional way of gathering wood to cook over an open fire.