Salzman Kitchen, Dining Hall and Bunkhouses

Due to a generous donation by Alan and Tiara Salzman, we built a fully furnished kitchen, dining and congregation hall, contributed to bunk houses, and donated much needed supplies.

During a 2019 trip to Namibia, we visited the very rural Oshamukweni School on the northern border of Namibia. What we saw shocked us. Most of the 300 pupils came from villages between 12-26km away, requiring them to stay on school grounds during the school year. This included over 100 students that were 14 years old. Due to no school hostels, these children lived in shacks made of sticks and corrugated iron sheets, and they cooked their food on makeshift fire pits. Some students in closer proximity to the school used donkey carts to travel to school.

Kitchen

The fully furnished kitchen now allows the staff and children to prepare and cook meals in a sanitary kitchen. Now with showers and indoor toilets, both the students and the staff will no longer need to cook on wood fires or bathe outdoors. During the school day, the staff will be able to prepare lunch for the children in a much more sanitary structure with proper equipment, and will now have cold storage facilities to preserve perishable food.

Dining and Congregation Hall

The Dining and Congregation Hall serves as an area where students can congregate and eat in a sanitary conditions, instead on dirt floors of their shacks. It will also serve as a community meeting center for the entire community of 11 villages. This will encourage greater community participation at the school, and will enable greater visibility into ongoing challenges at the school. As the school makes some additional revenue by selling food and other small goods, the congregation hall will bring more business and increased revenue.

Bunkhouses

Currently under construction are two student bunkhouses, which will sleep 25 students each. More are planning to be built as additional donations are procured.

Washable Sanitary Pad Kits

In addition to building these structures, we donated 80 kits of washable sanitary pads (usable life of 3 years) for adolescent girls. Footsteps for Africa has partnered with a local Namibian organization, Ann’s Pads (based in Windhoek, Namibia), to manufacture washable pads locally and, when distributing them, give presentations to both young women and young men on menstruation.  What’s known as “period poverty” is a major problem in Namibia. A 2021 report found that one in four girls in Namibia cannot afford sanitary pads or clean underwear, 41% of girls think they shouldn’t run while menstruating, 59% think it’s private, and 71% would like to talk to someone about menstruation. Some girls miss school due to painful periods, or due to uncertainty about menstruation.