Namibian Christmas gifts

and delicious food

Friday, December 2nd to Sunday, December 4th (2nd Advent)

Come to the winter village in Kirchberg/Jagst

Namibian handicrafts,

Goulash soup, Kaiserschmarrn,

Namibian beer and much more

Friday, December 16 to Sunday, December 18 (4th Advent)

Come to the Christmas market in Öhringen in the castle courtyard

Namibian handicrafts,

two Namibian winter soups (with meat or vegan)

Tea, coffee, Amarula and chocolate muffins

14,481km

Three weeks of CITY CYCLING in Pfedelbach are over and in “Team Namibia” were 59 active cyclistsThese 59 people cycled a total of 14,481km and even beat the first place among all Pfedelbach teams and the third place of all teams in the Hohenlohe district. The average per person was 245km, three people even cycled over 1000km, and one of them cycled over 2000km in the three weeks.

Congratulations to all the drivers and to the team captain.

The entire team cycled for the association's projects in Namibia. Seven sponsors had pledged to donate 1 cent per kilometer cycled to school and children's projects in Namibia.

The seven sponsors are

· Achim Rohr from the cyclists’ meeting,

· Eberhard Bauer from the Bauer printing company,

· Karlheinz and Gudrun Ungerer from the Ungerer winery,

· Fritz Lösch from the Winzerstube in Windischenbach,

· Fabian Sinn from Erdbau GmbH,

· Mrs. Berner from Berner GmbH in Künzelsau

· and a seventh unnamed donor.

7 cents per kilometer, that's 7 times 14,481 cents, a total of €1,013.67.

Many thanks to the generous sponsors!

Especially the approx. 130 children the two soup kitchens and the 80 students The residents of the student dormitories are delighted about this. Due to the current difficult coronavirus situation and the war in Ukraine, many people in Namibia are once again lacking sufficient work, and many families are suffering from hunger, something that hasn't been as severe in recent years. 

10 Jahre

Namibia-Unterstützungsverein e.V.

Pfedelbach

Nach einem Zeitungsinterview am 1. Juni 2012 trafen sich ca. 10 Personen, um den Namibia-Unterstützungsverein zu gründen. Eine Satzung wurde ausgearbeitet, das erste Suppenküchen-Projekt angedacht und weitere Schwerpunkte überlegt.

10 Jahre ist das nun her!

Was ist in der Zwischenzeit alles passiert?

                                                                                      weiterlesen

32 years of independence

On March 21, 1990 Namibia became independent from South Africa and has been its own state ever since. During this time, a lot of good things have happened in Namibia, without wanting to deny the negative aspects. A stable democracy with many free and fair elections, three elected presidents took turns peacefully after their 10 years in office, people's self-confidence has increased significantly, there is surprisingly little corruption, water, electricity and communication are available everywhere, even if only on a pre-paid basis, the number of cars, stone houses and jobs has at least doubled - YES, Namibia can be proud of what has been achieved in the last 30 years. This year's weather is fitting. It has rained more everywhere than at any time in 11 years - Namibia is a GREEN country! Namibia can and must still work on some things, but this weekend is more a time for celebration, everyday life will return next week.

The government of Namibia can still do much in the area of post-secondary education in the coming years. In Germany, skilled workers are the backbone of economic success, and this must be the case in Namibia as well. However, there is still a long way to go before this happens, as education is a high cost for families. So far, the government only provides loans for very good qualifications or for a few training courses. But then living expenses, transport, and rent still have to be paid, which is impossible for most Namibians.

As a Namibia support organization, we now want to become more organized in this area, but this also involves considerable expense for us. In addition to the two soup kitchens, the toy library, and the 80 students in the student dormitories, we are already helping six young people get a one- or two-year apprenticeship this year. However, this costs us approximately €1,500 to €2,000 per apprenticeship per year. read more

The church clocks tick differently in Namibia

Confirmands from Untersteinbach support confirmands in Okombahe

In 1842, the first missionaries of the then Rhenish Mission arrived in Namibia. 180 years later, Namibia is a country largely shaped by Christianity. Approximately 90% of the population are baptized Christians. However, the church structure is completely different. There are no church taxes and no state donations to church institutions. The vast majority of Namibians are baptized Lutherans or other Protestants (approximately 65%), along with a large group of Catholics (approximately 22%) and Free African Churches, whose charismatic spirituality is becoming increasingly popular.

In Namibia, Christians are asked to pay for religious rituals. Baptisms, funerals, weddings, confirmations, etc. must be paid for. This income benefits the congregations and the pastors, as well as the church leadership. The parish council can set the amount itself; for example, a confirmation in a city can easily cost €100. In Okombahe, however, the price is around €40. In addition to the hymn book and a picture frame with the confirmation verse, the confirmands receive a headscarf and the boys a tie with the congregation's emblem. The parish council records the remainder as income, from which the pastor is then paid according to a salary scale. There are also some young people who are baptized at the time of confirmation. read more

Omikron in Namibia?

Notizen aus Namibia, 10. Januar 2022

In Namibia ist zurzeit Hochsommer, nun sind die Sommerferien seit dieser Woche offiziell beendet. Alle Schüler und Schülerinnen kommen von Ihren Eltern oder Verwandten, von den näheren Orten oder den entlegenen kleinen Farmen wieder zurück in ihr Schülerheim, in ihre Schule. Wieder freuen sich ca. 80 Kinder und Jugendliche, dass ihre Schülerheim-Kosten, ihre Schuluniform und einige kleine Extras für dieses Schuljahr schon bezahlt sind. Auch fünf junge Auszubildenden sind begeistert von der Chance, eine einfache Ausbildung für Jahr zu bekommen. Das ist ein neuer Lebensabschnitt für sie. Auch die zwei Suppenküchen mit den ca. 80, bzw. 40 Kindern starten jetzt wieder. Die Kleinkinder und die Grundschulkinder freuen sich zudem wieder auf die Toy-Library, einen Raum mit vielen interessanten Spielen und Materialien.

Danke für Ihre Spenden, mit deren Hilfe wir diese Projekte durchführen können. 

Und wie sieht es mit Corona in Namibia aus?

Der Einfluss der Omikron-Variante breitet sich auch in Namibia seit Ende November aus. Bis dahin waren die Zahlen sehr gering (Inzidenz unter 3), im Dezember stiegen die Zahlen deutlich an. Der bisherige Höhepunkt war am Heiligabend mit einer Inzidenz von 311. In den letzten zwei Wochen gehen die Inzidenzen deutlich zurück, heute liegen sie bei 116. Noch steigen die Todeszahlen an, aber nicht dramatisch. Bis auf wenige Einschränkungen (Masken, Abstand, Teilnehmerbegrenzungen, …) scheint das öffentliche Leben normal zu verlaufen.