German town reaches out to Namibia

ROLAND Grebner, a maths and geography teacher from the Gymnasium Hochstadt an der Eisch in Germany, has collected 5 600 Euro (about N$45 500) among students, friends and townspeople for various projects in Namibia.

Through his donations in 2003 the Daddy Roland Grebner Disabled Centre in Oshakati could be built. The centre, the brainchild of Ruusa Mpingana Nashima, looks after mentally and physically disabled children from the surrounding area.Nashima, who also runs a kindergarten in Katutura, saw the need for such a place of safety for disabled children in 2000 when she first came into contact with a disabled boy at her kindergarten in Windhoek.The boy was not only disabled, but also severely neglected.After Ruusa took him in and worked with him, he learned to do basic things for himself.It was then that she first came into contact with Grebner and the idea of opening a centre in her hometown was born.Last year Grebner printed a calendar with photographs of Namibian children, which he sold in Germany to raise funds.The students at his school also wanted to help and collected money during an annual student festival, a Christmas market and a special church service where the collection money was donated to the projects in Namibia.Some of the 5 600 Euro raised in Germany will be used to upgrade and buy necessities for the disability centre in Oshakati.The soup kitchen in the Okahandja Park informal settlement and other community projects in Katutura will also benefit from this donation.The centre, the brainchild of Ruusa Mpingana Nashima, looks after mentally and physically disabled children from the surrounding area.Nashima, who also runs a kindergarten in Katutura, saw the need for such a place of safety for disabled children in 2000 when she first came into contact with a disabled boy at her kindergarten in Windhoek.The boy was not only disabled, but also severely neglected.After Ruusa took him in and worked with him, he learned to do basic things for himself.It was then that she first came into contact with Grebner and the idea of opening a centre in her hometown was born.Last year Grebner printed a calendar with photographs of Namibian children, which he sold in Germany to raise funds.The students at his school also wanted to help and collected money during an annual student festival, a Christmas market and a special church service where the collection money was donated to the projects in Namibia.Some of the 5 600 Euro raised in Germany will be used to upgrade and buy necessities for the disability centre in Oshakati.The soup kitchen in the Okahandja Park informal settlement and other community projects in Katutura will also benefit from this donation.