Hope Village becomes reality

THE first room of the Hope Village has been inaugurated by the Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Marlene Mungunda, and the General Manager of Standard Bank, Mpumzi Pupuma.

The bricklaying ceremony was held a mere five months ago and earlier this month the first seven children from across the country moved into their new home. The Hope Village does not only give these children a roof over their heads but also gives them a place they can call home, a place where they can have hopes and dreams.Standard Bank is sponsoring the Hope Village to the tune of N$100 000.The staff of the bank’s Katutura branch also helped to unpack, clean and decorate the house over the past weekend to get it ready for the arrival of the children.The bank furnished the house and kitchen, it also paid for all the built-in cupboards and new kitchen equipment.”We want to show the children that they are special and that they mean something and have worth by giving them new things and not just second-hand stuff,” said Pastor Marietjie de Klerk, the founder of Hope Village.The village, one completed, will give refuge to people who are affected by and infected with HIV-AIDS – people who have been rejected by their communities because of their HIV status, children and babies whom nobody wants and AIDS sufferers.The Hope Village will be the first of its kind in Namibia and only the second in the world, with the first one being in Johannesburg.The clinic at the village will be staffed by doctors volunteering two hours’s service a week.Only people how are infected with HIV-AIDS can come to the clinic for help.The main focus will be on infected mothers and their children.The main aim of the Hope Village is that the children are not separated from their mothers, as often happens when the mother gets ill, goes to hospital and never returns home.In the village social workers and psychologists will look after the emotional, intellectual and physical well-being of each child and they will be with the child every step of the way.The Village will seek scholarships for children who show intellectual promise so that they can go to university and lead productive lives in their communities.The other children will receive practical training so that they too can earn a living and make something of their lives and become productive citizens.Pastor De Klerk says they agree with Government that each child belongs in a family home with a mother and father, and not in an institution.Hope Village is not an institution but rather a townhouse complex where different people live.She says it is also a shared dream with Government to place the children into foster homes, but sadly the reality is that it is very difficult to find people who are willing to adopt children.”I dream to give the children a home which is as close to a home as what I would want my own children to have,” she says.People who are interested in helping the Hope Village by either material donations or donations of their time are welcome to phone Andreen Moncur at 081 124 8386.The Hope Village does not only give these children a roof over their heads but also gives them a place they can call home, a place where they can have hopes and dreams.Standard Bank is sponsoring the Hope Village to the tune of N$100 000.The staff of the bank’s Katutura branch also helped to unpack, clean and decorate the house over the past weekend to get it ready for the arrival of the children.The bank furnished the house and kitchen, it also paid for all the built-in cupboards and new kitchen equipment.”We want to show the children that they are special and that they mean something and have worth by giving them new things and not just second-hand stuff,” said Pastor Marietjie de Klerk, the founder of Hope Village.The village, one completed, will give refuge to people who are affected by and infected with HIV-AIDS – people who have been rejected by their communities because of their HIV status, children and babies whom nobody wants and AIDS sufferers.The Hope Village will be the first of its kind in Namibia and only the second in the world, with the first one being in Johannesburg.The clinic at the village will be staffed by doctors volunteering two hours’s service a week.Only people how are infected with HIV-AIDS can come to the clinic for help.The main focus will be on infected mothers and their children.The main aim of the Hope Village is that the children are not separated from their mothers, as often happens when the mother gets ill, goes to hospital and never returns home.In the village social workers and psychologists will look after the emotional, intellectual and physical well-being of each child and they will be with the child every step of the way.The Village will seek scholarships for children who show intellectual promise so that they can go to university and lead productive lives in their communities.The other children will receive practical training so that they too can earn a living and make something of their lives and become productive citizens.Pastor De Klerk says they agree with Government that each child belongs in a family home with a mother and father, and not in an institution.Hope Village is not an institution but rather a townhouse complex where different people live.She says it is also a shared dream with Government to place the children into foster homes, but sadly the reality is that it is very difficult to find people who are willing to adopt children.”I dream to give the children a home which is as close to a home as what I would want my own children to have,” she says.People who are interested in helping the Hope Village by either material donations or donations of their time are welcome to phone Andreen Moncur at 081 124 8386.