Banner Left
Banner Right

Kindergarten comes closer to Green Valley’s toddlers

LEARNING … The establishment of an early childhood development centre at Green Valley is creating hope for children who live far away from the rest of the Walvis Bay community. Photo: Taati Niilenge

The children of Green Valley, also known as Farm 37 outside Walvis Bay, wake up early and excitedly make their way to the residence of Emma Gaweses.

An early childhood development centre was recently established on Gaweses’ premises by Marlene and Gunleif Berjastein from the Faroe Islands in Denmark.

The couple learned about the community through social media updates, which are regularly posted by Walvis Bay councillor Ryan Gordon, on the happenings at the town.

“I have been following the updates by the councillors since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Some of the updates included the living conditions of Farm 37 residents. My husband and I decided to reach out to this community last year.

“We travelled to Walvis Bay and visited the area, where we asked Emma what she needs for the children. She wanted to start a school and have a safe place to keep children busy. We thus offered to buy material to build the centre,” says Marlene.

Apart from donating the building materials in November, the couple also volunteered with construction.

The children are taught for free by Gaweses, a security officer at a fishing factory at Walvis Bay who shows up for the children despite walking up as early as 03h00 to walk about 9km to and from Walvis Bay for work.

“It has been my childhood dream to work with children. It was difficult to see them walking around idle, especially as the area experienced a lot of wind. I started with a small soup kitchen on 10 June 2024 at my plot. Councillor Gordon, who usually comes to check on the community, kept motivating me to continue and usually dropped off some donated food. We have about 140 children here, with about 40 attending school at Walvis Bay. The rest are under six and need a pre-school. I, therefore, started a kindergarten programme,” Gaweses says.

She started building a structure with a few pieces of corrugated iron sheets until Marlene visited the area and assisted with more corrugated iron sheets and material for the roof. The school, however, still needs tables and chairs.

The children show up to the centre around 06h30 and stay until 17h00, while some parents walk to Walvis Bay to find small jobs or sell goods.

Gaweses says although the children are safely inside the building, she still worries about the lack of food, as the children usually look forward to their lunch break.

The residents, some of which are Twaloloka fire victims, consist of Walvis Bay vulnerable families who were relocated to the area.

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News