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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Farewell visiting and good works

I am spending a few days in Okahandja which
is on my way to the capital and which will
eventually lead me to home.
I am visiting with the home stay family that I lived
with when I first arrived in Namibia back in February
2009.
When we are trainees we stay with a family
which can last anywhere between 8 to 10 weeks.
I have stayed in touch with the family over the years
and have visited with them several times. I was
invited to the baptism of a baby girl from one of the
family members. I will post info on that a little later.

 The main topic of this post is shown in the
picture posted above.
In the photo is Tony and he is sitting within his
restaurant right here in Okahandja. It is called
the Garden Cafe and I first went there in February
2011. At that time I was spending a week at the
training of a new group of volunteers. I heard about
the cafe and since then, every time I am in town, it
is a must stop ... daily.
The cafe was opened and managed by Tony and
his wife Catherine. They opened it in November
2010 and have seen it grow and prosper ever since.
The cafe is more than just a cafe and it is actually
the foundation of what would best be described in
the USA as an ... 'inner city project'.
The project is religious based and I am not going
to write on that aspect but instead, I will focus on the
developmental side of it.
The project that Tony and Catherine are offering is
one that which takes youth between ages of 19 to 29
and gives them training and skill to become workers
within the restaurant/lodge industry.
Here in the cities of Namibia it is very difficult for
the youth to find a job and let alone get any work
experience to be able to develop any form of CV
(resume). It is the proverbial catch 22 and a huge
challenge for the youth.
 
The course is a 12 weeks course and it consists
of improving English, mathematics, hospitality,
cooking and basic restaurant management plus
some time for the bible and character building.
Also upon completion they have a chance to
work in the restaurant and build up the CV a bit.
It has been an overwhelming success with three
groups completing the course and another one
soon to finish. As of now of the 34 youth that
have enrolled in the program only 1 had dropped
out. The one had to drop out as a result of a life
situation and not because of a lack on interest.
The number of participants is limited to a maximum
of 10 per course, more or less and this insures a
quality learning experience. Tony and Catherine
say that they prefer to have their program
emphasize quality over quantity.
With the struggle of finding employment and
in essence, a path in life, some of those that have
completed the course have mentioned that before
they joined that they were contemplating suicide
due to frustration and despair.

The news of their course has reached the
capital and a few of those whom participated
have gotten jobs in lodges. Also, the reputation
of their project is expanding and many businesses
are inquiring and are ready to accept any of
the youth, virtually sight unseen. An incredible
compliment for their program.

It is funny how we meet people. They are from the
mid-west of the USA and if they weren't here and
of course, I wasn't here, we never would have met.
We both have the same goal of helping and it is
refreshing to meet people who are concerned
about the youth of Namibia.

I only will put my reputation on the line for people
or projects that I feel are good, run well and have
the honest goal of helping. Well, this is one of those
projects.

They do have a blog address and I encourage
anyone to 'Click Here' if you'd like to visit it.
It is religious based but there is some contact info
if anyone is interested or have inquiries.

It has been a great honor for me to have met
Tony and Catherine.

It is a good feeling to see people such as these
doing the good work they do, selflessly.

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