We have supported basic education of children in Katutura, Windhoek, Namibia for 22 years since 2003.  In June 2024 we registered 7 primary school children as required for rhe 2025 school year.  We support necessary uniforms, basic clothing, school stationery, school sports and outdoor cool weather clothing needs, very basic school lunch support,  and medical needs.  

Since we began this effort the first children we assisted this way through pre-primary and high school have become young adults building their careers and skills.  To date we have been there for 7 we knew as young children and are now adults and we currently have 7 children from our extended family in school in 2025. 

Namibia has very limited public education funding and it is a major challenge for parents to afford school.  Beautiful Namibia won its freedom from Apartheid rule of South Africa in 1980,  but is still one of the most income inequitable countries in the world. From USAID:

“Since Namibia’s independence in 1990, the country has made tremendous strides in establishing a democratic, viable nation. Namibia has a free press, an independent judiciary, well-protected property rights, and a fairly good labor market…….Namibia remains highly affected by the epidemic, high levels of income disparity, a high unemployment rate, and a struggling economy. These challenges were aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic despite the government’s effort to mitigate its impact.”

Many thousands of people are living in metal shacks in post Apartheid locations or ghettos. Young parents compete for jobs that pay $100-200 USD for an either month’s work if employed,  and struggle with food costs comparable to those in the USA. Medical care is out of pocket beyond basic services of clinics,  lack of public transportation requires use of taxi to work,  food shopping, and services and many Namibian children are left out of the schools.  Today the schools are struggling with the high demand.

There Is nothing more important beyond survival for parents to send their children to school.  Children in Namibia know they are very fortunate to go to school,  where their future and country’s future is nourished.

We also have found support to assist children coming from high school with training and efforts to build careers.  We need continuing support for this.  

This year we are also facing food security and nutrition challenges.  We plan to improve this with bulk buying and selling locally to help offset costs for nutritious food, and help children with stronger nutrition support and immune system responses. 

Our basic school budget is currently $4400.00 USD for primary and high school education.  Our appeal is set for an amount to assist with special classes,  medical issues,  access to internet and self education,  and secondary training to help graduating high schoolers find meaningful employment and training. 

The children Bill first met at ages 4 to 18 are now proud young adults working to build their in an extremely inequitable economy with very high employment and low wage rates. Despite these challenges we experience their triumphs together. 

We have assisted with medical costs such as doctor visits, pharmacy, and essential hospital procedures for children, young adults and parents.  Those costs alone in 2023 were over $2000 USD.

As a long term commitment we hope to improve our effort to help adults progress in their career efforts in the coming year, and with internet access to share links and helpful information  on health and self education.  A child we sent to school, having met her at the age of 5, has created a modeling portfolio, trained in graphic design, has completed business administration training, is working on her first book on her journey with God, and is now working with international construction firm.  She has brothers who have businesses repairing and reselling cell phones and computers.  Everyone is finding their way, and there is a deep feeling of faith and gratitude in this family.

We are 100% volunteer and our only overhead costs are phone data and sending fees.  We work in partnership with young adults to make decisions together and celebrate and verify our progress as a family.  We communicate using WhatsApp for documents, photos, and reporting.  

 We call this our Handshake Project,  based on familial trust, love,  and mutual respect, and made possible by modern connectivity which allows us all to grow together in spirit and mutual empowerment.