Project Update July 2025
The Little House of Hope has once again developed very positively in recent months.
Our children worked very diligently and highly motivated in the first half of the school year. The approximately 70 children we newly admitted to our kindergarten and preschool classes this year, as our older preschoolers moved up to the 1st grade, have settled in very well.
And our new first graders, who attended our preschool last year, were very well prepared this way and have successfully started their school life. Every afternoon after school, they now return to the Little House of Hope full of pride and drive, receive a warm meal – often the only one of the day – and then attend afternoon classes. Our afternoon teacher, Annetjie, practices reading, writing, and arithmetic with them – and the kids are always full of fun and energy!
This is primarily thanks to our experienced team of dedicated teachers, who do everything to make the children feel at home at the Little House of Hope from the very beginning. Only when children, who often live in difficult circumstances and sometimes come to us traumatized, find a positive, supportive environment and trust, are they able to learn and develop.
The fact that we at Little House of Hope, together with MYO, our partner organization on the same premises in Mondesa Township of Swakopmund, are like a big family, is repeatedly confirmed to us by various parties – employees, alumni, visitors, volunteers, etc.
Read the latest events and developments from our “family” here on our website or in our quarterly newsletter!
A New Bus for MYO and the Little House of Hope
Thanks to the numerous donations received in the first months of 2025, we were able to acquire a new bus, together with Rotary sponsors, for our partner organization Mondesa Youth Opportunities (MYO), which will also be used by the children of the Little House of Hope.
This way, we can finally take our children on excursions and show them educational content live, for example, from the animal and plant world, or visit the local fire department or the museum in Swakopmund. Such excursions are important for the children to get to know their surroundings and their country better. Many of them have never left the township they live in. Thus, the new bus now enriches our lessons.
Many thanks to all donors who made this possible!!
The children at the Little House of Hope, together with our volunteers Emma and Neele, painted one of the long walls that border our school grounds towards Mondesa Township.
With great joy and creativity, they created a wonderful mural – inspired by the nature and animals in their home country Namibia. The children had the most fun painting colorful leaves on the trees with their handprints!
With these activities, we foster the imagination and creativity of the children at the Little House of Hope and give them the opportunity to develop and flourish positively outside of reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Many thanks for this great project, Emma and Neele!
Successful Start to School Life
Abigail, Liina, and Ailly are among the new first graders who attended our preschool last year. They were very well prepared this way and have successfully started their 1st year of school!
Every afternoon after school, they now return to the Little House of Hope full of pride and drive, receive a warm meal – often the only one of the day – and then attend afternoon classes. Our afternoon teacher, Annetjie, practices reading, writing, and arithmetic with them – and the kids are always full of fun and energy!
Our support works!
We have been successfully collaborating with MYO in Swakopmund for 10 years now. Our educational facilities are located on the same premises in Mondesa Township and are managed by our manager Anke Husemeyer.
During our last visit, we had the opportunity to meet some of the former Little House of Hope children who are now supported by MYO. For example, 14-year-old Shoombe in our video attended our Little House of Hope from kindergarten to 3rd grade and was then supported by our partner organization MYO until 8th grade. Now he is an “alumnus” and continues to the 9th grade at Namib High School. It was wonderful and moving to speak with him and learn how much he values the time spent in our educational institutions.
Project Update December 2024
Another year full of bad news, conflicts, and armed conflicts in the world is coming to an end. Namibia also continues to struggle with high unemployment, especially in the townships, the ongoing crisis in the education sector, and this year, additionally, with a major drought.
Good news from our institution is a true ray of hope! For example, it is very gratifying that all children in our preschool classes have successfully completed the school year and can now start 1st grade next year. As part of our Christmas celebration, which took place at the end of November this year due to the presidential elections in Namibia, we were able to present the proud children with their graduation certificates.
Furthermore, we had another reason to celebrate this year: Our Early Learning Center is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year!
As you know, the Little House of Hope Foundation was established in 2007 with the aim of improving the difficult living conditions of children in the townships and enabling them a better perspective through systematic support of their academic development. After initial projects in Windhoek and Keetmanshop, we found an ideal site in the coastal city of Swakopmund in Mondesa Township and have been operating our Early Learning Center there since 2014, consisting of a kindergarten, a preschool, and an after-school care center for grades 1 to 3. With this unique project, we have been offering children from the extremely problematic environment there a place where they can learn and develop freely for 10 years now.
That the focus on early childhood education and the decision to offer a coherent overall pedagogical concept together with our partner organization MYO, which is dedicated to academic support for grades 4 to 8, were correct, is shown by our graduation rates: While almost 50 percent of all students in Namibia leave the often overcrowded and underfunded schools without a degree or further qualification, the students supported by us and MYO achieve a 100% pass rate in their final exams!
In 2024, we were also able to successfully further develop our foundation – thanks again to your generous support:
At the beginning of the year, we admitted another class in our newly built classroom. This way, we can now provide 25 more children from the surrounding township with better education and prospects. The children of the “Dolphin” class have settled in very well and are learning with great enthusiasm and diligence! In total, with your help, we now support more than 200 preschool and primary school children at the Little House of Hope.
However, our foundation has also developed further in terms of quality. Our teachers have again participated in various further training measures – including primary school curriculum, the development of their pedagogical skills, but also topics such as first aid and mental health. We are very happy to have such a stable and dedicated team of teachers and management on site for 10 years now! Without this, all our efforts here in Germany would be in vain.
Finally, allow us to ask for further support – currently against the background that prices for food and energy in Namibia have risen sharply, and we also have to cover the costs for the ongoing operation of our newly admitted class – i.e., costs for teaching staff, teaching materials, care, etc. – additionally next year. Your help is therefore still and always more than welcome!
New Children’s Books!
In cooperation with its employees, PageGroup Germany organized a collection where more than 100 English children’s books were gathered. In late summer, the books were sent by ship to Namibia and arrived there a few days ago. The children’s joy was immense! They could hardly wait to dive into unknown adventures with the new books and discover new pictures and stories.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated! The books make an important contribution to the education and development of our children.
You can see how grateful the children are in our short film:
2nd Charity Golf Tournament
At the end of June, we invited guests to our second Charity Golf Tournament at the Golf- und Land-Club Kronberg e.v. in Taunus. Around 40 players participated in the handicap-effective 18-hole tournament despite initial rainy weather and had a lot of fun playing. Many young players and supporters were also present.
At the subsequent get-together in the club restaurant, the winners of the tournament as well as the Little House of Hope were in the spotlight. We extend our sincere thanks to all donors for their great support!
Project Update July 2024
Our foundation has developed enormously in recent months.
After we were able to build a 5th classroom last year – with your help – and admit another 25 children at the beginning of this year, we now teach 125 children in the mornings and 80 children in the afternoons in our kindergarten and preschool program. If you add the children of our partner organization MYO, which cares for students in grades 4-8, a total of 325 children currently benefit from our joint support.
All of this is only possible, on the one hand, thanks to our loyal, generous donors, but on the other hand, primarily thanks to our dedicated and reliable local management, which we have had in Vera Leech and Anke Husemeyer for many years. And – also very important – thanks to our stable and well-trained team of a total of 20 local teachers.
Now it is our concern to put the new preschool class on a stable financial footing as well. Therefore, the donations we collect this year will primarily be used to finance the ongoing operation of this class, i.e., for teachers, teaching materials, and meals for the children.
And depending on how many donations we receive, on the occasion of our 10th anniversary, which we are celebrating with our project in Swakopmund this year, we would like to organize a small anniversary celebration with the children at the Little House of Hope. We are very much looking forward to it!
“The differentiated support at the Little House of Hope impressed us greatly”
Our board member Armin Schmidt and his wife Astrid traveled through beautiful Namibia in March with their friends Gaby and Marcus Debus, also supporters of the foundation, and also stopped at the Little House of Hope in Swakopmund. Gaby and Marcus Debus, who visited the Little House of Hope for the first time, were very impressed by the children’s eagerness to learn and discipline, but also by their infectious cheerfulness – despite all difficult living conditions.
“We were very much looking forward to getting to know the Little House of Hope in person! We were able to visit various groups, e.g., the kindergarten, a preschool class, grade 1, and sports lessons. The children were enthusiastic everywhere and worked wonderfully, each according to their abilities. Some of the materials were self-made and very well adapted to the children’s needs. This is particularly important because the children come from difficult backgrounds. Here, the different potentials that each child has must be fostered. This differentiated support at the Little House of Hope impressed us greatly! It is very important and valuable that the Little House of Hope has such dedicated and well-trained teachers.”
Gaby Debus, retired teacher
An article in The Namibian from 2024-02-15 once again shows how important it is to systematically promote skills in preschool and primary school with our private initiative and thereby enable children to have a better perspective.
Some high school pupils struggle to read and write
by Donald Matthys
A NEW report by a parliamentary standing committee has pinpointed the chief factor behind the high failure rate of grades 11 and 12 pupils in the 2022 academic year: the automatic progression of students to the next grade without learning basic competencies like reading and writing.
……
Read the full article.
The PageGroup is the new corporate sponsor of the Little House of Hope
We are very pleased that we have found a new partner and corporate sponsor for the Little House of Hope in PageGroup Germany! Managing Director Goran Baric handed over the first check to our board member Kathrin Lochmüller.
The money was primarily used for the interior finishing and teaching materials of the newly built classroom. We also purchased new musical instruments for the children.
A huge thank you from our children in Namibia to all employees of PageGroup Germany!
About PageGroup:
PageGroup is an international recruitment consultancy and comprises the brands Michael Page, Page Personnel, Page Executive, and Page Outsourcing. The company was founded in the UK in 1976, is listed on the FTSE 250, and has offices in 37 countries worldwide. Employers looking for employees, as well as candidates who want to advance their careers, will find experts at PageGroup who understand their market and can draw on the resources and expertise of a global network, as well as offering excellent service. The company is actively involved in selected educational projects as part of its CSR strategy.
Project Update December 2023
Even though Namibia is not one of the conflict hotspots in the world, we should not lose sight of the fact that the country still deserves our very special attention.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism, which accounts for a third of Namibia’s economic output, has not yet nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels. Unemployment is extremely high, especially in the townships, including Mondesa, where our Little House of Hope is located. And the situation in the state education system remains catastrophic. Schools are almost everywhere overcrowded, underfunded, and characterized by high failure rates. Nearly 50% of all students in Namibia leave school without a diploma or further qualification.
As you know, this has been, for 10 years now, the starting point and motivation for our foundation’s work with a kindergarten, a preschool, and an after-school care center in Swakopmund. Together with our partner organization MYO, which is dedicated to providing supplementary educational support for grades 4 to 8, we are counteracting this trend and offering an effective comprehensive educational concept. The increasingly long waiting lists for our programs, year after year, should be seen as a clear seal of approval in this context. The fact that our approach is also correct in the medium and long term is proven by the fact that all students supported by us and MYO pass their final exams 100%!
In 2023, we were also able to successfully further develop our foundation – thanks again to your generous support:
In the photos, you can see the fifth classroom, built “brick by brick,” which has now been completed, plus a large shaded open area used for gatherings and celebrations. We are very pleased that with the new classroom, starting next school year, we can accommodate 25 more children from the surrounding township and enable them to have a better education and future! In total, with your help, we now support more than 150 preschool and elementary school children at the Little House of Hope.
However, our foundation has not only developed in terms of space but also in quality over the past months. In the first half of the year, we carried out extensive measures for the further qualification of our teachers. Among other things, there were training courses on the preschool curriculum, lesson design, reading promotion, the development of mathematical skills, as well as mobility training and sports education. The new methods and insights were received by our teachers with great joy and motivation and have since been successfully applied.
With Vera Leech, Chairwoman and Trustee of our partner organization MYO, and Anke Husemeyer, who is responsible for the operational management of MYO and Little House of Hope in a dual role, we are in the fortunate position of having a very experienced and trustworthy local management team that not only organizes daily school life with dedication and passion but also constantly works on improving and further developing educational support for our children. What’s more: All our efforts here in Germany would be in vain if we didn’t have a reliable and well-managed team on site! It is also worth mentioning that by continuously employing ten teachers, we make a significant contribution to job security and to supporting the respective families in the region.
Finally, allow us to ask for further support – currently, given that our new classroom still needs to be furnished and equipped with appropriate teaching materials. Furthermore, admitting 25 additional children entails significant extra costs for teachers and the daily meals for the new children, which we will need to cover starting next year. Therefore, your help is still, and always will be, more than welcome!
