Education, Nutrition, Health and Safety to 60 Kids

Dear friends, 

And now we are 60! 

This year we have decided to expand and introduce a kindergarden group of 15 four–year-olds. These little ones are really sweet but have been quite exhausting at the beginning. In addition we have 15 kids attending our pre-school and a large number of the older school-going children in the afternoon.

Our cook, Meme Dina, had a difficult time during the first few weeks. It was quite a challenge to estimate the right amounts of ingredients for 70 persons and to cope with cooking pots which were too small. By now she however has everything under control again.

Although we now care for more children than in previous years there are still many whom we sadly cannot accommodate. There are just too many children in need of support. As always our waiting list was very long this year and we had to decline many applications because we just did not have enough space.

The biggest stress however arose from the fact that our teacher Junias unexpectedly resigned – and this by sms one day before he was due to start classes after the Christmas holidays. Junias worked for Mammadu right from the beginning. In those days he had no formal teaching qualifications and we financed his studies over the past years. It was difficult to find a suitable replacement in such short notice, but we have managed.  Our new teacher is strict, which is good, and also fluent in Afrikaans which was always our Achilles heel. The children have grown accustomed to her and at present everything runs super again.

We also have a new driver for our bus now. Unfortunately during the first few weeks he always forgot a couple of kids at one school. Although it was frustrating, it is probably understandable considering that we transport a large number children to and from school. Everything however runs smoothly now, he knows the kids and is punctual and drives carefully.

From this year Augusto attends the Waldorf School. The teachers praise him a lot and he is proud of himself because he has always been top of his class. In the new school he has to take German as subject for the first time and still finds it difficult. Many of his class mates are German speaking and others already had German as a subject before. Sadly he was also bullied during his first weeks at school. Was it because he was new, because he is smaller than the others, because he is competent – who knows? It is difficult to find reasons for such behaviour. Augusto is also sensitive by nature which has made it very difficult for him to cope. We were in continuous conversation with the school, with him and with his fellow pupils and hope that matters will improve. It is however not easy and I can’t help worrying.

From this year onwards we have been assigned our own school doctor who visit Mammadu every Monday to examine our kids, do eye and ear tests, check their weight and whatever else is important so that we can consult a specialist if necessary. She is a volunteer who comes to us from America.

And finally, something to smile about! Several weeks ago Jerome, an Afro-American tourist visited us. He comes from a less priviledged family but nevertheless managed to qualify as a medical doctor. His idea was to speak to the children about his life, his experiences, his profession – and he did just that. His English had a strong American accent and even I had to concentrate to understand him. What the children remembered about him was however: “Mami, he talks like the people on the TV!“ And today they speak about him as the movie star.

We are very grateful for all of our volunteers and our donors! We would not have been able to expand this year to have more children. 

A lot has happened during the past months at Mammadu. 

We can be truly proud of our children: three of the children who attend the private school received a special distinction from their school for being among the best in their grade. The extra studying at Mammadu has paid off! A special thank you to all our volunteers who took care of the homework.

Our little ones also received their preschool diplomas of which they were very proud. Now they are feeling “big” because they can go to school next year. Many of them will stay on at Mammadu in the afternoons because we can now take in more children and also have the capacity to introduce an additional kindergarten class. This is because of the donations we have received! Now we are able to help more children and give more children a better future. We are so thankful for all of the support!

The American Embassy showed us their appreciation for the work we do and for the first time we celebrated Thanksgiving at Mammadu together with their staff. They prepared chicken instead of the traditional turkey for us – but what difference does that make! It was still very entertaining, especially when we asked the little ones how they would prepare a chicken. Most of the little ones cook the chicken with its feathers. Cooking time varies from 1 minute (this is probably a very hungry kid) to 5 days! And what ingredients do you use? The best answer was coca cola and chocolate to make it taste delicious. And Unomas told us that he simply gets his chicken by catching it in the street with his hands!

On the 5^th November we celebrated Mammadu’s 5^th birthday. This time the kids organized the programme for the show all by themselves. The topic was Circus and there were animals, clowns, acrobats, rappers, hula hoop dancers, jugglers … We practiced for weeks for the show and therefore I want to tell you more about the preparations. Augusto designed all the choreographies, and because we do not have mirrors at Mammadu practice took place in front of the television screen, wherein – as you know – one can see one’s reflection. With utmost patience Augusto must have repeated the steps with the others a thousand times. Practice for the acrobats outside was really hard and exhausting because it gets very hot in the afternoons and the practice mats get burning hot in the heat of the sun!  The children sang the Mammadu hymn as greeting. We had a birthday cake for Mammadu, and invited people from the community to celebrate with us. It was really a great day!

Another wedding! This time the entire celebration took place at Mammadu, even the marriage ceremony! The groom and bride have been friends of Mammadu several years and so they decided to tie the knot at the Mammadu Center. It was a unique wedding and the children had fun preparing a special show for the couple.  

Our bread!! Yes, yes we have started baking! For now it is only white and dark bread for toasting, rolls and a raisin loaf with icing. It smells wonderful and tastes heavenly. We already have several “larger“ clients who place their order and get their deliveries weekly. The bakers are really efficient. At the beginning there were a few hick-ups but now everything is running smoothly. For next year we hope to get more clients and extend our offer.

The school year is now coming to a close. For the past few weeks the children have been writing their exams. Some have gotten their final grades and others are still waiting. The children are very anxious because, every year, those who have passed all of their subjects get to go on a very exciting vacation. In the past we have taken the kids to Etosha and Swakopmund, so you can imagine that its a great way to motivate the kids to work hard and do well in school. This year, Kevin was jumping up and down when he got his report; he will be one of the children who gets to come with on our end-of-the-year adventure! We are so proud of him and all of the kids here; they are really fantastic!

Without your support, we would not be able to expand to help more children next year. Mammadu continues to grow and we can only thank our donors. We feel that just to say, “Thank you“ is not enough, but its all we can do for now. We hope each and every one of you can eventually come to visit Mammadu to see what you have helped to develop!

From all the children, staff, volunteers, parents, and community members who are involved with Mammadu, we wish you a Very Happy Holiday Season! Many, Many Blessings to You and Yours!