Funds for Fire Safety in Namibia

MSR (Men on the Side of the Road), a Namibian non-profit organisation committed to empowering unemployed individuals through life skills development,vocational training, entrepreneurship support, and job placement. MSR has been actively working with over 3000 unemployed residents in Windhoek, Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, supporting communities to imrpove their livelihoods and become economically self-reliant. All work done by MSR, is at no cost to all MSR members. 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) students in collaboration with MSR completed an interactive qualifying research project to better understand the factors contributing to shack fires in informal settlements in Namibia. The reserach project specifically looked at fire risks in Windhoek, Swakopmund, and Walvis Bay. The reasearch included more than 100 resident questionnaires, 50 shack observations and interviews with the Fire Chiefs of the 3 towns. The key risks identified included cooking and open flames, unsafe electrical connections, fammable building materials, closely spaced shacks, and difficulties faced by fire services when accessing informal settlements.

The GlobalGiving funds raised is aimed to help vulnerable communities become better prepared to prevent and respond to shack and informal settlement fires. The WPI research provided practical recommendations to guide the next phase of the project. These recommendations include fire safety animated videos for schools, sand bucket and fire extinguisher training, and the option of identifying community fire wardens and establishment of community fire extinguisher stations. 

The project is currently in its planning and partnership-development phase. MSR is busy enagaging with local fire stations and constituency stakeholders to better determine how the recommendations can be implemented effectively in each informal settlement community. During this reporting period, MSR has not yet purchased or distributed fire suppression equipement, and no project funds have been spent on equipment. However quotations, were obtained from 4 different suppliers for fire extingusihers, sand buckets, and fire blankets to support future procurement planning. MSR is committed to luanching it's Fire Safety Awareness Campaign addressing Shack Fires: A Concern for the Unemployed, during the months of September-October 2026. This will fall in line with the upcoming International Fire Safety Week. It is important for MSR that preparation and planning of this exciting campaign is first in place, to ensure that understanding and appropriate training of the informal settlement communities is provided before fire suppression equipment is introduced. 

MSR is grateful to GlobalGivining our donors, the WPI students, local fire services and community stakeholders for supporting this work. Our goal is to support communities be better informed, better prepared and safer before a fire happens.