Annettes Soupkitchen

Annette lives in Otjiwarongo, a town 250 km north of the capital Windhoek. She became aware of the situation of the street children in her town when several children died while searching for food in the local rubbish dump. Annette then went to the dump and invited all the children to her home, where she cooked them a hot meal.

This experience gave Annette the idea to start a soup kitchen for children in need. Financially, Annette could not do it on her own, so she mobilised a private person to cover the cost of the food. In the beginning, she cooked in her garden for a handful of children. Today, she provides for about 45 children 2-3 times a week in a building financed by Conambiki for this purpose.

We learned about Annette's selfless commitment through indirect channels. In the summer of 2021, when the private donor covering the soup kitchen's food expenses passed away, the future of Annette's soup kitchen was in jeopardy. Fortunately, a supporter of Conambiki, who resides in Otjiwarongo, heard about Annette's project and informed us about the financial gap. Since then, we have been covering the monthly costs of approximately €200. We take pride in our successful collaboration with Annette and look forward to the realization of her ambitious future plans for the soup kitchen. We are in close contact with her and are provided with weekly pictures and videos of the children playing and laughing in the soup kitchen.

We work closely with Annette and support her in expanding her soup kitchen. During a visit by the Conambiki team to Otjiwarongo in April 2022, Annette shared her desire to construct a small building in her garden to provide shade for the children during the hot summer months. Additionally, she envisioned a space where the children could spend time together beyond just having meals.

After committing our financial support to Annette, she immediately began planning, while her husband commenced building the structure. By June 2022, the new soup kitchen was ready, consisting of three rooms: a dining area, a small bathroom with a shower and toilet to facilitate basic hygiene for the children, and a relaxation area used for activities like singing and Bible study. This development fulfilled Annette's dream and now enables her to invest her energy and love into this place, where she can care for the children in a secure environment.

We aim to utilize the infrastructure of the soup kitchen in Otjiwarongo to promote education. This initiative primarily focuses on fostering fundamental skills like social interaction and teamwork, rather than traditional knowledge transfer. Within the premises of Annette's soup kitchen in Otjiwarongo, we plan to establish small and accessible educational programs where children will be supervised and supported by Annette after school. However, the necessary basic equipment is still lacking, including chairs, tables, and helpful learning materials. We intend to provide Annette with these resources in the future and would appreciate your support in this endeavor.