Shack dwellers move into own homes at Tsandi
The First Lady of Namibia, Madame Monica Geingos last week officially opened the door for 53 new home owners to occupy their houses at Tsandi. The new owners are all members of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia, an organisation that promotes self-build schemes and home ownership for the disadvantaged.
The first 12 houses constructed by the Shack Dwellers Federation in collaboration with Ohorongo Cement, the FNB Namibia Foundation and the Pupkewitz Foundation, were officially handed over to the community of Tsandi in the Omusati Region last Friday, 27 February 2017.
The handover of the houses came eleven months after the launch of the Public Private Partnership that enables the Shack Dwellers Federation to build a total of 91 houses over a one year period. The three supporting partner partners have pledged an overall amount of N$3 million for this project.
For this last project, the sponsors were joined by Neo Paints, a household name in Namibia for paint and plaster products.
“We believe in Namibia and the vision of our leaders to create a society where everyone is afforded a respectable standard of living. The vision of Neo paints is that we are not only in the business of physically protecting assets, but also improving the quality of life through creating value for our customers, while bringing joy through colour in their lives,” said Victor Boshoff, NEO Paints Managing Director.
Under the currenct project, houses are in the process of construction in Otavi, Omaruru, Tsumeb and Tsandi.
In the effort to build 91 houses, progress for the pre-identified projects for the year is as follows:
“We believe that through efficient partnerships and by combining our resources, the contribution made has a lot more value than trying to do everything on our own. In this case Ohorongo Cement, the Pupkewitz Foundation, the FNB Foundation and the Shack Dwellers Federation form a solid foundation of partners to make a true difference through effective execution. It is commendable of Neo Paints to join this venture and to add more value to this existing solid foundation,” said Hans-Wilhelm Schütte, the MD of Ohorongo Cement.
Commenting on the project progress, both Koneka Iindjii from FNB and Meryl Barry of the Pupkewitz Foundation stated their eagerness to participate in projects that create employment, alleviate poverty, provide housing to low-income families, and help to transfer skills and knowledge through capacity building.
