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The Omuhaturua Primary School Water Project The Omuhaturua Primary School is situated at Otjimanangombe village in eastern Namibia. The community built the Omuhaturua Primary School and hostel with the assistance of foreign donors in the middle of 1999 to serve the communities of Otjimanangombe, Otjimati, Ovinjuru, Omburo, Okatuuo, Ovituuua, Otumbonde, Ombuyasoromana, Otwapehi and Omupanda villages. The school opened its doors during 2000 and had an initial enrolment of 143 pupils with six teachers lead by Mr Kavari the school principal. The school now has 240 pupils and 8 teachers. There is no electricity at this rural school. The school is administered by a School Board elected by the community. Some members of the community contribute whatever they can to sustain the hostel which accommodates seventy-five boys and seventy-five girls. The Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture through the Schools Feeding Program supplies three maize meals a day for the boarders who have to contribute N$150.00 per term to supplement this diet which in most cases does not cover this. The residents of Otjimanangombe village and the Omuhaturua Primary School and hostel relied heavily on one borehole for their daily water supply. The water consumption had increased in the village, resulting in a shortage of water for the school and hostel. With this one borehole being unable to cope with demand, it was not uncommon for the school and hostel to find themselves without water for up to two days at a time. This had become a big problem especially for the hostel and had resulted in a major health hazard for the children. The school gained permission from the village to refurbish an un-equipped borehole nearby for its sole use. Unfortunately, they did not have the funds to do this and asked the Komeho Namibia Development Agency to source funding. The British High Commission in Windhoek made contact with The Catherine Bullen Memorial Fund who provided the majority of the funding. Not only would the borehole supply fresh water but would enable the school to irrigate a vegetable garden to supplement the poor diet of the children in the hostel and give the other children a nutritional lunch during difficult periods. On 21 April 2004, a commissioning ceremony was held to mark the completion of the project attended by the British Vice Consul, representatives from Komeho Namibia and local community officials who made the following comments. ‘In death, Catherine has given life to the marginalised children of this community, because we believe water is life’ – Mrs Nelago Kasuto, Komeho Namibia. ‘Through this generous donation, the British people have fulfilled a very special social responsibility. There will be no more water shortage. No more death, no more illness and no more hunger due to shortage of water’ – Namibian Official. ‘Catherine’s spirit will always be with us. In her memory, today we announce that the school hostel is to be renamed The Omuhaturua Catherine Bullen Hostel’ – Mr Steve Kavari, School Principal. Integrated Program for Education and Health in the Epukiro Constituency (IPEHEC) Background This is the Foundation’s current project for which we require your support and donations. In October 2005, Roger and Linda, Catherine’s parents self financed a trip to Namibia and visited the Omuhaturua Primary School in Otjimanangombe village in the Epukiro constituency situated in the Omaheke Province, eastern Namibia accompanied by representatives of KOMEHO NAMIBIA their NGO partners. The purpose of the visit was to inspect a refurbished borehole financed by The Catherine Bullen Memorial Fund (CBMF) which now provides fresh water for the school and is an additional supply for the village. (Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7. During this visit the school board and the community vociferously voiced the need for a Medical Clinic. There followed a number of formal and informal meetings chaired by KOMEHO NAMIBIA with councillors, traditional leaders and communities in the Epukiro constituency with the outcome that a Medical Clinic with sufficient capacity should be built in Otjimanagombe to address the following issues:
The Epukiro constituency also identified two other important issues that need to be addressed and are part of the Project:
The Project is intended to contribute to the relevant Millennium Development Goals as indicated. Those that will benefit directly will be the population of Epukiro constituency (7,135) together with the transient population which includes the indigenous San People. Budget Phase 1 Construction of the Medical Clinic - £100,000. Completed July 2008 Phase 2: Purchase of ambulance - £22,500. Completed October 2008. Phase 3: Provision of Kitchen/Canteen facilities and refurbishment of school hostel at Omuhaturua Primary School – estimated at £63,000 We are currently seeking funds for Phase 3. Phase 1: Otjimanangombe Primary Healthcare Clinic In October 2005, Linda and Roger Bullen returned home to the UK after committing the charity, to raise the necessary funding to construct a medical clinic at Otjimanangombe in eastern Namibia. The cost of building and equipping the clinic was estimated at £100,000. With the help of an enthusiastic fund raising committee, £20,000 had been raised by Spring 2007, by organising dances, an inter hospital sport’s day, stalls at car boots and selling hand made cards. In addition, donations were received from the general public and other organisations and a number of individuals undertook sponsored events, one being a bike ride from Lands End to John O’Groats. In June 2007, the project received a tremendous boost with a grant of £80,000 from The Rooney Foundation administered by the Kent Community Foundation. With the project now fully funded we were able to proceed, and Komeho were asked to start making plans to commence building. In order to ensure that the project did not over run on cost and time. Mr Americo De Almeida of Jordaan Oosthuysen Nangolo – Quantity Surveyors was appointed as Project Manager. Tenders for construction were placed in the Namibian newspapers on 4 October 2007. At the end of October 2007, Linda and Roger returned to Namibia and witnessed the signing of the construction contracts with Bilhar Builders. One of the stipulations being that local labour should be used as much as possible to assist the local economy. On 4 July 2008, Linda and Roger returned to Otjimanagombe to formally handover the clinic to the Honorable Dr Richard Kamwi, PhD, the Namibian Minister of Health. This is an account of their emotional trip. ‘On their arrival in Namibia, accompanied by the deputy British High Commissioner and Komeho representatives, they met with the First Lady, Penehupifo Pohamba, the wife of President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Dr Richard Kamwi, Minister of Health. Roger and Linda had previously met the First Lady in London last year, so she was fully aware of the circumstances surrounding their visit. She expressed her thanks on behalf of the Namibian people for the provision of the clinic. Dr Kamwi then made a statement which took the meeting by surprise by announcing that provision was to be made in the 2009 budget to build a large new Health Centre staffed by a doctor and five nurses at Oshivelo to replace the small outdated clinic where Catherine died. The Health Centre is to be named after Catherine. Having spent the night at Gobabis, the regional centre of the Omaheke province, Roger and Linda made their way to the village, a two and a half hours drive into the bush accompanied by Komeho representatives and a coach carrying teachers and students from the International School in Paris who had requested an interest to attend. Dressed in bright yellow traditional costumes, especially made by the wife of the locally based Komeho representative with the charity’s sunflower motive emblazoned on the front, Roger and Linda were transported to the Clinic compound on a cart pulled by two donkeys and escorted by a guard of honour of three horsemen, women from the village dressed in Hereo tradional costume, village elders in military uniform and school children with welcoming placards. On entering the compound the couple were introduced to attending dignitaries including the Dr Kamwi, the Minister of Health, Laura Mcleod, Governor of Omaheke Province as well as central and regional government ministers, local councillors, school headmasters and traditional leaders. At the ceremony, various speakers spoke of the urgent needs that the Clinic would now fulfil and thanked the Catherine Bullen Memorial Fund for its commitment. In his speech, Roger remarked that it was a very emotional occasion for them, and that Catherine’s ambition was to be a doctor serving the community and saving lives, and that sadly this was not to be, but the clinic will save lives in her name. He concluded in acknowledging the role of the Rooney Foundation whose involvement meant that that the construction could be brought forward. Prior, to his speech, Dr Kamwi asked for a minute’s silence in memory of Catherine. His speech was followed by the official handover of the clinic symbolised by the cutting of a ribbon and the unveiling of two plaques to commemorate the occasion. A tour of the facilities, the planting of trees and a buffet lunch completed the day’s events. On their return to Windhoek, the capital, Roger and Linda had a further meeting with the Minister of Health who presented them with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Namibian Government for providing the clinic.
Phase 2: Purchase and donation of the ambulance During their visit in July 2008, Linda and Roger also had talks with the Ministry of Health’s ambulance department regarding specifications in preparation for funding the provision of an ambulance which would be based in the Omaheke province and would serve the surrounding clinics including Otjimanangombe. At the time there were only three ambulances in the region which were severely overstretched. It was planned for it to be available to handover to the Ministry when the couple return in October 2008. On 30 October 2008, Linda representing the charity handed the ambulance keys over to the Namibian Deputy Minister of Health, Madam Petrina Haingura in Windhoek the capital. The ambulance will be based at Epukiro in the Omaheke region and will serve outlying clinics including the one at Otjimanangombe constructed by the Fund and officially opened on July 4th this year. Currently there is only one ambulance in the region serving 67,000 people and this donated ambulance will double capacity at a stroke. The couple also spent a week at Otjimanangombe where Linda worked as a nurse in the clinic and described her experience as both humbling and inspirational, while Roger assisted at the local school. (Please note that all visits to Namibia are self financed by Linda and Roger and no charitable funds are used for this purpose).
Current Project: The construction of a canteen, kitchen facilities and indoor recreation area at Omuhaturua Primary School and the upgrading of the Omuhaturua Catherine Bullen Hostel, in the village of Otjimanangombe. The boarders receive three meals a day which consist of maize porridge supplied under the Ministry of Education Namibian School Feeding Programme. This is sometimes supplemented by meat from the village and vegetables from the school garden. The meals are cooked on an open fire in large pots housed under an open sided shelter. As well as being open to the elements, domestic animals wander around the pots.
At meal times the children are served porridge from the pots into a bowl which is consumed by squatting on the ground and eating with their fingers. Afterwards, each pupil washes their bowl in a communal tin bath. This is a very unhygienic situation and also does not lend itself to teaching pupils social skills such as using cutlery and the disciplines of eating at a table. The boarders have no exposure to the outside world and it is intended for the canteen to double as a recreation hall where they will be able to watch television as well as play games such as table tennis, study or listen to music. Currently, once school activities are complete, they congregate around the hostel and amuse themselves until dusk when they return to their dormitories to be locked in for the night.
Above is a computer simulation and plan of this exciting project which
contributes to one of the targets of Millennium Development
Goal 1 - 'to reduce the prevalence of underweight children
and those below the minimum level of dietary energy consumption.'
Project The construction of a building to provide canteen and kitchen facilities which would double as a recreational hall. Facilities would include:
Area for food storage.
Canteen would be equipped with stacking tables and chairs for easy storage to allow the area to be utilised as a recreational hall for boarders and when required for the community of Otjimanangombe. THE UPGRADING OF THE OMUHATURUA CATHERINE BULLEN HOSTEL The hostel has been in use since 2000. Although structurally sound, it badly needs redecorating and re-equipping. A major problem is the lack of electricity, with the only source of lighting being oil lamps hung from the ceiling which is an ongoing safety hazard. For their own safety the boarders are locked in the dormitories at night with the only toilet facilities being a bucket toilet. This does lead to some bed wetting because of the difficulty of getting up in the dark. The upgrading of the Omuhaturua Catherine Bullen Hostel
Internally decorate
Following the attendance of students and teachers of the International School of Paris at the opening ceremony in July 2008 of the Otjimanangombe Primary Health Care Clinic, the school decided to adopt Omuhaturua Primary School and Hostel as the focus for their projects in Namibia for the next seven years. Trustees Roger and Linda Bullen travelled to Paris in May 2009 to give presentations to the junior and secondary schools on the Foundation's work. Nathalie Pierre co-ordinating teacher commented 'your visit has had a huge impact on our students. They are so motivated to support your cause. I admire all the work and energy you have, and look forward to helping you make a difference'. Students from the school returned to Otjimanangombe in July 2009 and re-decorated the Omuhaturua Primary School Hostel. They also provided new bunk beds and mattresses for the boarders. Roger and Linda visited Paris again in December 2009 to give further presentations and to be updated on the schools plans to send another party of students to Omuhaturua Primary School in April 2010 to complete the internal decoration of the hostel and to refurbish a number of classrooms.
SOLAR POWER
Meanwhile, we are receiving support from British Power International Ltd, a Colchester based energy project company. They are using our planned installation as a design project for students that they sponsor at the Colchester Institute. Gift a Goat Appeal
The Foundation is still running the Goat Appeal in tandem with its current project to raise funding to build a canteen and kitchen for the Omuhaturua Primary School Hostel. The San people are the original indigenous population of southern Africa and were traditionally hunter/gatherers. However, with the encroachment of modern civilisation they have lost their traditional hunting grounds and now live in small settlements and rely on farmers for labouring work. In order to supplement their meagre lifestyle, the Foundation launched a Christmas appeal to provide five goats for each San family. The general public who did not know what to give someone for Xmas were invited to purchase a goat for them and The Foundation provided a certificate acknowledging their gift. Goats cost £35 and so far, 75 goats have been donated. In March 2009, Linda and Roger Bullen were able to witness a unique event when they handed over the sixty goats to the San settlement at Voormansput. Twelve families received five goats each, which represented the largest number of goats ever donated to the San. Roger commented 'that those that had taken part in the Foundation's 'Gift a Goat' appeal have really made a difference to these impoverished people who were completely overwhelmed by the occasion'. In June, the Foundation received a progress report on the project and was advised that the goats are doing well and the first kid, a male, was born on 25 May. The goats are vulnerable to predators such as jackals and a 'goat' dog has been acquired to safeguard them. Funds to purchase a further fifteen goats were made available and provided animals for a another three San families in the settlement. The Gift a Goat Appeal was a great success last year and is now ongoing. Goats cost £35 - if you wish to donate a goat, please contact us.
Otjimanangombe Health Committee Community Garden Following the opening of the Clinic, the villagers formed a Health Committee which works in partnership with the local health authorities. Since its formation, members have been trained in HIV/Aids counselling and are involved in outreach visits to those who are suffering with the disease. During Roger and Linda's visit in March 2009, the committee discussed with them their plan to set up a community garden beside the clinic to grow vegetables and fruit to supplement the diet of the poorest people in the community including those with HIV/Aids. The Foundation is now actively seeking a small grant to set up this Community Garden. Any assistance with this would be gratefully appreciated. |
The Catherine Bullen Foundation
