Grassroots initiatives tackle hunger, education shortfalls

Namibian civil society organisations are intensifying efforts to combat poor nutrition and hunger, while advocating for social protection and education initiatives targeting vulnerable households.Maria Kandjungo, head of projects at the Namibia Food Security Alliance (NAFSAN), said the organisation is prioritising grassroots food systems and stronger state safety nets.“We have backyard gardening and community-based food systems. Those are our areas of support and also advocacy, ensuring that households have access to food immediately, whether it’s through backyard or other food systems or community gardens, for example, that are within communities,” she explained.Kandjungo emphasised that Namibia’s high unemployment rate is a direct contributor to food insecurity. “For us to be able to ensure that people can access food, whether it’s in a rural area, social protection comes in. So, for us, we are promoting or advocating for an unconditional basic income grant for all.”Holistic approach to health Beyond nutrition, NAFSAN is also pushing for health-related policy reforms. Kandjungo noted the dangers of overconsumption of sugary drinks. “We know that sugar is a high contributor to a lot of non-communicable diseases, such as your diabetes, your hypertension," she said."And so we are advocating for added tax, for example, on sugary drinks because they are so cheap and readily available. We are feeding them to our children ... and this is affecting our health.”She further emphasised the need for clean and affordable water access, both for nutrition and agriculture. “We cannot talk about gardening if water is not available, or if water is expensive, or if it's too far for communities to be able to access," she noted."Or we cannot speak about food security if you’re not talking about clean water. Because even if you are eating and you are doing that with water that is not clean, then you have diarrhoea, and so your body will not take up the nutrition that it needs.”Development and health resourcesKandjungo warned that oil exploration activities must be managed responsibly to avoid long-term damage to underground water reserves. “While that is important for employment and the economics of the country, we also need to consider that if we do not do that in the space of clean water, we are damaging our reserves and also negatively impacting our food security.”She said NAFSAN’s Commonwealth-funded project, launched in 2024, has been helping communities adopt healthier nutrition practices. “The project aimed to support civil society and communities across Namibia for them to understand good nutrition and embrace healthy nutrition practices within their economy.”Happier, healthier childrenMeanwhile, grassroots organisations are implementing practical support for vulnerable children and households. Kenneth Rheent, from the Hoachanas Children Fund, said his organisation supports education, after-school programmes and food provision in the Hardap region.“So we have about 18 students at Unam, at NUST, so we pay tuition fees for these children and monthly allowances to help them through their difficult times when NSFAF doesn’t stand in,” Rheent explained. “Equally, we also have the ARC, a vulnerable children’s centre that operates after-school programmes in Hoachanas. We have over 20 children in our project who benefit from this project. They receive afternoon classes, meals after school, and the opportunity to be housed at our offices from one o’clock until five o’clock.”He pointed out that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, rural children were left behind, unlike many of their urban peers, who had digital access to education. “So we started an English after-school programme, where we tutor about 100 children. We have 10 volunteers who give them after-school classes and help them to study, do their homework, and also be part of the growing society of Namibia.”To keep children in school, the organisation also operates soup kitchens. “Sometimes the school does not have the porridge at break time, so the child must eat, otherwise they don’t come to school. That is why we started the soup kitchen project, to help them stay in school,” Rheent said.Less hunger Building on this, the fund launched a backyard gardening initiative in 2022. “We started with 15 gardens at the soup kitchen, but today, we have about 200 backyard gardens in our community,” he said. “This garden project not only brought nutrition to the plate but also played an impactful role in the health of the children in Hoachanas.”He credited the initiative with a dramatic reduction in malnutrition cases. “I recorded 2 800 cases of malnutrition some time ago. We don’t record those cases in Hoachanas [anymore]. So we believe that our project will have a great impact on our community.”Rheent said the organisation remains committed to strengthening food security through training, nutrition awareness and self-sustaining community projects. “That is why we keep running and why we keep promoting and why we keep training ... to sustain our communities for better development in the future.”

Grassroots initiatives tackle hunger, education shortfalls

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-25

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Grassroots initiatives tackle hunger, education shortfalls

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-25

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