Hisa Initiatives

Kilimandjaro Community Centre

A new centre built for HISA run programme funded by the Italian partners BASILICATA REGION through CESTAS opened its doors to on 20th February 2009 to 250 children and youth at risk and 100 adults to access development and self help programmes. The HISA Community Development Centre in Kilimandjaro boasts of a recent Garden soon to provide vegetables for the kitchen and a shed and a sporting ground.

Feeding Program - Soup Kitchen - Kilimandjaro

1 - The Old Soup Kitchen - Hope Initiatives Namibia started a satellite soup kitchen in 2005 in the informal settlement of Kilimandjalo due to the large number of children from Kilimandjalo who used to come to Okahandja Park soup Kitchen.
2 - THE CURRENT SOUP KITCHEN – Provides 450 plus Nutritious meals six days in a week to 300 individuals and children in a brand new kitchen.....Meals are supported through the HISA- ANSA partnership ( Association for Nutrition Based Services).

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Feeding Program - Soup Kitchen - Okahandja Park

With 80% of the children in Okahandja Park experiencing extreme hunger the Child Hope project supervises a Hand in Hand e.V supported soup kitchen in Okhahandja park. The kitchen formerly run by HISAis now run by a group women who were volunteers in HISA ‘s feeding programme .HISA provides a breakfast for 150 of its beneficiary who attend a kindergarten programme in Okahandja Park, A snack 3 times weekly for 30 kids Klub members . Support Groups and Caregivers groups meeting here twice weekly also receive a nutritious meal and Food Support under the partnership with DAS ( Deustse Aids Stiftung) i.e. food Parcels /and or Garden Support when available.

Youth And Young Adults Program

HISA-Namibia runs a youth group program that aims at empowering the school in and out of school with knowledge and information of HIV/AIDS, reproductive Health and other social issues. It empowers the youth to develop in sport, art and give them information on career guidance and offers psycho - social support to vulnerable school age children. The programme which is a Sporting programme is supported entirely by the Petra.

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Lustenburger Foundation

The youth groups meet thrice a week to plan on which actitivies to do and to discuss on the challenges that they are facing and how to overcome the challenges. They also have a vibrant Soccer team in both Kilimandjaro and Okahandja Park. The youth program has prevented the youth from participating in criminal activites and has done awareness programs on HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy. HISA- Namibia through the youth programme managed to organise an exchange program with Physical Active Youth students from the university of namibia to allow the youth from the disadvantaged community to meet with other youth and discuss about HIV/AIDS and also about the children's rights and to discuss conflicts between parents and children. Youth have also visted entertainment areas in Okahandja Townand Elsewhere.

Early Childhood Care & education program: the play group

Playgroup is a programme developed to cater for children of non school going age from 2 years to 6years. It currently houses 125 children from the informal settlement of Okahandja and Kilimandjaro. Most of the children are orpharns and they are used to loiter the streets. The playgroup feeds these children, teachs then preschool songs and gives the caregiver the time to work and generate income for the family. Playgroup educates and prepares the less fortunate children in the settlements of Okahandja park, Babylon , Kilimandjaro & Okurangava for grade 1.

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Bridging Schooling Programme

The aim of this project is " to enable orphans and vulnerable children who do not go to school to realize their fullest potential in a safe and caring environment in the hope that they will eventually return to mainstream schooling ." The Bridging School programme is a programme where 52 Orphans and other vulnerable children (over the age of 10 years) who have never attended school or have dropped out of school because of hunger or lack of school fees are taught basic numeracy and literacy, and spiritual guidance. The Bridging school currently receives support from individuals of note such as Mr Wilibrand Kranister who supports one class with learning materials .Other class is supported by Katutura projects ( DNG) with Stationary, Uniforms and mentors allowances . Support will also be received in the future from DAS in April 2009.
This program bridges the educational gap of the OVC who have either dropped out of school or who have never been to school.
We have some volunteers from the global educaton programme who do the teaching five times a week. The bridging school also has an after school programme where children are taught music, drama, various sporting activities and choir. All these programme are done to divert their attention from sexual and crime activities.

Sponsorship /School Grant or Scholarships

Scholarships are a vital part of support for children at risk of dropping out of school . In Partnership with TDH ( Terres Des Hommes Italy) , which has provided 330 scholarships to children within HISA target areas. The scholarship /sponsor ship provides school fees, uniforms, a hygiene pack for individual children; Supports an after school Kids Klub and pays allowances for volunteers and staff running these programmes. The partnership also targets organisational capacity building. Scholarships are being sought for orphans to pay school fees, book costs, uniforms. Other children have been offered scholarships to return to school by the Katutura Projects and DNG its founder, who yearly support 20 children to either stay in school or return to school.
However more children continue to need scholarships and these Transport and food costs for those Orphans who are at formal government school or who are accepted back to goverment schools when they drop out. Through the Scholarships HISA- Namibia has managed to send 20 children back to school and we are appealing to the public to donate towards the scholarship programme.

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Caregivers

The care givers programme started in 2003 after HISA-Namibia realised that the guardians for the Orphans where not equipped enough to take care of the orphans. The Orphans and Vulnerable CHildren Caregiver's project aims at involving the caregivers of the in the education of their children and to build the caregiver capacity and facilitating an enabling environment through bead projects, counselling, training and food Support.

Support Group

These are man and women who are living a positively with HIV/AIDS. They meet twice a week and discuss and undertake projects that enhance positive living. The two groups of 30 persons (in each group) meet in the informal settlements of Okahandja Park and Kilimandjaro.
The driving force behind support group is to assist the People living with Aids to live their lives with dignity,honor and respect as well as create an environment of acceptance within the community.
Support groups helps people that are infected and affected with HIV & AIDS to live positively with HIV & AIDS as well to improve their incomes status through income generating projects.
HISA Also donates food to the support group to cushion them and at the same time show them the kinds of food that they should eat to maintain a well balanced diet.
The support groups is involved in various income generating projects such as beadwork,art and craft and gardening. HISA provides the support group with beadwork materials and also assist them to market their products.

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Community Capacity building

HISA believes that communities are the vehicles of their own change and as such runs community empowerment programmes that enable women and other members to better able runs their initiatives. Capacity building is a program that is run by HISA-Namibia to equip the staff, volunteers, the community with the relevant skills, knowledge, information and tools to perform their task well.
In the past HISA conducted various training sessions for their junior staff to management such as Refresher training on the information collection and monitoring and evaluation, computer trainings and HIV/AIDS workshops.
HISA Namibia also work with other Kindergarten in the informal settlement of Okahandja, Babylon, Kilimandjalo. They also held a workshop for 3 weeks for the kindergatern teachers in partnership with PINOCCHIO to empower them to assist their communities.
a) Early Childhood Initiatives - HISA facilitates training and enablement programmes through PINOCCHIO. The senior management and staff of Hope Innitiatives-NA also attended the capacity building training that was facilitated by TDH-Paolo Colombo. The training aimed at training the participants in NGO management.

Gardening

Gardening is a project that is aims to feed the orphans and vulnerable children and to improve their diet. HISA-Namibia was trained by a resource person from Zimbabwe on Small gardening and micro irrigation hence the implementation of the irrigation. HISA is looking at acquiring land to make the gardening an income generating project: Currently.

The garden has the following:

Vegetables	Carrots
Spinach	Paprika
Lettuce	Onions
Beetroot	Sweet Potatoes
Celery Choumouilier /Rape - African Vegetable	Tomatoes
Cabbage - Sugar loaf and Drumhead

It also has a Sage herb which is used to treat cough,skin rashes

The New Gardern – Kilimandjaro

The new garden is our pride and Joy and is situated in Kilimandjaro

Health and Nutrition

It provides the Caregivers and Support Group with information to live and eat healthly and at the same assisting in feeding the orphans and the vulnerable children at the three center namely Okahandja Park, Kilimandjalo and Ombili. It also supports and teaches the people living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs) to eat and live positively.It also educates the community to be self-sufficient by cultivating gardens in their homes where they can plant vegetables, getting cooking lessons, personal hygiene and income generating projects. Health and Nutrition works together with the Gardening Programme which supplies the Kitchens with Fresh Vegetables.

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MOTTO HISA: Hope, Change, Self-Reliance.