Piding – “What is it actually like outside the box?” – this question was asked by nine people in their early twenties when they founded the association “Conambiki” for children in Namibia between the corona lockdowns on July 9th. And with this open question, they want to give food for thought with a lecture on Tuesday, September 28th at 7 p.m. in the Piding parish hall.
At the invitation of the association “Fair with one another in the Anger-Aufham-Piding Parish Association and Eine-Welt-Laden”, Lukas Hage from Piding and his colleagues talk about their diverse projects. In cooperation with the Katholisches Bildungswerk there is also live streaming.
How did this extraordinary initiative come about? The 23-year-old Lukas Hage traveled to Namibia on his own from early to mid-2019 after graduating from high school. “I wanted to improve my English.” The idea arose to work there in kindergarten and elementary school, which goes up to 7th grade in Namibia.
He made contact with other young people from Bavaria, most of whom come from the region and from Munich. He is now studying to be a teacher. The injustice observed in Namibia and the restrictions experienced first hand – “I haven’t had any warm water for half a year” – troubled him. “The problems we have are all luxury problems,” he concluded. “There’s not a lot going on down there. You can help from here «- this thought gave him, together with the other initiators, the idea of founding the non-profit association.
»We are inspired by the diverse experiences as volunteers in Namibia, including at our partner school Treehouse Crèche and Academy in Rundu. We all want to do our part to improve the situation for children in Namibia «, write the young people. The path to new perspectives leads largely through education. However, many children in Rundu are denied access to this. With comparatively few resources, more children could be given the chance of a positive future. Friends and acquaintances were made familiar with the plan and helpers were recruited.
Lukas Hage consciously sought out people with different talents, for example one of them programmed the homepage for free. What can the visitors and the online audience of the lecture expect? The Pidinger plans it in interactive form. After about half an hour of “input”, including about Namibia, there should be plenty of time for questions and exchanges. Mainly two current larger projects will be presented, a new school building for up to 200 children up to 7th grade including preschool and a soup kitchen. Their aim should be to regularly distribute meals to the children in low-income neighborhoods and to offer leisure activities such as football in the afternoons. In addition, the association arranges sponsorships.
Registration is essential both for the evening visit to the parish hall, where the 3G rule and the usual distance and hygiene rules apply, as well as for online participation. Online listeners will receive the access link after registration. Interested parties are asked to register by Sunday, September 26th, at the latest, with Erni Schönherr on 0160/92951261 or by email at [email protected]. Veronika Mergenthal
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