Our Projects are what we do besides teaching in the classroom. These are, on the one hand, initiatives with the aim to extend our services to the children and parents of our school community and, on the other hand, initiatives to raise funds for the centre. When starting a project we need extra inputs in terms of material and human resources. In the long run projects should stand on their own financially, but their continued success will depend on the dedication of the people involved. We would like to present here what we do (or plan), with the aim of providing information and also to look for volunteers to get involved.

The Classrooms

Setting up a Montessori classroom is a project in progress. Over the past four years, with the help of donations in cash or kind, we have been building up our classrooms step-by-step. We received some donations from The Netherlands of new and second-hand Montessori materials and with the help of sponsors we have been able to order some of the authentic Montessori materials from South-Africa.

We always have a wish list of Montessori materials and we would appreciate any donation which will help us to add more variety to our classrooms. To give an idea of some materials we would like to add to our classrooms:

• Senso game Junior, €105.27 (Toys for life)
• Senso game €116.01 (Toys for life)
• Set of African flags & stand  N$1200.00 (kid-ease South Africa)
• A Botany Leaf Cabinet with insets N$1250.00 (kid-ease South Africa)

You can earmark a donation for any item of your choice.

The library / reading lab

Many school children in Namibia struggle with reading, as the foundation for reading is weak. If you can read early and with pleasure, your school career will be a much smoother ride, with more chance of success. Our children love books. Learning to appreciate books sets children on the road to reading and also feeds their hunger for information. The reading corner in the pre-school classroom is always occupied. With every theme we teach we try to offer some books on the topic.

One can never have enough books. So far we have been able to fill two shelves with books, mainly second-hand story- and picture books. Furthermore we have received a donation of Early Readers. What we are always looking for is more contemporary story books and information/picture books on any topic that might interest our learners.

Recently we received an old container that we'd like to turn into a 'Reading Lab': a place where children from the lower grades (age 6-8) can come for help with reading during the afternoons. We would like to set up some computers with reading programmes, have materials available to teach phonics, have lots of nice books and most important: volunteers at hand to help the children along.

This has been an ongoing process, starting with patching up the container which needed electricity, shelving, paint, furniture and so on and there is still a lot to do. People who are interested to donate books, furniture or give their time are most welcome!

Baking Project

We are fortunate to have a fully equipped professional kitchen at the centre. Martina, our amazing cook, puts the kitchen to good use by preparing lunch for all children and staff every day. Besides this daily routine she is trained to do much more than that. She can bake muffins, pizza and cookies for sale and can do catering on request. What right now is holding us back to start more serious catering is the lack of business skills and the time to set it up: identifying and branding the products, sourcing customers, sorting out the logistics etc. We would love to find an intern or volunteer who can help us in this regard!

Outside environment

Up to the beginning of 2013 half of our property was outside the fence and could not be further developed. Now that the whole property has been fenced in, we are busy developing the other half. What we are planning for is two projects:

• The Playground

With much more space, the playground is ready for more inputs: equipment for children to climb on, jump over, hang from and so forth. We have been collecting old tyres, timber, rope and such and we would like to build a natural and innovative playground, making use of recycled materials. Parents have formed a Playground Commitee and we are busy involving Namibian tertiary vocational students to come up with ideas for play equipment. We would like to add a sandpit and toys for the toddlers and need to relocate the present sandpit which floods when it rains.

• The Vegetable Garden

In September 2013 we started a vegetable garden. The main aim of setting up a vegetable garden is to provide our kitchen with fresh vegetables. We also use it to educate our learners; to see and experience how things grow is part of the Montessori curriculum. The Ministry of Agriculture supports backyard gardening and one of their extension officers has been helping us with technical advice and training. This project is driven by parents, whereby the day-to-day duties are performed by the caretaker employed by the centre. Anybody interested in gardening is welcome to learn and give a hand. We'll keep you posted on the progress!