Projects Supported by Our Guests and Partners
South Africa: Noluthando Kindergarten in Cape Town
• In January 1994, kindergarten teacher Mavis Mbaba founded a day care center for up to 45 children in her own home in Khayelitsha.
• In January of 1995, she was able to rent a piece of land from the local council and bit by bit build Noluthando—the Place of Love and Care. Now there are 14 employees, six of which are Waldorf-trained kindergarten teachers, who take care of about 200 children.
• Since September 1998, the kindergarten has been supported by the kind donations of our guests, which are mainly used to finance maintenance work and improvements, so that the children get to grow up in a hygienic, child-friendly environment and are given a good start in life.
Namibia: Katora Primary School
The Katora Primary School is situated in the Spitzkoppe region of Namibia. The school regularly receives donations of school supplies from our guests.
Zambia: Robert Dean School in Ngwerere
The Robert Dean elementary school is located in Ngwerere in the Chongwe district about 30 kilometers north of the capital Lusaka. The school began operating in January 2004 with just two teachers. Today 32 teachers instruct about 1,400 students. The increased number of students is a major challenge for the school. There are not enough teachers, and many of them have long commutes from Lusaka and Chibombo. The classrooms were no longer adequate and partly in poor condition, lacking furniture and teaching materials. In addition, there was no water or sanitary facilities at the school. In 2008, our guests visited the Robert Dean School during a stop on our Rovos Rail private train journey between Cape Town and Dar Es Salaam. After the visit, our guests spontaneously donated money for a well construction project. In cooperation with our local partner Penguin Tours in Cape Town and Rovos Rail, Lernidee initiated a train station project in Ngwerere. Since then, Penguin Tours has volunteered to manage the project. To date, a well has been built and classrooms were renovated and furnished. Next we plan to install sanitary facilities, made possible by the new well.