Bakery Opens For Diaz OVCs

The 4th of March was a momentous day for many people in Luderitz and Bocholt, Germany, alike. The day marked the opening of the new bakery at Diaz Primary school where Orphans and Vulnerable Children that attend the school can avail of free bread so that they can focus better on their studies. There are 607 OVC’s registered in Luderitz and the national total is approximated to be 180,000 by the end of 2010.
The bakery came into being through the help of Luderitz’ Rotary Club. The members clubbed together and contacted different Rotary Clubs worldwide to try and raise funds so that their idea could become real. The Rotary Club in Bocholt, Germany decided that they would become involved and together with a number of other Rotary Clubs in Europe raised the money needed for the bakery. However, there was a problem. Typically, Rotary as an organisation do not donate buildings, so although the school had all the equipment it needed in order to start the bakery, the bakery itself was missing. One Rotarian by the name of Aloys Eiting decided to make a very generous, personal donation in order to house the bakery. He recently retired as a bank manager in Bocholt and knew that many people would bring gifts to his retirement party. Instead of accepting these gifts, he wrote on the invitations that if the guests wished to, they could donate money to the Rotary Club in order to build the bakery.
The project, in total, cost N$400,000 and was completed in 9 months.
There were many dignitaries present such as the Director of Education for Namibia, the mayor of Luderitz, Principals from other schools within the town and representatives from the Rotary Clubs of Luderitz and Bocholt. There were many performances from the Traditional Dance group, Kwai-Kwai, Soldiers and the choir from Luderitz’ Secondary school which were very much enjoyed by all present.
Everyone was delighted with the project and hopefully it really will make a difference for these children. As the Director of Education stated, “Who can concentrate on their classes when they have an empty stomach? Education is a right, not a privilege and it is the key to every child’s future”.