Buchter News » Local News

ZERO NEW HIV INFECTIONS

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:11:52 +0000

The World Aids Day took place on the 1st of December. Many people worked hard on the planning and preparation in making this event happen in Luderitz.
The morning was a formal event where here Worship the Mayor and Reverend Scholtz made speeches. A special guest, Martha Angula, a woman with HIV also gave a speech that day. She spoke about living with HIV. There was also a candle lighting ceremony and a moment of silence to honour and remember those who have died of HIV and Aids.

The Drama group My Zone Youth Health Club, presented “A Break the Chain” drama. They portrayed the consequences of having multiple partners and the awareness of the problems caused by unprotected sex and the importance of using contraceptives. The play was acted professionally and well received by the audience.

In the afternoon the younger children presented poetry and songs to do with HIV. There were a lot of children involved. Over 300 people attended the Youth Centre to be part of the event. Before this day, there was a day of rehearsal and the children could apply to be part of the poetry contest, sing a song or do a dance.

The children‘s enthusiasm and participation was great.
The Ministry of Health did 50 HIV tests thanks to an open testing that day, the message was clear and the day was a success. However over 40 people are being affected by AIDS every day in Namibia. Using a condom could really help lower this number and save lives.

Make a choice, make a difference.

THE WORLD, ANCHORS IN LUDERITZ

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:06:27 +0000

On the 4th Of January Luderitz the harbour had a visit from a special vessel. The yacht is called ‘The World’ it came in to give the passengers a view of Luderitz. After the people had spent their holiday in Cape Town they continued to Luderitz and then departed and went further to Walvis Bay. ‘The World’ has been in constant travel around the world since 2002. It is the largest privately owned yacht on the planet. ‘The World’ is 644 feet and there are 165 private residents. The World has everything and anything you could think off such as, a golf course, cricket and tennis facilities. It even has a retractable marina that you can keep busy with a number of water sports!

The yacht is also eco friendly and with that, good for the environment. But besides all of this, it’s an opportunity for people to have their home on a vessel and travel around the world, with the opportunity to see the most amazing places.

AWARDS EVENT UNAIDS

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:51:34 +0000

On the 9th of December was a special day for two organisations. Money was contributed to two community based organisations in the South of Namibia. The donations go towards the HIV prevention work with young vulnerable woman and people with disabilities in informal settlements.

The awards were given to two groups in Luderitz. There was a speech from the Mayor and two representatives from UNAIDS.

Girl Child Programme is one of the two groups who received an award. It includes two girl empowerment groups, one for 10-14 years old and the other 14-18 years old. The groups meet weekly on Wednesday and Thursday in the Youth Centre. They received a substantial N$48,923- which will help cover camping trips for the children and training. If you are interested in joining the group, you can contact Miss Jantjies, the Life Skills teacher at the High School or Leah Fitch the Peace Corps Volunteer who works at the Youth Centre.

The second group is Yambuka Project. It is a newly formed project for the youth in Area 7. It is going to start a 12 week class on family planning, gender and HIV prevention and sexual health for children who are out of school and aged between 15 and 20. They have another group set up for woman aged between 23 and 35. To find out more information please contact Peney Hailonga in Area 7.

NEW OPENING…

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:30:33 +0000

It was an exciting day for people in town when Bistro d‘ Café slid open its doors to the public. Liza and Jan officially opened their Bistro on the 10th of December 2011. Their menu has dishes that all will recognize but served with a little individuality.

Every six weeks we can expect the menu to change according to most popular sales, which is sure to tickle everyone’s taste buds. There are plans to create a kiddies club meal and a point system to get children more involved in the Bistro. Birthday parties and pictures for children is another new development worth watching out for.

The Bistro is also interested in working with teenagers from the High School. They want to encourage those interested in the catering business by organising a working program. It will involve the children coming up with their own menu and even taking hold of the pan and doing their own cooking!

Nothing better than being all loved up over a meal on Valentine’s Day?

On the 14th of February at the Bistro there will be a three course meal in the evening. Tickets are available in advance and the Bistro will be seating 15 couples. Women will be welcomed with a rose and men with a cocktail to ease those nerves! Not just in the evening, you can pop in during the day and be sure to feel special ladies. So let’s go and check it out!

The Bistro isn’t only a Bistro but gives also an opportunity to people to learn and get a change to grow further and develop themselves.

VISION 2012, FROM THE MAYOR

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:26:11 +0000

We caught up with her worship the Mayor who we are delighted to here will be taking her second year at looking after Luderitz as Mayor.

Many investors have shown interest in the town. Infrastructural development is due to take place this year at the port. The Council has mentioned that it wants to encourage local investors to work with the council on sustainable projects and has set up a Public Private Partnership. When the train line reaches Luderitz there are plans to create a train station at the harbour which would benefit this town tremendously. Enabling a mode of transportation for business opportunities.

Taking a day trip to Agate Beach is always a joy, but once after sun downr it’s too dark to stay longer and time to go home. However, soon that wont be a problem. There are definite plans to put up lighting at Agate Beach so everyone can enjoy a late night Braai or beach walk after sun down! Another step forward is an achievement that has been met already this year. The after hours electricity points of sale which are sold at four main points, Benguela, Town, Nautilus and Okata.
During the festive season more people were involved in the town to keep the crime rate down. They were sponsored by the Mayoral fund.

A direct message from our Mayor is first a thank you to the hard working Town Councillors who commit themselves to their jobs and contribute to the social and economic wellbeing of residents of the town. Secondly she would like the community to continuously join hands and share responsibilities that will undoubtedly benefit Luderitz in many ways. The expectations are made through the residents of town. As long as you (the community) co-operates and continue’s to pay water and electricity, improvements will be seen. There is a suggestion box at the Reception of the Council, welcoming ANY suggestions.

If you didn’t’t already know a website for Luderitz has recently been launched and is now up and running to browse through as you desire. Complete with a New year‘s message to the community;
www.luderitztowncouncil.com.na

GREAT PERFORMANCE, CHRISTMAS CONCERT

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:17:14 +0000

On the 30th of November was the yearly Christmas concert in the AFM Betesda church.

All the performers were students of Retha Calitz and practised a whole year to produce a great Christmas concert. The youngest one was 5 years old and the oldest was 19 year old so there was a lot variety. The music was also very different, a lot of classical music and some other music to get completely into the Christmas feeling. Not only piano music this time, but also flute, accordion, xylophone and Christmas songs were sung. The students were all nicely dressed, boy’s in suites and the girls were wearing blue. The church was also looking very nice and everything gave a real Christmas feeling. But the most important part were the performances of the children. Everyone did his or her very best and you could see that they practiced a lot. It sounded great!

Well done for everyone.

HANDING OVER BURSARY

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:11:39 +0000

The Regional Council acquired a bursary for Mary Ann Fredericks. Mrs Bester approached the Regional Council about a request for her daughter. The bursary is from Coastway Tours, contributing the full amount of N$1,100 and covers one of her study years. Mary Ann study’s tourism at the University of Management and will work at Coastway Tours in holidays to get some work experience. The sponsoring took place on the 9th of January.

Coastway Tours was very happy to assist with the bursary of Mary Ann.

TEACHERS GRADUATE WITH ECD

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:30:25 +0000

On the 19th of November it was ECD’s(Early Child Development), turn to have a Graduation Ceremony. This took place in the old Helen van Rhijn school. The Early Child Development is a 12 week course for people to specialise in teaching children between ages 0 – 6. Now they have a diploma to work with the children and they can teach them in the crèches and pre-primary schools.
It was the first time that there was a course like this in Luderitz. The people were really thankful that the Ministry of Gender Equality let Luderitz host it.
In the 12 weeks training course the women learned a range of skills which helped develop their teaching skills with young children. They also made their own work, all recycled objects transformed into radios, child games and books, which were being displayed at the Graduation.

CUP FOR CANCER 2011 – SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN’T MISS

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:23:29 +0000

The Cup for Cancer was held on the 29th of October. A great opportunity for a lot of people to give their views on cancer. Looking at the large turnout in the conference room at the Nest hotel, you could see that the community of Luderitz unquestionably wants to contribute and help make a difference in the lives of people suffering from cancer.
The table competition was a great success as everyone did their best to impress. A lot of different countries were represented and evidently each group had put in a lot of creativity and hard work.
Besides all the nice things, the seriousness of cancer was also addressed. Too many people get cancer and this is not something that you want to hear. At the Cup for Cancer, there was a small video from Johanna Pontac. She spoke about her Breast Cancer and how she survived it. Sadly the disease almost took her life as she was unaware of being a sufferer. So a good lesson for women is to look after yourself and go to your doctor if you discover any kind of lumps on your breasts. By doing this you can identify Breast Cancer in it’s earliest growth. At this stage it is much easier to deal with and help prevention of spreading.
After the video, a lot of prizes were handed out. First the prize for best costumes, but the prizes everyone was waiting for was who had decorated the winning table. All the tables were beautiful but there was one table that caught everyone’s eyes as you walked into the room. It was the Hawaiian themed table with a roof to go with! It wasn’t a surprise when they received first prize for the best table.
After all the prizes, there was time to eat
and enjoy the good atmosphere.

This was the fifth year of the Cup for
Cancer and hopefully we continue to have such successful fundraising events! We also hope that the number of Cancer sufferers diminish through raising awareness and new medicines are found in search of a cure. These are all wishes for the future and we can only see what it brings.

BRIGHTSTART CALENDER UPDATE

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:20:54 +0000

The Brightstart Calendar 2012 is still going, selling and available. The calendar was made using local women as models. It was made as a fundraising project for the Cancer Association and selling well.

There are still a few of calendars available at Brightstart, but most of the calendars are obtainable from Cancer Association.
Others in South Africa found the idea of the calendar so good, that they are holding competition for models for a similar calendar.

The competition is still running in South Africa. The money raised from the competition and the money they raise with selling the calendar all goes to the Cancer Association. So they can help more people with their fight against cancer.