PROJECT-SUPPORT NAMIBIA

Country / Location

Namibia, Kavango East Region

Namibia is a country in southern Africa bordered by Angola, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to the vast area covered by the Namib Desert (located along the southwestern coast of Africa), Namibia is the second least densely populated country in the world. The country’s name also comes from the Namib Desert and the capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia has about 3 million inhabitants, predominantly Christians from many different ethnic groups. Its economy is shaped primarily by agriculture, tourism, and mining.

Kavango East is one of Namibia’s 14 regions. It is named after the Kavango people who live there, located in the northeast of the country, bordered by Angola along the Okavango River to the north. The regional capital is Rundu, Namibia’s second-largest city after Windhoek.

General Information

The goal of Friends of Dipupo is to strengthen the local economy in the Kavango Delta by promoting locally produced goods and creating jobs to counter youth migration and the loss of cultural heritage. In the Thimbukushu language, “Dipupo” means fast-flowing river. The name symbolizes strength, endurance, life, and joy. The Dipupo project was founded in 2020 by Patrizia Bevilacqua from Switzerland together with Kostodius Malasa from Namibia. Through countless hours of volunteer work, they established a small agricultural enterprise along the main road to Divundu in the Mukwe area of Kavango East.  

Activities

The association’s vision is to ensure that people’s basic needs are met, including access to clean drinking water, nutritious food, medical care, and quality education. These factors are crucial to strengthening the resilience of vulnerable people and lifting them out of poverty. By creating jobs and opportunities in agriculture, animal husbandry, kindergarten care, and the village shop, as well as by cooperating with local organisations and training centres, the association fosters independence and provides people with a source of income. The association runs projects in the following areas.

Basic Services: Clean drinking water, village shop for local products

Agriculture: Vegetable and fruit gardens, animal husbandry, job creation  

Education: Free kindergarten with daily meals, purchase of teaching materials
Collaboration with the Frans Dimbare Rural Youth Skills Training Centre for vocational training

Health: They do not provide medical care themselves, but serve as contacts for assistance, e.g., organising emergency transport services

Project-Support

Project: Agriculture

The garden is large and can easily be expanded. All work is done by hand since there is no machinery available for farming. In 2024, they grew maize, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and watermelons. To protect seedlings and plants from direct sunlight, students from the Youth Skills Training Centre helped install shade nets over parts of the garden.

Currently, two men with agricultural experience are employed. To increase crop yields in the sandy soil, it is mixed with manure and fertile earth. These tasks require intense physical labour and great endurance. The association urgently needs more people to assist with the agricultural project.