Welcome to the
Spoonk loves namibia foundation
Motivation
25 years ago Albert Scheffer, who works for the Municipality of Smallingerland, took the initiative to make Gobabis sister city of Drachten. More than 12 years ago, ROC Friese Poort in Drachten started a theater exchange project between the drama theater department in Leeuwarden and Drachten and students from various primary schools and projects in the Epako slum in Gobabis. The exchange has resulted in many good contacts in Gobabis and nearby Windhoek. The annual visits were very successful. De Gooitsen Eenling, drama teacher at the Friese Poort, has been taking care of this theater project all these years and has also collected money to build an amphitheater, where theater and dance performances by young people from Epako could take place on a regular basis. However, the amphitheater was built right next to one of the wealthiest districts of Gobabis. The residents have ensured an early end to the amphitheater with all kinds of nuisance reports.
Introduction
The major initiator of the project, Gooitsen Eenling, has now retired and handed over the baton to Caro Kroon in 2016. In recent years, Caro and Gooitsen have worked with new impetus on a relaunch. A Foundation has been established (SPOONK loves Namibia) and hard work is being done to obtain AMBI status. Together, in addition to many lessons for groups of children, they have also trained a large group of teachers in art and theater in recent years. A working group has also been set up in Namibia that is organizing its own foundation in collaboration with Henk Olwage (initiator of the Light for the Cyldren Foundation). We have been asked by the governor of Gobabis to start an Arts & Theater School.
From the start, it is the intention to use the project structurally to offer more development opportunities to the children and young people of Epako. The various ministries will start running after 1 year and ultimately evaluate the project as well. The SPOONK loves Namibia Foundation now mainly works with ministries. That cooperation is going very well.