we are currently realising several projects:
A centre for the intercultural exchange of young people is being built near Windhoek. A vocational school is also being built on the site of our meeting centre, offering young people practical skills and sound, internationally recognised training in the skilled trades.
This initiative aims to ensure that schoolchildren regularly receive a nutritious meal, which promotes their learning ability and health, because: âhungry children cannot learn!â The construction of a soup kitchen at Elim Primary School in Khomasdaal, Windhoek, was successfully completed.
Lore and Maik Bohm have built several kindergartens in the township of Swakopmund. âLittle Angelsâ is the name of the organisation that has been working with Intercultural Relations e.V. for years and offers the children in the slum âDRCâ safe places to learn and play.
With our intercultural exchange projects, we want to show that there is also great interest and potential in working together and gaining experience at a non-academic level. That is why we actively run exchange programmes for trainees to give the younger generations from Germany and Namibia the opportunity
These are co-financed by Engagement Global as part of the âLet's goâ initiative and implemented in cooperation with the MĂŒnster Chamber of Crafts. Our aim is to use these projects and initiatives to make a contribution to reconciliation and mutual understanding that goes beyond traditional educational programmes.
The intercultural centre is intended to become a social hub where young people from different backgrounds, faiths and skin colours can come together to work on their personal development and global challenges. Our site offers sports fields, gardens, classrooms, kitchens and accommodation that create space for exchange and shared learning. The aim is to create projects that shape a fairer world in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The German-Namibian Friendship Centre currently offers school pupils and trainees from both countries the opportunity to experience intercultural encounters and exchanges. Against the backdrop of German-Namibian history, in particular the colonial crimes and the genocide of the Herero and Nama, this project serves to promote reconciliation and build friendship between young generations from both countries. Our aim is to build bridges to a better future together.
In recent years, joint projects between German and Namibian craftspeople have achieved initial success. The meeting centre is currently being renovated and expanded by groups from both countries. These volunteer projects are accompanied by workshops and seminars on topics such as colonialism and democracy education and have met with a very positive response from the participants, between whom lasting friendships have developed across geographical borders.
The centre is a place for cultural exchange and is therefore open to non-profit initiatives and organisations to hold events in the spirit of âOne Worldâ. The site has a canteen kitchen, a dining hall, several event rooms and flats as well as dormitories. The site also has a volleyball court, a cultivable garden and barbecue facilities. For information and enquiries, please contact Christoph Lammen on: lammen@interculturalrelations.de
âHungry children cannot learnâ said Gerard Vries, Deputy Executive Director for Lifelong Learning, Arts and Culture, at the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a soup kitchen at Elim Primary School in 2019, addressing the motivation behind this project. Together with funding from the German âEin Herz fĂŒr Kinderâ foundation, Intercultural Relations e.V. has built a soup kitchen here that can provide more than 1,000 pupils with a hot meal every day. The soup kitchen was inaugurated in 2024. Young craftsmen and women from Namibia and Germany, who were involved in a voluntary service programme with Intercultural Relations e.V. in Namibia, were also involved in the construction. Construction was delayed due to the Covid pandemic. Operations are now secure and will be fully taken over by Elim Primary.
Lore Bohm has been supporting children from the âDRC Swakopmundâ for over 20 years with the âLittle Angelsâ project. The family has already built over ten kindergartens and handed them over to dedicated local kindergarten teachers. Children have the opportunity to play and learn here. They also receive a pre-school education here. This is essential in order to gain access to state schools and a key to a world outside the slums. Intercultural Relations e.V. has been working with the Bohm family for 15 years and also helps with the maintenance of the kindergartens as part of the craft exchange programme (âLet's go: young crafts in development cooperationâ).
