From guardian angel child to steps student
The path from a child in the Schutzengel program to a steps student is long – and hardly possible without the support of many Schutzengels. The children we welcome in Namibia at our facilities live on the edge of poverty in Informal Settlements. Our social steps with kindergarten, preschool, soup kitchen and after-school care were established close to the informal settlements so that we can provide support to exactly those who need us. Only very few children from the Informal Settlements in Namibia manage to graduate – their opportunities are so much more limited when the surrounding environment cannot offer support.
Many of the steps children grow up in a corrugated-iron hut, without running water or access to a toilet. In winter it is bitterly cold here; in some regions of Namibia, temperatures can drop as low as -8 °C.
Some children have more than two siblings – including one of our current steps students.
Johanna made it – as a child, she was already one of the first to be accepted into the steps Schutzengel Program in Okakarara after preschool, and for over 12 years she received regular afternoon care, homework help, and warm meals. The children also receive their school uniforms and school supplies from steps at the start of the school year.
In our steps facilities, Schutzengel children are supported and challenged right from the first grade.
Johanna is now a student in Windhoek and pursuing her goal.
After 12 years, the students graduate – their high school diploma. Some students, like Johanna, can start university right after graduation. For others, there is the opportunity in Namibia to improve their points in order to be admitted to the degree program they want. Schutzengels also support this kind of course participation to improve the high school diploma.
We not only support Guardian angel children, who make it to university, but we also show them alternative training options, for example through internships. Here, individual career aspirations are developed together with the young adults.
Johanna, now 21 and an Economics student, knows that she would not have made it to university without steps, as financially she had hardly any chance.
The path of a Schutzengel child to becoming a steps student is long, and sometimes we take detours together in order to achieve individual progress and provide the best possible support.
Are you already a Schutzengel and convinced by our education program? Then send postcards to interested people and share your commitment!
