Employees are infected
Even while founder Michael Hoppe was on a project trip in Namibia, the third and so far most severe wave of infection broke out there. There are dramatic situations in some cities and regions, with entry and exit restrictions in force for the area encompassing the cities of Windhoek, Okahandja and Rehoboth. Conditions in state hospitals are critical, there is a shortage of ventilators and oxygen. Many acquaintances of mine on site are infected and some of them did not survive the virus. Staff members and children in our projects have also become infected. Our National Coordinator Ulrike Mai has desperately tried to obtain a ventilator and oxygen for a seriously ill project manager and her husband: oxygen is simply not available.
Too few vaccinations
Despite the large supply of vaccines, only very few vaccinations have been recorded: 0.78 % have already been vaccinated twice, and 4.1 % received the first vaccination. So far, larger sections of the population have hardly been persuaded to get a protective vaccination, but in the last 3 days, with sometimes more than 2,000 new infections per day, the situation has changed a little.
„Corona now has a face; almost everyone now knows people who are infected or have died,“ says Ulrike Mai, National Coordinator.
The kindergartens and preschools, as well as all schools, must close and send the children into early winter holidays. Not only adults become infected and sometimes suffer severe cases – children are also affected by the infection.
We are trying in all projects to keep our soup kitchens open , but the situation is becoming more and more difficult. Many staff absences barely allow continuous operation. Nevertheless, our project managers are trying to keep the soup kitchen running at least so that no child has to go hungry at home. In Okahandja, the soup kitchen remains open and, instead of distributing meals on 3 days as before, does so on 5 days a week.
With your help we can at least ensure the daily meals for the children and their relatives.
