Today, the German Ambassador Herbert Beck and Ms. Ester Ishiwa Haikola, Executive Director & Founder and Ms. Julia Nangula Kanyemba, General Manager of “Wakapinya Evironmental Education” signed an agreement which entitles the organisation “Wakapinya Evironmental Education” to receive a total of 34,200 Euros from the climate fund of the Federal Foreign Office. The organisation will implement a project that will create awareness for environmental and climate issues amongst the youth of Namibia.

The aim of the project is to sensitize young people and school learners for their environment and its challenges and also to provide them with information about the climate in general and climate change in particular. The organisation will produce an online show called “Youth Enviro Show” which will transfer knowledge and awareness and will be airing twice a month on social media platforms such as Facebook and You Tube. The online show, which will be held in different Namibian languages, will also provide a platform called “Clubhouse” to the audience and through this, give all interested parties the possibility to discuss current topics.

Additional to the online-show, a road show will be conducted in three different schools in the Khomas, Omaheke and Hardap regions. This road show will introduce environmental clubs called “Enviro Warriors Club” in the selected schools, which will initiate a gardening and tree planting activity at these schools as well as in the surrounding communities. Furthermore, learners and any interested youth will be taught to create design and arts from recycling materials. This will give them an understanding of sustainability and teach them more about the concept of reduce, reuse and recycling. The produced items can be sold for an income.

Project partner:

“Wakapinya Evironmental Education” was founded by Ester Ishiwa Haikola, a 28-year-old woman hailing from the north of Namibia. With a strong enthusiasm and commitment for both education and the environment and whilst working as a teacher, she discovered that many young people and students were not environmentally conscious; which sparked her ambition to start an NGO to raise awareness for environmental issues.

The founder as well as all co-members of Wakapinya Environmental Education are highly qualified in the field of environment and education. Together they share a strong commitment to protect the environment and to transfer their expertise to the youth. This makes them a perfect fit to pass on their knowledge.