Namib Mills and the N/a’an ku sê Foundation – a conservation partnership.

07 Oct 2021 | News & Events | by Colette Massier

Namibia’s leading supplier of staple food items is also a leading supporter of conservation and humanitarian endeavours. From October 2020 until September 2021 Namib Mills donated tonnes of pasta, rice, maize-meal, and other power-packed provisions to the N/a’an ku sê Foundation on a monthly basis. Namib Mills has now extended their support for another year – so crucial to the N/a’an ku sê Foundation.

On Tuesday, 5 October 2021, Selma Moongo, Corporate Brand Manager of Namib Mills, and Shawapala Kandjambanga, Brand Manager of Top Score, visited the N/a’an ku sê Foundation. Here they gained further insight into the projects of the Foundation, as well as enjoyed a performance by the children of N/a’an ku sê Primary School.

The projects of the N/a’an ku sê Foundation are manifold, the Foundation’s beginnings lying in the establishment of the Lifeline Clinic in Namibia’s Omaheke Region in 2003. This healthcare facility provides free medical treatment to the local communities. Almost 4,500 patients are treated annually, more than 40% of these patients being children and over 90% San. The clinic’s twiceweekly nutritional support program sees between 120 and 190 people receiving a nutritionally rich meal per session – made possible through the support of the Namib Mills team. Furthermore, those suffering from acute malnutrition visit the clinic daily, thereby benefitting from additional dietary supplies.

N/a’an ku sê Primary School, started in 2009 and having considerably grown over the years, provides free education to 56 learners, many of whom rely on the daily meals provided by the school. And the N/a’an ku sê Foundation relies on Namib Mills in making those meals possible.

In addition to its humanitarian projects, the N/a’an ku sê Foundation aims to conserve the wildlife of Namibia. The Foundation’s motto is that of “returning the wild to the wild”, achieved whenever possible. However, in some instances animals are too habituated to humans, having been removed from conflict situations at a very young age. This habituation prevents release, with these animals finding a permanent home at the N/a’an ku sê Foundation Wildlife Sanctuary. An allocated amount of the maize-meal donated by Namib Mills helps feed those sanctuary animals benefitting from this source of nutrition. Namib Poultry Industries (NPI), linked to the innovation of Namib Mills, also supplements the diet of many carnivores.

The N/a’an ku sê team thanks Namib Mills for the ongoing partnership – a partnership between a charity foundation and one of Namibia’s most socially responsible food suppliers.