The golden dunes of the Namib Desert – the oldest desert in the world – roll like frozen waves across the vast expanse, shaped by the wind and bathed in warm sunlight.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
IN SOUTHERN AFRICA WE CONCENTRATE ON EDUCATION PROJECTS IN SWAKOPMUND
🇳🇦 WEF OPEN DOORS EDUCATION CENTRE - ODEC
Swakopmund, Namibia | Opened in January 2024 | Inaugurated in October 2024
With the new “WEF Open Doors Education Center” (ODEC) project, we are pursuing the goal of creating a higher standard of education for financially disadvantaged children, young people and adults in the DRC township. An important step towards achieving this goal is the development of infrastructure for additional educational programs that are lacking in Namibia. With the WEF Open Doors Education Center, we are creating an infrastructure for supervised learning for around 250 children, adolescents and young adults every day.
In addition, more than 10 jobs will be created. The education center is located in Matutura, between Mondesa and DRC. The Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC) is a township in Swakopmund, Namibia, where there is no running water, connected sanitary facilities or electricity.
The offer of the ODEC:
- Community Center
- Youth Program
- IT Center
- Vegetable garden & environmental education
- Community and soup kitchen
- Elementary school (grades 1-3)
- Homework supervision (grades 1-12)
- Library
- Kindergarten and preschool
ODEC is a milestone in achieving high-quality education for children and young people from low-income families and offers them a comprehensive support program.
The special thing about ODEC is that we accompany and support the children from pre-school age through to university entrance, enabling them to get to know us intensively and thus not only provide an educational opportunity, but also a fixed constant for a structured everyday life, which is particularly important for children and young people from the township. Pupils who have shown social commitment and reliability during their time at the ODEC are also given the chance of an OPEN DOORS STIPENDIUM.
We are the main funder of this project and are proud to be part of this excellent work. We will continue to support the ODEC and the TSN in the future.
IMPRESSIONS OF THE NAMIBIA TRIPS 2022 AND 2024
Namibia is known for its vast, open landscapes and national parks such as the Etosha National Park, where giraffes can often be observed in their natural environment. Giraffes fulfil an important role in the ecosystem as they contribute to the dispersal of seeds and influence the vegetation in the parks.
In his position as founder and chairman of the aid organization “Tangeni Shilongo Namibia” (TSN), which is recognized as a non-profit association in Germany and Namibia, Volkan Sazli oversees the DRC School Project & Community Centre and the WEF OPEN DOORS Education Centre (ODEC) in Swakopmund.
As Managing Director of WEF Southern Africa, he will develop further education projects in Namibia and neighboring countries in South West Africa on behalf of the Werner Erkes Foundation over the next few years. The construction of the new DRC School Project in Swakopmund is already scheduled for this year. (see below)
The Board of the Werner Erkes Foundation is looking forward to a competent and cordial cooperation.
Volkan Sazli, Managing Director
We would like to thank our partner association TSN for designing and implementing these unique educational projects.
Since its foundation in 2015, the association “Tangeni Shilongo Namibia e.V.” has served the promotion of child, youth and family welfare, the promotion of non-governmental organizations, the promotion of charity (individual case help), the promotion of international sentiment, tolerance in all areas of culture and the idea of international understanding. It is committed to the sustainable common good exclusively in Namibia.
Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC)
The ODEC and the Schoolproject & Community Center are located directly in the DRC.
The Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC) is an informal settlement in Swakopmund, Erongo Region, Namibia. It was established in 2001 as a temporary resettlement settlement for people waiting for social housing in the city and was built mainly from recycled waste from the municipal landfill. Materials included corrugated iron, wood, canvas and plastic.
In 2015, the population was estimated at around 20,000. There is no electricity and no sanitary facilities. Running water came from a single tap that was installed in 2012. The inhabitants found work in menial jobs in Swakopmund.
WEF HORIZON Primary School is located in the middle of the informal settlement Democratic Resettlement Community, Swakopmund.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
🇳🇦 THE WEF HORIZON PRIMARY SCHOOL
HAS OPENED ITS DOORS
Swakopmund, Namibia | Start of construction June 2024 | Commissioning January 2026
HORIZON is located on the sandy soil of the Namib Desert in the residential area of the Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC), a township of Swakopmund in Namibia. The school project is one of the few places that has running water, connected sanitary facilities and electricity.
This school project offers daily support to up to 125 children and young people in various areas, thus pursuing a holistic approach. The school project is an oasis that supports even the youngest children and offers older children the urgently needed support during school hours in the form of homework supervision and infrastructure for research tasks. This is immensely important for the children of the township who do not have a table, writing materials or light at home.
It also provides a place for those who have not been able to get a place at a state school to be looked after and taught. In this way, we not only provide all these children with an education, but also give them a safe haven and a structured daily routine that keeps them off the streets and away from violence and drugs. These programmes represent an enormous change in the children's lives, leading to lower dropout rates, better grades, fewer teenage pregnancies and reduced drug abuse. All these programmes are supported by our dedicated staff, who put their heart and soul into the children's education every day.
In January 2026, the time had come: our new WEF HORIZON Primary School in Swakopmund (Namibia) opened its doors. The school, which was founded and operated in old shipping containers years ago, has been transformed into a modern school complex within a year and is another project of hope in the informal settlement DRC. Five school classes with 125 pupils, who had previously been temporarily accommodated in our ODEC education centre, have moved into their well-equipped classrooms and other teaching and ancillary rooms.
The grand opening is planned for the summer.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to our friends at our partner association TSN (Tangeni Shilongo Namibia) for their outstanding work. All the teachers and children are extremely happy with the new learning environment. And so are we.
125
pupils
are taught at HORIZON. It also offers a library, homework supervision, a playground and a hot meal every day.
5
school classes
HORIZON teaches grades 1 to 5. Kindergarten and preschool are still located at ODEC.
1,2 Mio Euro
construction costs
Includes modern IT equipment, library, meeting rooms, kitchen and outdoor facilities.
The WEF HORIZON Primary School
before the new building in 2025
The previous DRC school project at the same location offered up to 200 children and young people daily support in various areas in temporary, old shipping containers, thus pursuing a holistic approach even then.
For the children of the informal settlement DRC, who have no table, writing materials or light at home, this was and is immensely important.
Pictures of the construction site
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