This was a great success 

and AKUN used $500 of your donations for each school!

​​This is the information that Chris, our contact in the school in Iipopo has sent to us:

Iipopo (pronounced ee-po-po) is a small rural farming community located 40 kilometers from the nearest town. Our school, Iipopo Combined School, serves 383 children from kindergarten to tenth grade. Because our teaching faculty has long held a high standard of excellence and a strong commitment to educating in a very traditional setting, many of our students walk as far as  five miles to attend our school.  

Much of our community relies on subsistence farming and herding livestock for a living, with very little money to boost the school's funding. As a result our financial account is constantly insufficient to keep the basic classroom needs appropriately stocked and available to the students. Each year only so much can be covered; important regular updates to keep up with our growing size continue to fall behind schedule. 

There is a need to purchase the appropriate amount of textbooks for each course, as well as the appropriate maps and teaching tools to present lessons. Currently in many classes we are using outdated books, with upwards of six students sharing a single textbook.

AKUN = small projects + big impact

We bought the books from a local bookstore in Namibia and the manager was great at helping us sorting it out!

NAMIBIA SCHOOLS 2016

​This is the information that Abigail, our contact in the Ediva School has sent to us:

Ediva is a small village school that serves 395 students from Kindergarten to 7th grade. When I first arrived at Ediva, my students lacked the confidence and skills to communicate with me. In the short time I have been teaching at Ediva, I have watched my students grow exponentially because of the exposure to something new; my presence has introduced them to a new language, a different culture and a world beyond their small community. But despite the growth I have seen thus far, language continues to be a barrier for my students, in part because Ediva lacks many of the resources they need to improve their language skills. What Ediva needs most urgently is a resource center where learners would have access to books, technology, and study space. 
Completing 12th grade and continuing on to university would be a triumph for any student who lives in the village. In Ediva's school circuit, in 2015 only 31% of students passed 11th grade.
After school however, my learners are expected to cultivate fields, harvest crops, look after cattle and prepare meals. Because of these chores and because none of the learners at Ediva have electricity in their homes, reviewing notes or homework outside of school is not possible. School is the only place where work can be completed, but Ediva does not have non-classroom space for learners to study and stay after school hours. 
The school lacks other resources as well. According to the American Library Association the average American school library contains over 12,000 books. Our school has less than 100 books; 30 of which were received by donation in June of this year. The day I received these donated books, 40 learners asked to stay after school to read. But because we have no library, learners were forced to read the books outside in the sand, sun and heat. 
(we understand that Abigail is working hard at the moment to get a new building for the school with funds from the Namibian government and donated funds through WorldTeach.)

AKUN worked with Abigail and Chris to place the order arrange the delivery to the schools.

​The students were so excited when the books were received! Thanks!

One of our Board members Anna has a daughter who volunteered in 2016 to teach English in Namibia. She made us aware of the great need for teaching books and dictionaries. So we liaised with 2 schools there to buy much-needed books.

We managed to get the books ordered and delivered through a local bookstore which gave the store good business and meant the schools could have more books (less shipping costs) and faster delivery!

The Ministry of Education of Namibia delivered all the books for free from the bookstore to both schools! Great help!