Charles Tjatindi

Tsumeb in central-northern Namibia is home to a unique project. The project, a chicken breeding enterprise, has broken all barriers to make it stand at shoulder level with similar more established projects.
  The chicken farming project is part of the Tov HIV/AIDS and Vulnerable Children organisation, and its main mandate is to take care of up to 65 children by putting them through school and caring for their daily needs.

  This is where the chicken project comes in; it has managed to sustain the small farm on which it is based and the project altogether.
  “We have managed to send these children to school and also pay for those working actively on the project through these chickens,” Reverend Edward Amadhila, who heads the organisation, said.
  The chickens are raised through an intensive hatching system and mainly used for eggs. The eggs are in turn sold to various outlets around Tsumeb. 

  The response has been overwhelming. In fact, the organisation has not been able to meet the demand for the town as orders keep streaming in.
  “It is amazing how a dream can unfold in front of your eyes and you still feel like it is not real. We are very proud of the project’s achievement as it continues to grow from strength to strength,” he said.
  The chicken farm got off the ground in December 2019. Believing that bigger is better, Amadhila and his team went big from the start by buying 2000 chicks which launched the project.

  He said the chickens lay between 1 500 and 1 700 eggs a day, making the project not only self-sustainable, but a lucrative opportunity to branch out to other business forms too.
  “Through the selling of the eggs, the project has managed to sustain itself. We are very grateful that with its returns, we can help vulnerable children under our care,” Amadhila noted.

  Amadhila plans to take the project to even greater heights; he intends increasing his laying chickens to 4 000, which is double the current number.
  The organization carries out small-scale agriculture on a piece of land outside Tsumeb in the Oshikoto region, where it also ventures into horticulture and small stock rearing.
  Amadhila is optimistic that if demands for the product of the project remains as is, there is just one way the project will go - all the way to the top.   As for now, Amadhila as his assistants on the farm continue making sure that their current investment is taken care of and not left to rot.