LÜDERITZ - Martin Lyhme from Germany and Michel Weijers from Netherlands has expanded the vegetable and fruit garden at Helene van Rhijn Primary School in Lüderitz last week. 

They started with it in 2016 as a small vegetables and fruits project for the learners. The two travellers decided after traveling many years in Namibia that they wanted to do something with a positive impact during their holidays.  Because Lyhme already did some projects in Lüderitz for the town council in the past years, so starting a new project at the school was natural. Their idea was to plant fruit trees to offer learners a more balanced meal at school, and to show and teach children how they can grow their own vegetables and fruit trees to become more self-sufficient in the future. 

The first fruit trees were planted in the school’s vegetable garden that was in existence then and around the school buildings. Despite the effort of the school, many fruit trees around the school buildings did not survive. Luckily, most of the fruit trees in the vegetable garden survived and started to produce the first fruits this year. At the meeting with the school, Lyhme and Weijers indicated their readiness and willingness to continue with the project. They also concluded that it was better to focus on the vegetable garden.  

The expansion of the vegetable garden and its fencing meant extra cost. Therefore, Lyhme and Weijers contacted the Rotary Club of Lüderitz to ask for a donation for the project. Immediately the Rotary Club approved the project and secured 50% of the necessary investment.  The other 50% was donated by Lyhme and Weijers who also added money for the project donated by Anne Bösken-Diebels from Germany. 

Martha Isaak, a teacher at the school, lauded the great collaboration between the Rotary Club of Lüderitz, the town of Lüderitz, and the donations from, Lyhme, Weijers and Bösken-Diebels, as the school now has a large vegetable garden with lots of space for new vegetables and a lot of new fruit trees that can provide learners with extra nutrients.  Weijers and Lyhme hope next year they can see the project being a success so that they can replicate this success to other schools in Lüderitz in the future.