WINDHOEK - In 2015, Ohorongo Cement acknowledged the dreams of Schack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN) members to have their own houses, and as such, approached the FNB Foundation Trust and Pupkewitz Foundation, to ensure a dedicated effort for support. The three partners joined hands towards the end of 2015, in support of this community-driven housing initiative.  This partnership was a direct result of the plea for the private sector and the public at large to assist in the provision of housing nationwide, in support of Namibia’s development policies aimed at leading the country towards prosperity, the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP).  The three partners then committed N$9 million over a three-year period to SDFN.

Focussing on sustainability, delivery of houses by the three partners entailed 91 houses in 2016, 84 houses in 2017 and 76 houses in 2018.  Ohorongo committed in 2017 to provide the Narraville community with further support in the form of a container to use for storage of cement and other building materials on site. Initially, the development of the Narraville project was slow, however, it recently showed progress, resulting in Ohorongo being able to only honour its commitment when they recently officially handed over the container for use during the SDFN Narraville project.  After extensive travels throughout Namibia, Ohorongo also found that very few people managed to manufacture bricks correctly.  In view of that, the company launched the first ever Ohorongo Brickmaking Academy training in 2017. The brickmaking academy started as a contribution towards the war against poverty by Ohorongo Cement. This training was offered at no cost to the selective trainees in all 14 regions in the country. 

The company’s partnership with SDFN and its contribution towards the provision of sustainable housing is further solidified by offering brickmaking training to 26 members of the Narraville SDFN network. “In order to build strong structures that lasts for generations to come, you need quality building blocks,” said Martha Mwatile, Civil Engineer, Concrete Specialist at Ohorongo Cement.  “Thus, the quality of the bricks you use to build your house is very important.  Input determines output, so you have to ensure you use the highest quality materials when you want to build your house,” she said.  “We have only one expectation from the trainees present here today,” said Jurgens Nel, Technical Advisor at the training.