Imelda Munika
REHOBOTH – Driven by passion and love for children, Lisa Orlam from Rehoboth decided to open a kindergarten to care for children and educate them.
Speaking recently to New Era from the kindergarten, known as Zentech Daycare Centre, Orlam, a middle-aged woman, explained that she established the centre to provide a haven for underage children who had been wandering the streets without access to primary education.
The centre was founded three years ago in Rehoboth’s Bugershoek informal settlement.
“In our informal settlement, many children roam the streets out of boredom and face numerous challenges. Thus, I decided to assist by keeping them in school, nurturing them to become responsible citizens in the future,” a passionate Orlam said.
Since then, Orlam has never looked back on her mission to remove children from the streets, offering daycare and afternoon classes.
Currently, her kindergarten hosts 13 children.
The compassionate woman now plans to establish a soup kitchen, as most of the children arrive without food and remain hungry throughout the day, hindering their ability to focus during school hours.
“Many of them attend school on empty stomachs. It pains me to see them hungry. I am therefore arranging to launch a soup kitchen to encourage attendance. Lack of food often drives them to the streets during the day,” she explained.
Orlam added that her daycare will welcome any form assistance that could enhance the daycare centre, as it will go a long way.
She is ambitious, as she has also set sights on extending the soup kitchen to support vulnerable elderly individuals also enduring hardships in the area.
The centre is in need of chairs, tables, study materials, and larger infrastructure to accomondate current and future needy children from destitute households.
Orlam’s aspiration is to expand the centre and reach out to more youngsters on the streets, a goal she believes can be achieved, only with the help of good Samaritans.
“I am grateful for any aid that can improve my daycare. The primary requirements are chairs, tables, study materials, and a larger structure,” she noted.
Earlier this year, during the rainy season, heavy downpours damaged the centre, blowing away zinc sheets and causing destruction, she recounted.
“The storm did not demotivate me. With the assistance of kind-hearted individuals, I chose to rebuild the centre,” she affirmed.