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May/June 2007 Surprise... The first term of the school year ended at the end of April and the girls went to see their (foster) families for their well-earned holidays. But before that we got a big surprise by discovering one morning a box full with vegetables standing next to the gate. Probably a well-meaning person from the coast left it there because between a lot of peppers we also found green asparagus which in only grown in the riverbed of the Swakop. Neither the girls nor the housemother had ever tasted it before and they were really surprised by the delicious meal Heike prepared. If it goes on like this they all will be real ‘gourmets’! More surprises..... The surprise we mentioned in the last newsletter was also finished; it is a traditional hut built next to the swimming pool to allow the children to play in the shadow during the hot summertime. You can see it on the photo below. Another surprise was the visit of a Dutch couple who knew Siama through the website. They spent a nice day at Siama, having lunch with the girls and as they asked for donations on the occasion of their wedding anniversary, they paid for a big slide out of fibreglass. A local company helped us with the transport from Windhoek to Omaruru and during the holidays Ender built a platform and a ladder for it. As you can see on the picture it is a real hit! Water pump The work for the water pump is in progress but as it happens, with lots of unforeseen problems. But we all know…. The Swiss people invented the watches and the Africans the time…… Wintertime came suddenly and it is now already very cold during the night. A heavy wind is blowing and it is very dry so that the work in the vegetable garden is getting harder everyday. But there are still pumpkins, spinach, carrots and beetroots to be harvested and we will now saw only vegetables growing in the soil. Volunteers Two volunteers from Belgium have arrived in the meantime. Ender has created a room with washing facilities next to the house and Heike has given it an African look with lots of accessories. We hope that they will have a really pleasant time at Siama and in Omaruru. Hopefully they can tell the girls a lot about Europe. Generator But Siama was even spoilt more this period.... A donation from Namibia ProKind e.V. allowed us first to buy and install a big generator which will now avoid any problems during power leaks and on top Heike and Ender could bring a big TV and DVD players from Swakopmund so that the girls have the possibility to watch movies or educational programs from time to time. Baby We have a 17th girl!! At the end of May, our housemother Apollonia gave birth to a girl. Very healthy, so we give her our very best wishes!!! Our girls find it fantastic and are very eager to hold the baby and help take care of her. Apollonia has returned to the Siama house, but is still on maternity leave. Beginning July she will pick up her duties again. A relative of Apollonia is her replacement during this time. Which is from time to time quite heavy with 16 ‘sweet girls’……… Heike told us that she will be happy when Apollonia returns and everything gets back to normal. And with this pleasant news, we conclude this newsletter. We wish all of you a very nice summer, and enjoy you holidays!! Loek, Ada, Betty and Theo Siama Children Namibie
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