Kavango Vision 2010

In the year 2008 with the newly created Trust it has been decided to embark in a very ambitious programme to address, in more comprehensive and holistic way, the developmental needs of those living in the Kavango region.
Based on the observation that while tourism is one of the growing industry in the country the is still a strong need of high trained personnel to address the demand of a highly sophisticated sector. For this reason starting from the experiences gained while assisting the Hospitality School of the Helmut Bleks Foundation in Windhoek, it has been decided to develop a similar school in the Kavango region.

The core idea is to create a hospitality school in an area already identified near to the Shikenge community on the Kavango river in the in the proximity of the St. Boniface school (situated at 60 km from Rundu) and the Nyangana hospital (situated at 40 km from the school). Here the students from the region will receive training in all aspect of the hospitality sector while the synergy with the St. Boniface and the Nyangana hospital will be activated in order to provide general education to the students as well as medical assistance in case of need. The project will also envisage a small lodge which attached to the school will ensure that the students receive both theoretical and practical training while at the same time creating the bases to make the school self sustainable. Specific income generating activities directly linked with the tourist sector will also be attached to the project; in particular a cultural village will be created in an area already identified by the municipality of Rundu and designated to the project.

A vegetable garden which will provide fresh herbs to both the school and the lodge has also been envisaged as part of the project, the excess production will then be used to provide food to those living with HIV/AIDS (both orphans and adults) who are catered by the other projects initiated in Rundu. At a later stage and when the school and the lodge have started to be sustainable a crocodile farm will also be included in the project this will in fact both serve as an attraction for the tourist so to provide additional income as well as healthy food for both the students and the visitors, Finally a centre to assist those who are alcoholics, will be created, being this one of the major problem in the region and in the Kehemu settlement. All those who will be involved in the implementation of the different projects will come from the near by local communities thus providing both employment and income to them.

The idea of the Trust is to implement the Kavango Vision 2010 by stage, in other words, while keeping the macro vision in mind the different units which are part of the whole picture will be implemented when funds are sourced. Detailed businesses for each of the units are in progress, this will then presented to interested donors who can sponsor them.

This project has already received the acknowledgment of the Kavango regional institutions which have already assigned a piece of land on the Kavango River for the implementation of the different activities.

Kehemu Tuzeni Komeho