About NCCV: Namibian Children's Community Vision

Location of NCCV

The Organisation NCCV is based in the northern part of the Kunene Region, Namibia. The people of the region live in a challenging environment which has very little rain and access to nutritional, fresh food is limited.

How HIV & AIDS affects this region

The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to desiccate whole generations throughout the country leaving thousands of children to fend for themselves. Not only fend for themselves but often caring for sick parents and siblings. Child headed families are commonplace.

The number of orphans and vulnerable children is estimated at over 120,000 – this in a country with a population of less than 2 million.

Goals and aims of NCCV

NCCV works alongside Namibian people to endeavour to relieve some of the burden these children bear and hopefully give back to them some of the childhood they are missing. This will be done by (funding permitting):

• establishing and running a children’s centre in the northern area of Kunene Region, Namibia;

• providing care for the orphans and vulnerable children of the area and in some cases give support to their families;

• providing food, shelter when necessary, clothes, school fees (again when necessary), and the support of access to medical care.

Long term aims of the project are towards independence skills for self sufficiency in adulthood. NCCV Children’s Centre will only be possible through donations, voluntary assistance and material support. If you are interested in giving your support please look at the following pages.

NCCV profiles

Diane Mills

Most of her adult career life before 2003 was spent working for the Nottinghamshire education authority to support children with Special Educational Needs.

She has worked with orphans and vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa since 2003. 2003 to 2008 she worked as a VSO volunteer in the Kunene Region of Namibia – the last two years specifically focusing on the marginalised communities in the north of the region (Kaokoland). Since November 2008 she has been doing similar work in Inhambane Province of Mozambique – still as a VSO volunteer. She returned in 2010, as an independent volunteer, to the Kunene Region of Namibia to establish the project ‘Vanatja vaKaoko’.

She is very familiar with the area and the needs of the people – she has contacts to work alongside that will form an integral part of the projects support network: eg. Local councillors, local Chiefs, ministry of education personnel, social workers, red cross etc.

She has been co-supporter for the ‘Sunrise Orphan Centre’ in Khorixas Namibia and coordinated funding to purchase a new building for the children.

Namibia: taken from the 'National Plan of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children’. ‘In 2007 the number of orphans in Namibia was estimated at 117,000, an additional 11,000 will become orphans in the next year and are potentially caring for their parents as they become sick and die. The estimated number of orphans and vulnerable children in 2007 is 128,000. The rights of these children to health, education, a caring family environment and full participation in society are under threat in light of increasing poverty, over-stretched extended families and insufficient mechanisms to ensure policy implementation'.

Monica Limao Simone

Monica Limao Simone is the new NCCV Community Advisor (voluntary) – she is a resident of Katatura in Opuwo and was born and raised there. She lives in Katatura with her family; mother, father, brothers and sisters and her own two children.
 
Monica has extensive experience on working in development projects in Namibia – both at national and community level.  Some of the organisations she has previously worked for include:

• Women's Action for Development (WAD), where she was the Regional Coordinator for income generating projects

• Catholic AIDS Action, where she coordinated the OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) programs in 2 regions in the north of Namibia.

• Red Cross, as trainer and supervisor of the Community Based Counselling Services.

• Ministry of Health and Social Services, again in the area of Community Counselling.

It has become already obvious that Monica is a valuable asset to NCCV.

Stuart Lee

Stuart has accumulated a wealth of experience as a designer and project manager in a wide range of working environments, a large number of these within the NGO/Charity sector.

In 2004 this experience and expertise took him to Africa to work for a year with the Ministry of Health & Social Services on production of vital health information material.

The focus of this work was regarding HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB, and involved working with UNICEF and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He was tasked with coordinating inter-agency agendas with his overall goal to improve the capacity of IEC (Information, Education and Communications) within the 13 regions of Namibia.

There from the outset, he was involved in everything from TV to print as well as the on-the-ground training of local people and volunteers. This training was in how to reach populations living in rural areas and make communications simple, coherent and clear.  

Ensuring the campaign was effectively delivered, and helping to train the local people and volunteers has meant that the goals were exceeded and the education has continued ongoing meaning lives saved and the message being that much easier to convey with the next campaign.

Veronica Parker

My name is Veronica Parker and I am a recently retired maths teacher.
I met Diane, Catherine and Stuart while I was working as a VSO volunteer in Namibia.
 
I spent 2 years in Namibia teaching in Ongha senior secondary school, and training teachers in the 5 local bush schools whose children came to Ongha.
 
I am happy to become part of the NCCV team as I know how challenging the life of children in Namibia can be and all the barriers they face to access education.
 
I hope to help with the admin' and official paperwork connected with the Charities Commission.  You'll be hearing more from me about gift aid etc. at a later date.