Solitaire School Food Clinic

Hot meals for school children in Maltahohe, Namibia

When COVID-19 caused Edward Fredericks School to close, the children who relied on the daily hot meals the school provided were left without. And with tourism coming to an abrupt halt, many of the children’s family’s income stopped almost overnight making it difficult for them to cover the cost of food. 

Pascall and Marian, owners of our accommodation partner in Solitaire, a location often visited by Exodus travellers, has been providing hot meals to local schools through the Solitaire School Food Clinic.

With funding through the Community Kickstart Project and the support of our local operator, the School Food Clinic team has been able to increase the meals they provide from 3 times a week to 5 times a week, meaning 150 children will receive a healthy hot meal every week day for the coming two months. Our Operator noted that once Exodus’ Community Kickstart grant was announced at a local fundraising event for this project, they had three big local companies also pledging donations of £500 towards the Community Fund – which means  they raised £2000! This fund now enables Pascall and Marian to look at building a small permanent kitchen at the school as well.

“Being a Kenyan I see communities daily where a school’s provision of a daily hot meal is a lifeline to a child from a disadvantaged household. So COVID’s closure of schools continent wide means not just a halt to educational opportunities for children in places such as Solitaire, but also leaves them without vital food access. So we have been humbled to see how Exodus’ operator and accommodation partners in Solitaire are supporting local communities and were delighted to hear that our Community Kickstart Fund could help extend the impact of a programme already bringing so much vital relief.”

– Crista Cullen, Exodus Travels Foundation Trustee

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