A step towards a better future

SPES receives much-needed help
The Capricorn Group has donated N$120 000 to the organisation Step out of Poverty through Education, Encouragement and Support (SPES), a charity established to serve our country’s less fortunate children and youth.

The money was used throughout the year towards the development of one of the many schools that SPES supports in Windhoek’s most impoverished areas. The anonymity of the schools is safeguarded to ensure the protection of the minor children who are educated at them.

The morning of Friday 22 November 2019, the Group representatives were delighted to see progress at one of the schools. The money sponsored by Capricorn Group was used to construct a portable precast classroom structure and two flush toilets connected to the sewer system. At the moment water has to be poured into the cisterns manually. Once the school is connected to the municipal water supply, it would eliminate the need to buy and carry water from outside the school grounds. Also added were a fence and a lockable gate to secure the property. During the visit, the cheerful, singing kids also received Christmas gifts and enjoyed cake with their guests.

Esme Coetzee, the spokesperson for SPES, said: “It was important for us to ensure that the agreed-upon deliverables of the project took place promptly, as per our commitment towards Capricorn Group.”

SPES also supports 25 pre-schools in the informal settlements of Windhoek and works around some of the practical challenges they have.

During the visit, Capricorn Group financial director Jaco Esterhuyse thanked SPES for the work done for the community. Addressing the children, he said: “Kids, work hard. Remember that education is the one thing that will make all things possible for you.”

He added that the Capricorn Group, as a truly Namibian business, loves the country and will do what it can to grow and support its communities. The Group firmly believes in planting seeds that will grow into sustainable opportunities by being a “connector of positive change”, he said.