Pupkewitz Foundation hands over 7 houses at Kalkfeld

Michelline Nawatises
Staff Reporter



The Pupkewitz Foundation, in collaboration with the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia, handed over seven houses in the Kalkfeld area as part of its infrastructure development initiative.

A total of 71 houses were handed over by Derek Klazen, deputy minister of urban and rural development.

The ministry of urban and rural development funded 37 houses; Standard Bank Namibia’s Buy a Brick initiative funded 27 houses (Standard Bank -10 houses and MTC 17 houses), and the Pupkewitz Foundation funded seven houses.

The N$240 000 for building the seven houses was allocated to the Shack Dwellers Federation on top of the Foundation’s N$1 million annual donation to support the construction of low-cost housing countrywide.

At the moment, Namibia has about 216 000 shacks in 282 informal settlements and backyards countrywide, which house about 40% of the Namibian population.

Furthermore, 89% of the Namibian population does not qualify for home loans from banks, nor can they access commercial housing.

As many as 19 000 households forming part of the SDFN do not have security of tenure and not all local authorities provide serviced land.

Key to the Pupkewitz Foundation’s strategies are deliberate partnerships with government and reputable non-profit organisations whose development goals are aimed at viable, innovative and suitable solutions in response to national and global priorities.

The Foundation’s projects are, therefore, aimed at addressing social and economic disparities and responding to the government’s developmental priorities.