The One Economy Foundation (ONE) continues to invest in improving the lives and livelihoods of Namibians. On Friday 26 March 2021, ONE handed over 8 houses to residents of Berseba and 2 houses to the residents of Oranjemund which were constructed through a sponsorship from the Foundation to the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN), this donation is valued at N$400,000.00.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, CEO of ONE Sem Mandela Uutoni emphasized that “As ONE, we understand that tackling a complex issue such as housing requires comprehensive interventions, support and funding from different actors. Namibia has a backlog of about 300 000 housing units, which would require nearly N$76 billion for land servicing and housing construction. As a Foundation, we are honored to play our role in reducing this statistic. This donation of 10 houses has far-reaching impact as housing not only provides shelter, but plays a critical role in promoting human dignity, boosting economic growth, reducing poverty, improving living conditions, and strengthening communities.”
Hon. Aletta Fredericks, Governor of //Kharas Region in her keynote address expressed gratitude on behalf of the Government for this sincere, selfless and humanitarian gesture from the One Economy Foundation for providing financial support for the construction of houses for the members of the Shack Dwellers Federation. “I am very grateful that the Foundation has embarked on this project in support of Government’s agenda to provide decent shelter to every Namibian citizen. This sponsorship is a testament of how much we can accomplish, if we work together and put our resources in causes that benefit a greater part of our society” she stated.
This sponsorship by ONE is informed by the key learnings from the 2019 High-Level Roundtable Discussion which was held by the Office of the First Lady in partnership with Shack Dwellers International, Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia and Namibia Housing Action Group. The dialogue was convened to explore pragmatic solutions to overcome bottlenecks in urban land delivery and concluded with a shared consensus that the upgrading of informal settlements is possible through enhanced community participation and end-user focused solutions.
Mrs. Monica Geingos, First Lady of the Republic of Namibia and Patron of the Shack Dwellers Federation highly values the partnership with SDFN and has committed to continue supporting the Federation in their mission to improve the lives of their beneficiaries by securing affordable land and shelter. This community driven approach is improving the living conditions of those excluded from commercial housing and financial processes.
