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"The most dangerous world view is the world view of people who have not looked at the world" - Alexander von Humboldt 

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According to this motto, the founder and 1st chairman Tony Arjen Daugals ended up in Namibia in 2018 as part of a compulsory internship for his school training as a sports and event management assistant for three months as an intern at SFC Swakopmund.

It quickly became clear to Tony that youth football and the necessary infrastructure in Namibia could not be set up in a timely manner without his support.

After returning to Germany, the decision was made to found the non-profit association “Dein Ball für Namibia e.V.”. Tony Arjen Daugals has been in Swakopmund, Namibia, since 2019 to promote Namibian youth football in cooperation with the "SFC Swakopmund Youth Academy".

Initially, the idea was to support SFC Swakopmund, including its youth academy, with training materials such as footballs, cones, hurdles, etc. The project met with such a positive response in Germany that additional materials (jerseys/football shorts/football shoes/socks) were donated from all over Germany.

This led to further considerations of supporting other associations in Namibia with donations in kind. Because it is necessary for social development that change takes place all-encompassing, not just in individual regions, but throughout the country.

In order to support children and young people throughout Namibia, donation tours have been held regularly throughout the country since then. These tours led to more than 60 clubs. A few of the places visited were Khorixas, Kamanjab, Outjo, Uis, Tses, Luderitz, Windhoek, Henties Bay, Walvis Bay, Keetmanshoop, Arandis, Okahandja, Otjiwarongo, Groot Aub, Witvlei.

The supported clubs are visited regularly to get an impression of whether and how the work of DBFN e.V. was successful and what problems still exist. As part of the donation tours, the youth sections of the clubs visited are provided with kits, balls, vests and refreshments in the form of a meal. Coach Tony then gives an insight into a training session and conducts it with the children/teenagers. At the end there are games and there are snacks in the form of sandwiches and fruit - because sport makes you hungry.

Our goal is to offer every child/young person in Namibia who is interested in soccer the opportunity to play soccer, regardless of the situation of the children away from the soccer field. Positive effects are, for example, that football gives hope to many adolescents and teaches them values such as fairness, discipline and team spirit.

After a successful start of the project, the Covid-19 pandemic occurred in spring 2020 and significantly damaged the implementation of the project. Due to the lockdown in Namibia and the resulting lack of continued wages, many families were no longer able to feed themselves adequately. The need to add another section to the project was quickly recognized: nutrition/basic security.

During the pandemic, DBFN volunteers packed more than 4,500 aid packages with the help of donations from all over the world to provide the people in the townships with the essentials (rice, pasta, salt, cardboard (porridge), soap, etc.) to supply in the times of the lockdown. As part of the knowledge gained, a nutritional and educational project was created. One container was converted for each division – food is served in one of the containers (similar to a food truck) and the young players receive help with their homework in the other container.

In cooperation with the SFC, DBFN currently offers a daily snack (muesli/sandwiches) and a warm meal every Friday for the players of the SFC Swakopmund Youth Academy. In addition, our volunteers regularly support the children for an hour in various educational areas such as math/English/general education or with homework.

It is important for the association to show that sport, education and nutrition are important pillars of sustainable support. Because not everyone becomes a professional footballer, but everyone has the right to develop personally, to feel secure and to know that education is important in order to be able to find fulfilling work later in life.

The association is proud to have already accommodated two young footballers at a Montessori school through educational sponsorships. The two had problems at the state school.

Many children and young people come from the so-called townships in Namibia. Everyday life there is mostly characterized by crime, drugs and violence.  In order to prevent these problematic conditions, the "Blue Heaven" project was launched, a shared accommodation for children in the Swakopmund district of Tamariskia. Accommodation and grocery shopping are also funded by donations.

The aim is to offer the children safe accommodation with running water and electricity and their own bed. Currently, 13 players aged 5-16 live there together with their house mom Cheroline. The goal for the future is to acquire a separate house for players and coaches. For this, however, the project still needs some sponsors.

Another annual project is the youth league for Swakopmund. By founding the "DBFN Youth League" we are trying to challenge and support the clubs, children, coaches and referees. Important learning content is team spirit and discipline, but also fairness. In a league system, the children play against each other in five different age groups from April to November.

More than 500 children are in this project; they play, learn, laugh and cheer together when they win or build each other up after a loss.

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In order for all these projects to be able to continue, the association depends on donations from Germany and abroad.

"Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success" - Henry Ford (1863-1947)

If you are interested in reporting on our charity organization, please send us an email (DBFN@gmx.de). Please visit our homepage:www.dbfn.info. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook at @deinballfürnamibia.  

Donation receipts can be issued on request, since DBFN is a registered non-profit association. To donate, you will find the following options:

PayPal: DBFN@GMX.DE 

Sparkasse Prignitz: Your ball for Namibia e.V. – IBAN: DE84 1605 0101 1010 0142 57

 

Greetings from Swakopmund, Namibia