Poverty and social exclusion in the family of origin are the causes for the high risk of abandonment of children who are ultimately destined to be supported by shelters.
The children of all ages in our care live with their extended families in the slums of Otjomuise: we provide for toddlers aged 3 up to adolescents aged 14.
At the Mammadù Center we provide the children on a daily basis with water, nutritious meals, educational assistance and study support, in a safe and protected environment which is also used for play and sport.
This type of daily care at our at our center still allows them to grow up in their family environment. This is the reason why the Center is recognized and actively supported by the Ministry of Health and Social Services who refer children in greatest need of help to us.
The selection criteria take orphans and cases of extreme poverty and economic distress into special consideration, with equal opportunities for boys and girls, who are selected in equal number and proportionally representing the various ethnic groups (we try to include all ethnic groups without distinctions, although Bushmen and Himba receive preferential consideration because traditionally they are treated as social outcasts by the other ethnic communities in Namibia).