During the graduation ceremony held at Silver Spoon Hospitality Academy on Wednesday 14th March 2018 we saw representatives of the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) that were present to celebrate the success of 5 students. The 5 students whose graduation was made possible through the sponsorship of scholarships by the TUI Care Foundation and Futouris e.V. with the support of the GIZ Sport for Development program are Martina Shipanga, Joritta Cloete, Jenny Mento, Rosalia Silvanus and Mellissa Eises.
After an intensive process and a year of training in the hospitality field for a Diploma in Food and Beverage Services at Silver Spoon Hospitality Academy in Windhoek, the 5 girls graduating were filled with excitement, hope and drive to pursue their careers in the hospitality industry. Family and friends also joined to share in the joy, celebrate with and congratulate the young women on their achievement and on their prosperous futures. One of the graduating students Miss Joritta Cloete said “When the going gets tough don’t give up, because the sunrise you’ll experience tomorrow morning will be much brighter. Thanks GIZ Namibia.” An additional 7 girls who had also received scholarships are scheduled to graduate sometime in August 2018.
The NFA Girls Centre is supported through the NFA’s partnership with German Development Cooperation, GIZ and private partners from the tourism industry such as the Futouris e.V. and the TUI Care Foundation. This initiative falls in line with the NFA Girls Centre’s objectives which are “To empower and support girls and young women through sport as well as to create safe spaces for their wellbeing. With one of the focus components being to educate, programs such as these not only aids to empower the girls and their families but ultimately improve the employability of Namibian women.”