N/a'ankuse chef wins award

When Mr Jan Verburg and Burgland Charitas agreed to support the dreams and ideas of Marlice & Rudie van Vuuren and Chris Heunis in 2004 they committed to making a difference to the lives of the poverty stricken Bushman community in Namibia. Now, five year’s on and N/a’an ku sê is proud to say that we employ 23 Bushman families in a variety of roles at the sanctuary and lodge including leisure and hospitality, mechanical and farm work roles. We are dedicated to improving the lives of these historic tribes people through training, education, healthcare and improved living conditions.

One of the Bushman is trainee chef Lientjie. Lientjie has been trained by the Lodge manager, Rhona Strauss whose dedication and passion for not only her work as a chef but also to improving the lives for the Bushman has enabled Lientjie to win 3rd place in the recent Namibian Chef of the year competition. This is Lientjie’s story;

My name is Lientjie Lodewyk. I was born in 1987 on the 19th of November in Gobabis State Hospital. I grew up at Plessis farm, a small village where my mother was working in Nico Swartz Shop. In 1993 my mother started working at Gqaiha Primary School which is a school for Bushmen children. I started school in 1995 at Gqaiha until Grade 5 and completed my Primary Course at Ben van der Walt in Gobabis. I attended high school at Johannes Dohrën High School from 2002 until 2007.

I am currently a trainee-chef and started on 16 May 2008 at N/a’an ku se Lodge. I have experienced a lot of things and, learned more things that I have not known. N/a’an ku se has made me to be proud of myself and has helped me to become more independent.

My dream is to become a chef and to cook very good food for the guests. I also want to become as famous as my manager, Rhona Strauss. My biggest dream for N/a’an ku se is that it becomes the most famous lodge in Namibia. I am so happy that I have ended here at the lodge and I know for sure what I want to be in life.

We opened the Charity Lodge with the aim of allowing paying guests and visitors to experience African wilderness and wildlife up close, whilst educating them about conservation and creating much needed employment opportunities for the Bushman community. The Lodge now employs mainly Bushman with all of its profits going directly to benefit N/a’an ku sê’s work with wildlife conservation and our Lifeline Clinic which is dedicated to the health and welfare of the Bushman community. Last year the clinic provided free treatment to over 2200 Bushman as well as delivering affordable primary healthcare to those living in Epukiro in the east of Namibia.

Our sincere thanks go to Mr Verburg, Burgland Charitas and everybody who has supported and shown commitment to the work of N/a’an ku sê for making Lientjie’s dreams of becoming a top chef a reality and making a difference to the lives of many Bushman and their families. We are incredibly proud to of the achievments so far and creating a sustainable charity investment.

To experience one of Lientjie’s sumptuous meals and enjoy the tranquil surroundings of the lodge visit www.ecotourism-namibia.com or email naankuselodge@iway.na