News

A housing cooperative next to the Altstetten site turned its gravel courtyard into a small pollinator garden after the workshops. Neighbours who had never spoken now share watering duty on a paper rota in the stairwell.

The 600 m² of wildflower strips planted in courtyards and schoolyards around the hive sites are flowering for the first time, with residents reporting noticeably more bumblebees and butterflies.

Planning for the next volunteer training round has started, with 15 places for medically trained volunteers who want to accompany future journeys.

A resident who rarely speaks joined in on the second verse of an old folk song from her childhood, the first time staff had heard her sing. Her daughter now brings the song book on every visit.

The first school classes visited the Wiedikon rooftop in protective suits sized for children. Nine classes are booked for the spring season, each ending with a look inside an open hive.

Two new cohorts opened in the Erongo region, bringing the programme to 120 caregivers in training across three regions.

A daughter describes her father’s journey to the Alpine foothills: coffee at a mountain inn, an hour of silence looking at the peaks, and a photo the family keeps on the kitchen wall.

A couple that has visited since the opening tells how the open house changed their week: he found the choir, she found other carers to talk to, and Tuesday became the day they both look forward to.

Every participating care home now has a fixed weekly session slot. Around 85 residents join regularly, and care staff sit in so they can repeat short singing moments during the week.

A grade-five teacher describes how lessons changed once the old, cracked board was replaced. Pupils in the back rows can follow along again, and copying exercises take half the time.

The final maintenance training finished and all three wells were formally handed over to their village water committees, closing out the initiative.

All ten hives are in place on rooftops in Wiedikon, Altstetten and Oerlikon. The colonies came through the late-winter cold well and started building up as the first blossoms opened.

A caregiver from the second cohort shares how understanding the illness changed daily life at home: fewer conflicts, more patience, and a family that now talks openly about dementia.

The first ten wish journeys of the year took passengers to the Alps, to a wedding in Stuttgart, and twice to the sea. Volunteer teams accompanied every trip.

Two new weekly groups started this month: a choir on Tuesday afternoons and a walking group on Friday mornings, both open to visitors and their carers.

Installation started at the largest of the three schools. Eight classrooms received new boards in the first two weeks, fitted together with local craftsmen.

Six music therapists completed the programme onboarding, and each of the four care homes received a set of easy-to-hold instruments: hand drums, chimes and song books with familiar Viennese repertoire.

A mother of three describes what changed when the well opened near her house. Her daughters now leave for school on time, and the family sells vegetables from a small garden watered from the well.

The Wünschewagen returned from the workshop with a new stretcher system, climate control and a panoramic side window, ready for the 2026 journey season.

The final neighbourhood lunch of the year closed the project. The baking mornings and lunches continue under SWOM’s regular activity programme, carried by the volunteer group that formed this autumn.

Forty caregivers began the training programme in Windhoek and Rehoboth. Sessions run weekly and combine care skills with peer exchange between families.

A resident who used to eat alone every day tells how the Wednesday group changed that: kneading dough in the morning and always having someone to sit next to at lunch.

Volunteers and the three school boards finished the classroom survey: 31 boards need replacing, and the first materials order has been placed with a supplier in Windhoek.

The new meeting space opened its doors after a six-week fit-out. There is now room for two activities at the same time, a quiet corner, and a proper kitchen for shared lunches.

The first well was completed and opened with the village water committee. Around 600 residents now collect water there instead of walking to the river.

The practical care curriculum is finished. It was developed together with local health workers and reviewed with the first group of family caregivers, and is now ready for the training cohorts.

Every Wednesday morning a group of around fifteen residents bakes bread and pastries together. What comes out of the oven is shared at the table and taken home to neighbours.

The hydrogeological survey found reliable groundwater at all three proposed sites, and the drilling rig completed the boreholes ahead of the rainy season.

The kitchen renovation finished ahead of the summer break. There are now two ovens, a large worktable and enough seats for twenty people at lunch.