Side by Side Early Intervention Centre was registered in 2013 as a Section 21 by Sandra Hollweg and Anita Nangombe. Early Intervention and Early detection in children with special needs were sorely lacking in Namibia. As the previous Director of Side by Side Early Intervention Centre, Sandra made sure to lay a very strong foundation using her professional qualifications and her personal experience. She reached out to the Goreangab community and quickly became a source of hope for many families.
Our mission:
We operate as a day care and early intervention centre for families of children with special needs in very poor communities. Our Mission is to provide early childhood development in children with special needs, to train parents as well as the community and caregivers and to expand early detection and Early Intervention throughout Namibia.
The disabilities include:
– Autism
– Cerebral Palsy
– Brain damage
– Down Syndrome
– Hydrocephalus
– Developmental delays
Cerebral palsy is very common among the children
Services provided includes:
Daycare Rehabilitation Centre Early Intervention Sessions
Early Detection Clinic (Neuro Clinic) Home Visits
Parent Workshops
Support Groups
Special School Readiness
Individual Sponsorship programs
School, Public and Corporate Awareness Campaigns
The current Director Huipie van Wyk met Sandra on her personal journey to find help for her youngest daughter who was born in 2013 and shortly after was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Huipie started with training in September 2017 and after Sandra left for Germany took over Side by Side as the new Director with a new board of trustees, but Sandra still being an active board member she could positively influence the day to day running of Side by Side.