Windhoek
A group of young people at the southern village of Maltahohe have defied the odds by feeding the most vulnerable members of society from their own pockets.
The youth, who are part of a community project called ‘Hope for a Better Generation’, saw the need to do something about the situation of the needy in society when they saw many people wandering about aimlessly with no guarantee of a meal.
“There’s a lot of poverty in our place,” said 22-year-old Shaun Urjon, the secretary of the group. The young people feed mainly children and the elderly in the village that could otherwise not feed themselves.
Urjon and his team have big dreams for their project, as they want to take it one step further by building a centre for needy children and the elderly.
There are ten committee members in the group. He said they raise funds to feed the children and elderly by selling vetkoek (fat cakes) and plates of food.
“Currently we’re doing this project at a house lent to us by an uncle of the founding member of the group,” explained Urjon.
“When I saw the struggles of the orphans and vulnerable children in our community I was convinced to help. I felt very bad that there are people suffering,” Urjon said.
Group founder Michael Witbooi said he attended palliative care training in Windhoek. “I tried looking for work, but I could not get any and I decided to come up with something like this to help the vulnerable in our society,” said Witbooi.
He says the group is urgently in need of donations to give assistance to the poor within their community.
“I would appreciate it if people could donate items, such as shoes and jerseys, so that we can distribute these to the vulnerable within our community, since winter is here,” said the 23-year-old Witbooi.