Windhoek
Standard Bank Namibia contributed N$500 000 to its own Standard Bank Buy-a-Brick Project, which aims to raise funds for the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN).
The Standard Bank Buy-a-Brick Project aims to mobilise the private sector to raise the funds required by SDFN to build affordable housing for disadvantaged Namibians. The public can buy the ‘bricks’ – which are actually erasers – at a cost of N$5 each, and the proceeds go towards the federation.
The bank said it chose to have erasers as the token ‘bricks’ as an eraser symbolises the bank’s efforts in erasing poverty in the country and communities. “Despite the fact that poverty levels have declined from an unprecedented high level of 70 percent to around 30 percent over past 17 years, incidences of poverty still remain high.
“That is why the Buy-a-Brick initiative is realising the call of poverty eradication and encouraging Namibians to play their part in making a difference,” said the chief executive of Standard Bank Namibia, Vetumbuavi Mungunda on Tuesday.
First Lady Monica Geingos, who is the patron of SDFN, commended Standard Bank for the initiative, saying: “When we look at our communities there are people who can’t afford low-income houses and, therefore, what Standard Bank is doing is a creative and worthwhile initiative for uplifting poor communities and lifting the country out of poverty.”
The ‘bricks’ can be bought by completing an order form at the nearest Standard Bank Branch between October 13 and December 4. Standard Bank Namibia has been a development partner of the SDFN and the Namibia Housing Group Alliance since 2007.