Epango Group a non-profit organization at Swakopmund has appealed to members of the public to donate blankets to vulnerable families at the coast.
The non-profit group’s appeal comes as Namibia is gradually transitioning into the cold winter.
Epango chairperson Ratonda Katjivikua said the organization is collecting blankets that would be donated to the needy in Swakopmund.
“Epango hopes to reach a target of 500 blankets in two months, to benefit children mostly from the Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC).” DRC is an impoverished informal settlement in Swakopmund.
A group of women visited DRC and discovered there are hundreds of children who suffer during the cold damp winter because they cannot afford blankets or jerseys to keep warm.
‘Hugs in a Blanket’ project was then born to collect blankets that can be distributed to the vulnerable children of less privileged families.
The women receive assistance from schools and social workers that identify vulnerable people, explained its chairperson.
Erongo Governor Cleophas Mutjavikua donated N$5 000 to Epango to buy more blankets and urged the group to expand their area of operation.
“We can decide to turn a blind eye to the current issue, we can say this is a government issue and it’s not our issue, but this is all, everyone sitting here and out there’s issue. So we need to be part of the solution. We can’t just sit around and wait for GRN to do something. The art of not giving and only you alone driving fancy cars is not the way we grew up. Let’s go back to the drawing board and make sure we are giving,” noted Mutjavikua.
During the past three years the women set up a soup kitchen for about 300 children in DRC and organised senior citizens daily to achieve their aim of assisting the vulnerable.
Local R&B artist Marvin Sanzila pledged support and highlighted the need for artists to join and promote initiatives like Hugs in a Blanket, said Mutjavikua.