Swakopmund
The rumblings of over 300 Harley Davidson motorbikes converging upon Swakopmund this past weekend did more than bring excitement to the town, as they also proved once again that bikers have big generous hearts when they donated to the underprivileged children.
The first-ever four-day Skeleton Coast Rally organised by the Harley Owners Group (HOG) Namibia enjoyed a huge turnout of Harley Davidson owners who travelled from as far afeild as South Africa, Zambia and all corners of Namibia to take part in this massive biking festivity here.
Apart from an action-packed programme, which commenced after registration on Thursday and ended on Sunday, the highlight was the ‘Thunder Parade’ mass ride to Walvis Bay on Friday, as never before have so many Harley Davidson motorbikes passed through the two coastal towns in one go.
A fundraising auction that same night raised a generous amount for selected local charities, where bikers dug deep into their pockets for a truly worthwhile cause. Of this, N$14 000 was donated the following day to the Hangeneni Primary School which caters for, educates and feeds hundreds of underprivileged and orphaned children living in the DRC informal settlement.
Bikers were treated to some traditional dances and a choir performance by the young learners during the donation handover ceremony. Receiving this donation on behalf of the school was the head of department, Christophine Paul, who was overjoyed, saying that the money would go towards expanding their feeding scheme facility with a view to building a kitchen.
Namib Mills also donated 250 kg of foodstuff for the daily feeding programme.
“We started the school in 2004 with 200 learners and today we stand at 1 055 children, with 30 teachers,” she said, adding that for most of the children, the only meal they receive is the one the school provides for them.
Hanganeni Primary School, situated in the DRC, was donated by the European Development Comission, but with the constant influx of people settling in Swakopmund due to mining activity in the area, the school is being flooded with young children who come from needy homes in the area.
“We need to expand our classroom facilities to accommodate the growing number of children at the school, and our challenges are to erect important facilities such as a school hall, library and fully fledged kitchen,” further naratted the HoD.
Speaking on behalf of the large group of Harley Davidson bikers gathered at the school, Waltie Kleinhans (Director HOG Namibia), said, “We as citizens must make it our responsibility to provide for those less fortunate, and for all of us who enjoyed our stay in this beautiful town of Swakopmund, we wanted to give something back to those in need.”