ETILYASA– The Etilyasa village, located some ten kilometres from Okahao in the Omusati region, came to life as community members organised a family fun day that ended up being three days of fun activities.
The activities included soccer, athletics, prize-giving to the best performing learners from the whole of Otamanzi constituency, recognising and giving gifts to all elderly persons 80 years old and above as well as motivational speeches to encourage young people to lift up their community and behave well. Only the final two soccer teams played on that day, much to the delight of the community members. The winning teams walked away with a cash prize of N$4 000.00, trophies as well as huge smiles on their faces. Athletics was also a much enjoyable event as people ran against each other and per age group – much to the delight of the crowd! Many who grew up together and live in different parts of the country were able to come together and show each other who was the fittest of them all. Young children as well as women and men of all ages took part in this event.
School children up to grade ten received wonderful prizes that included calculators, flip files, highlighters, crayons with the top two in Grade Ten receiving tablets.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Peter Iilonga, who is a native of Etilyasa, was also present and encouraged the youth to stay away from self destructive activities and to take their future in their own hands. He was also proud that there was no use of alcohol during the event yet everyone was having a great time. Iilonga warned the community of the dangers of alcohol that people would not be able to be productive; alcohol breeds violence, people’s health will deteriorate quickly and that the community will not prosper. He also encouraged the community to take care of each other as it had been the practice in yester-years.
This is expected to be an annual event with next year promising to be even better. Sponsorships and donations were received from the Founding Father, The Erastus Shapumba Foundation, Edward Asino of Matuwa Market, Kalahari Holdings, Olthaver & List Group, Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, Advocate Matti Asino and many others who gave their time to make the day a success.