The Tjijombo family is embarking on a one-of-a-kind humanitarian and sports tournament known as the Kaezu Tjijombo tourney, slated for 6 to 8 October 2023 in Opuwo.
The primary purpose is to enhance sports development within the region while assisting in constructing the Newman Katuta Sports Stadium there, as well as giving back to the community. What is very pivotal is that the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) has committed to scouting talented under-20 athletes for the national trials to be held at the end of the year.
Spearheading this great philanthropic initiative is Namibia’s renowned media personality Toucy Tjijombo, also known as the Himba Queen. She is a former NBC sports journalist, and now a daytime talk show host of ‘The ToucyT Show.’ She is supported by three deputy ministers serving as patrons of the tournament, namely Emma Kantema-Gaomas of Youth and Sport; Maureen Hinda-Mbuende of Finance and Public Enterprises; and Jenelly Matundu of International Relations, respectively.
When her late father Job Tjijombo, and uncle Rikombua Tjijombo narrated a story about their father and how he embarked on a selfless, albeit dangerous journey in 1943, rubbing shoulders with wild animals, running more than 600km from Opuwo to Ondonga and back to collect Christmas mails for Opuwo residents, it touched the hearts of the second and third generations. Eighty years later, they saw their grand-dad as an unsung community hero, hence the birth of the Kaezu Tjijombo humanitarian sports tournament.
She further realised that the humanitarian tournament was bigger than the Tjijombo clan, and involved the community at large. Thus, she entered into a multilateral partnership with the Opuwo Town Council, NSC as well as the Ministry of Youth, Sport and National Services.
The envisaged activities for that weekend include a 3km fun walk, soccer, netball, volleyball, amateur boxing, stakeholders engagement, tug-of-war, movie screening, and the donation of sanitary pads, toothbrushes, toothpaste, school shoes and socks, as well as tree planting. The grand total prize amount for the entire tournament is N$32,000.00, with a registration fee of N$1,500 for soccer teams, N$700 per team for netball, and N$500.00 for volleyball teams, respectively.