Keetmanshoop
Income-generating projects across all seven constituencies of the //Kharas Region last Friday received sewing machines, vacuum cleaners and other equipment worth N$330 000.
The Directorate of Community Empowerment under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare gave the items as part of its mandate to strive to improve the quality of life of all Namibians.
The equipment was given to encourage men and women to embark on income-generating projects to promote self-help initiatives.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in //Kharas, the Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency Councillor Jims Christiaan said the initiative has come at the right time, as it would help eradicate poverty in the region as well as the entire country.
He narrated how people were dying of starvation in the country and programmes like this could help in eradicating poverty and hunger. He, however, told the beneficiaries he does not want to hear of such cases ever again.
“This (equipment) comes at a time when we often hear that ‘ill-fed’ features on the death certificates of our elders and children, it’s a shame,” he said.
He urged beneficiaries to work hard and grow from humble beginnings to big businesses that would create more jobs for other Namibians and contribute to the country’s economy. “I urge you to grow from small to medium and eventually into bigger businesses that would generate more money,” he noted.
The councillor also called upon the beneficiaries not to regard their businesses as too small to co-operate with security agencies such as the Namibian Police Force, as investing in security guarantees growth of the businesses. He also urged them to make meaningful social contributions whenever possible, as no business is too small to have social responsibilities.
Christiaan appealed to established businesses to assist the beneficiaries in any way that would be of any benefit to their businesses. “Any partnership based on a win-win principle is always healthy and a great winner,” he remarked.
Explaining the importance of business knowledge, Christiaan urged the beneficiaries to join the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry and not wait until they think they have grown enough because they will lose out on crucial advice and mentoring.
He further encouraged the beneficiaries to make use of the different media to promote, market and sell their businesses to the masses out there until such a time that they have grown into a household name.
The beneficiaries, mostly women, would venture into different businesses such as upholstery, bakery, needlework and car washes.