WALVIS BAY – A matron at the Lutheran Church at Okombahe, Sherly Gontes, has opened her heart to the vulnerable children at the settlement, providing each of the 40 vulnerable children with one meal a day. Gontes who has been a matron for close to 10 years is using her mere N$500 monthly income to feed the hungry mouths.
Okombahe is situated about 45 kilometres from Omaruru in Erongo Region.
Gontes started feeding the children mostly schoolchildren between the ages of 7 and 14 since May this year but says there was no plan when the feeding scheme started.
“I would sit in front of my home watching kids going to school daily while complaining about being hungry. It made me feel a bit guilty and I decided to share the little I have with them. No one wants to see a child go hungry,” she explained to New Era.
According to Gontes she cooks on a daily basis and the meals range from porridge to fish and macaroni or rice.
“In the beginning I would get worried where the next meal would come from but amazingly I am able to feed the kids daily,” she explained. Gontes says she not only feeds them but uses the feeding scheme to encourage children to attend school for a better future.
“Each morning before school starts, they stop at my house to eat. Food plays an important role in a child’s life. Sometimes they opt to drop out rather than attend school on an empty stomach and this is worrisome if we look at the high unemployment rate at our settlement,” she explained.
Apart from unemployment, Gontes says locals are abusing alcohol and there are no jobs at the settlement. “The only notable jobs are at a couple of government establishments and occasional construction sites that sometimes employ locals,” she said.
According to Gontes some of the older children she cares for are mentally challenged and need to feel loved, something which some of them don’t experience at their homes.
Gontes however feels the need to empower the children to enable them to break the trend of poverty by giving the kids not only a plate of food and washing their clothes but also caring for those who need nursing and nurturing.
“These children are our future generation and Namibia will surely reap leaders, specialists, teachers and many other professionals from them, therefore assisting them is of utmost importantamce.
“Children should concentrate on their education and not worry about what they willl eat,” she said.
By Eveline de Klerk