WINDHOEK - For the past three weeks, the 2019 Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project has been distributing apples countrywide. Themed More than an apple. It’s a fruit of hope,  the selling of apples will conclude this coming Wednesday, July 31, 2019. The price for an apple remains at N$5.

Bank Windhoek’s Coordinator of Sponsorships and Events Suzette January who is also the Project Manager, said: “Despite the economic situation, we are on the right track. At the moment, we are almost done with the branch and private sales. We will start with the delivery of school orders from the first week of September.” In 2018, the project distributed 760 000 apples, which, together with the Entrepreneurial Challenge hosted by Bank Windhoek branches and departments, generated an amount of N$3 million, which was handed over to the Cancer Association of Namibia (CAN). The funds raised enabled the association to continue delivering on its mandate of fighting cancer in Namibia. “With the support we have received so far, we are confident that we will continue to make an impactful contribution towards the work done by CAN,” said January. Between 1 March 2018 - 28 February 2019, CAN screened 3 778 women for cervical cancer, referred 1 083 and 31 confirmed cervical cancer cases were treated in all 14 regions. More than 4 500 clinical breast examinations were conducted. A total of 788 men were screened for prostate cancer, of which 54 were referred and 17 prostate cancer diagnosis confirmed. Bank Windhoek’s Corporate Wellness Consultant Marjolize Scholtz encouraged Namibians to support the Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project. “As Namibians, we are known for assisting each other in times of trouble, let us carry that same spirit and fight this disease. One way to achieve this is to support the Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project. The apple is just a means to assist with a greater cause in our country,” said Scholtz. Launched in 2000, the Bank Windhoek Cancer Apple Project has become one of Namibia’s most successful fundraising projects in the area of health over the past 19 years.