Steven Klukowski
WINDHOEK – The Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare recently received a food donation consisting of 13 585 boxes of processed offal worth over a N$1 million from African Deli (Pty) Ltd.
Frozen boxes of the delicacy known as ‘omatangara’, ready for distribution, were handed over at a ceremony that took place in Windhoek.
Officiating at the event Minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Dr Zephania Kameeta, complimented African Deli for “having made this donation possible”. In addition, he expressed profound gratitude to the local company for responding to President Hage Geingob’s call to all Namibians to eradicate poverty in all forms, giving his assurance that this handy donation will be distributed to needy members of the Namibian society.
Kameeta said he is sure the donation made will bring joy, happiness and dignity to a number of communities and individuals, who are distressed and deprived of any hope to life.
Minister Kameeta also explained during the occasion that the government on a monthly basis is shouldering the burden to secure adequate foodstuffs for distribution to the poor and needy and that it is therefore “a relief to see the private sector, in this case African Deli come on board to assist government in this regard”.
He further stressed that the concept of the food bank will be re-engineered whereby “beneficiaries will be introduced to income-generating programmes, in order to graduate from food handouts and generate income to sustain themselves.” In order not to stick to food donations as the only means to eradicate poverty, Kameeta emphasised that other measures such as educating people, employment creation, skills identification and the sharing and deploying of resources in order to create opportunities for the less privileged should be regarded as supplementing steps towards it.
In conclusion he reiterated the government’s appreciation to all those that have already made pledges to the food bank and eradicating poverty, and encouraged more Namibians to come on board in order to reach this common goal since “every little step and effort to address hunger and poverty matters.”
Speaking at the same occasion Lamek Kambarami, production manager of African Deli, explained that the company is a Namibian manufacturing enterprise that “takes note of the shortage of nutritional food for the non-income and lower income group of its country’s population”. He said that as part of its social corporate responsibility African Deli “therefore would like to donate processed matangara to the Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare in order to ease the pressure on government’s fight towards poverty alleviation”.
The food bank in Namibia was established after a cabinet decision of 2013 led by the president.
Initially its main purpose was to collect, purchase and safely distribute food to the needy and most vulnerable members of the Namibian society.
It has grown since it’s inception in April 2016, enabling it to cover 17 000 beneficiaries in six regions and is envisaged to be rolled out to the entire country by June this year.
Its beneficiaries are mostly unemployed women who still need to care for their families, sick/chronically ill people and the elderly who look after their grandchildren or orphans.