RUNDU – Mukwe constituency youth Aron Mundanya is extending a helping hand to the needy members of his community in the Kavango East.
He does this through his organisation called Mukwe Orphans, Vulnerable Children and Youth Support Services (Mukwe OVC).
“Coming from a poor background, I was inspired to start Mukwe OVC with the prime purpose of helping orphans and vulnerable children and supporting the youth in our community and society at large. We are in pursuit of bringing change to our community, we want to not only give food and clothes but to educate children and youths as well as inspire growth in our community,” he told Youth Corner.
Mundanya attended the Rundu Vocational Training Centre, where he did bricklaying and plastering, and then enrolled with Namcol for a certificate in community work with children and youths.
“After that, I got assistance through a social worker Wendy Wilson who worked in our area to go and study social work at the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.”
Since starting the organisation in 2018, Mundanya (29) has managed to build a team of 18 youthful volunteers who each contribute N$1 200 per year to run their community assistance programme.
They all have full-time jobs and attend to their duties at Mukwe OVC after working hours and in their free time.
They have been assisting about 26 students at various tertiary institutions and helping vulnerable members of the community through various support programmes with resources the NGO raises. In May, Mundanya and his group, through a gala dinner, managed to raise N$85 000 that they have used to buy school uniforms for identified vulnerable learners and food for some elderly who face hunger in their constituency as well as fund education for students they care for.
“People can assist us by donating anything to give to the needy that we have identified. It can be food or old clothes for children and adults; these clothes put a smile on these people’s faces. To you, it may seem old but it lights up the needy hearts and we see it every time we give it to them,” he said.
“I feel happy when I put a smile on someone’s face. My siblings and I were also in their situation. We suffered and slept with hunger and so did my fellow members. We also went to school without shoes and uniforms. So, for us, giving to needy members of our community warms our hearts and it’s a good thing to do. We don’t need rewards; the reward is the smiles we put on their (beneficiaries) faces.”
Meanwhile, the Divundu Village Council has given them land and the organisation now seeks assistance to build their office to run the programme from.
- jmuyamba@nepc.com.na