The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) has launched a food aid programme for destitute students, learners and child-headed households to curb the burden of Covid-19 that has ravaged not only Namibia but the world.
“Nanso has noted that learners from vulnerable and child-headed homes who, in normal circumstances, relied on school feeding programmes are left with barely much to consume due to the closure of schools,” said Dylan Mukoroli, Nanso’s
spokesperson.
He stated that marginalised students and international students who remained behind in their respective institutions either to curb the digital divide aspect or could not go home due to financial challenges or any other circumstances have barely enough to go by as well. “These students relied on the food provided for them by hostel caterers,” mentioned Mukoroli.
The student organisation has identified 300 students from the Khomas region, which received their share last weekend. Students from the coastal and northern areas, as well as Omaheke, will also benefit.
Nanso will be donating food parcels to the most destitute learners and students faced with this predicament in the Khomas region. “We have reached out to the beneficiaries, assessed their circumstances and have concluded that they are in desperate need of assistance,” said Mukoroli.
Nanso’s president Simon Taapopi said they mobilised the business community, including members of the organisation’s different branches and procured the food items.
“We are also going to distribute to child-headed households, we have about several students who are heading these houses because there are no parental guidance at home. We feel they might have been overlooked by other programmes that are officiated by the government or other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as most of them are focusing on households and in the process, they might have been neglecting the child-headed households, ” believed
Taapopi.
Other recipients include international students. “We are also donating to international students who couldn’t fly back to their countries of origin as some couldn’t afford the tickets and it became more difficult with the closure of borders. There are also students who are in the hostels, others are renting and some are unable to afford food, therefore, recognising the effects the pandemic has had on the students, we then decided to come up with this programme to assist our students in this trying times,” informed Taapopi.
Acting secretary general of Nanso, Patience Masua assured that the process of making sure the food parcels reach the right beneficiaries is thoroughly thought and extra measures have been taken into consideration to ensure that people don’t receive duplicates. “We will personally be delivering these parcels to the students and we will be distributing them according to the data we have collected. We have made sure that these current students haven’t been a recipients of any other food donation programme/s,” assured
Masua. -psiririka@nepc.com.na