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Home / Organisers anticipate a bigger Olufuko this year
Organisers anticipate a bigger Olufuko this year
2018-07-25Staff Report 2 Nuusita Ashipala ONGWEDIVA – Despite critics saying that Olufuko is anti-Christian, the number of girls participating in the yearly festival has been on the increase since the festival was started seven years ago. The number has increased from just 17 girls in 2012 to 79 girls last year. This year, a few days before the Outapi Town Council hosts a gala dinner on Saturday in preparation to host this year’s festival, 38 girls have already registered to be initiated. The festival will run between August 24 and September 4 at the grounds of the future Olufuko Centre. The gala dinner is slated to be hosted at the Omusati Regional Council’s main hall at the town on Saturday night. The festival, often a subject of criticism by the church, is hosted as a symbol to prepare young women for womanhood. Outapi Town Council CEO Ananias Nashilongo said the festival is hosted to preserve culture. “The Olufuko annual festival is aimed at promoting our vanishing culture and traditions,” Nashilongo said. He said this year’s festival is expected to be bigger and better with the number of girls also expected to surpass last year’s. The gala dinner will be attended by the festival’s patron, Founding President Sam Nujoma. The festival will be officially opened by Vice-President Nangolo Mbumba. Asked when the Olufuko Centre will finally be completed, Nashilongo said the council is not in a position to say when construction work will commence. He said the designs for the centre have been completed. “We are now busy paying the architects for the work done and only then will we commence with the second phase, which is the construction of the centre,” Nashilongo said. But he assured that it is the council’s desire to have the centre completed so that the festival can in future be hosted at the planned upmarket centre. 2018-07-25Staff Report 2
