OsOna Village recently held its Osona Walk and Fun Run in a bid to promote fitness and get people from the neighbourhood to get to know each other.

The event was a success, with over 250 people participating in the first-ever Osona Fun Run and Walk, with most of those who participated saying taking part in the event would help them with their fitness.

One of the organisers, Horatius Abrahams, said they noticed that people who live at Osona Village do not have any extra mural activities, especially over the weekends, hence the idea to introduce the walk and fun run.

“As you know, Osona Village is a 30-minute drive to Windhoek and a 10-minute drive to Okahandja, where most of the sports facilities are. We hope this event will inspire residents of Osona to take care of their fitness without having to drive to and from the two towns. People already drive the two distances twice daily for work; hence, they may be too tired to do so over the weekend,” Abrahams said.

He added that the overall objective is to make sure that residents also get to interact, know each other, and develop relationships, as well as stay healthy.

“Currently, residents don’t know their next-door neighbours. When you travel out of town, you can’t even ask your neighbour to look after your house because there is no interaction between each other. Events like this help to develop relationships,” he said.

He added that knowing each other promotes inclusiveness, creates a safe environment, and develops trust among residents.

Abrahams said partaking in such activities helps one keep fit, and it is also a health benefit that can help people avoid a lot of illnesses.

Currently, there are around 6 000 people residing in 2 000 houses at Osona Village, with an average of three people per household.

“The plans are that they will build 15 000 houses, so the village is one of the fastest-growing places in Namibia. I strongly encourage the community to take part in events like this. It doesn’t only bring the community together; it also keeps the young kids off the streets. We have more people buying houses in Osona, so we need activities like this to keep children off the streets. The more activities we have that are beneficial to one’s health, the more the kids stay away from the streets,” he stressed.

Abrahams said they are looking at making the event an annual occurrence while also calling on sponsors to come on board.