By Frederick Philander
REHOBOTH
Since its inception in 2001, the annual Christmas lunch for rural senior citizens has become part of the culture as well as a special day of thanksgiving to the elderly of Rehoboth.
This is the view of Kaptein John McNab, who on Sunday expressed his community’s gratitude to the Christian Welfare Organization run by Pastor Frans Coetzee.
This organization on Sunday fed more than 900 elderly people from all walks of life in a tent as well as more than 2 000 others at their homes in the town as a goodwill gesture from the Church.
“The religious walls of Rehoboth lie in shatters. Religious values and norms are being watered down. Social and moral structures have been destroyed by evils such as crime, poverty and immoral lifestyles.
“Despite this social situation, we pray that this day will embrace and comfort the elderly people of Rehoboth and assure them that they are not alone, and that they are remembered and respected for all they have done for us,” said MacNab, who shared the podium with the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Killus Nguvauva.
“I see this annual project as a new wall being built for the restoration of good relations among families, the community and all Namibian citizens. Good relations had always been the guarantee for peaceful co-existence,” said Pastor Coetzee.
In his speech Nguvauva also paid tribute to the efforts of the Church Welfare Organization.
“I am impressed by this good gesture of feeding the elderly over the past six years because it clearly demonstrates unity. May this unity and peace prevail among the people of this town for many years to come,” the deputy minister told the congregation.
Nguvauva urged the Namibian churches to continue playing a pivotal role for economic development in the country.
“As government we are very grateful to notice that our communities are being raised along the lines of Christianity. If everybody could live a life that is pleasing to God, what a wonderful country Namibia would be.
“To the elders in the society we say, we love and respect you. A society cannot be known if there are no elderly people in that society,” he said of the senior citizens at the town.