WINDHOEK – Sanlam Namibia Holding yesterday handed over N$100 000 worth of fish as part of the drought relief effort to Prime Minister Dr Hage Geingob.
The fish was donated to the Office of the Prime Minister through the Namibia Red Cross Society (NRCS) represented by its Secretary General Dorkas Kapembe-Haiduwa. Sanlam Group Chief Executive Officer, Tertius Stears, accompanied by the company’s senior management team to hand over the N$100 000 canned fish donation. Sanlam Namibia recognizes that the drought that the country is experiencing not only threatens the livelihoods of 800 households in the Kavango, Ohangwena, Oshikoto and Kunene regions “but affects every Namibian.”
“When representatives from the Namibia Red Cross society approached us for drought relief assistance, they needed funding in excess of US$1.2 million. Our company sincerely would have liked to be able to donate that amount of money, but I think that the need is simply tremendous and the resources are limited,” said the Sanlan Group CEO. “To this extent, we decided to donate N$100 000 to the NRCS, admitting that our donation might seem insignificant in comparison with the need, but hope that other companies will follow suit,” he said at the donation. Geingob received the fish rich in Omega 3 fatty acids and commended Sanlam for its proactive response. Meanwhile, the Namibia Red Cross Society (NRCS) has fed over 21 000 people at nine soup kitchens in Opuwo, Khorixas, Rundu, Omega, Enhaana and Elakalapwa. The NRCS has also distributed over 100 000 water purification tablets to drought affected citizens nationwide according to Kapembe-Haiduwa. The donation is intended to strengthen the NRCS’s efforts to mitigate the effects of the prolonged drought. “We believe in the power of collective efforts. Hence our mission is to help people by mobilizing the power of humanity, which is the Namibian community and thereby we recognize that we will not have sufficient resources to address humanitarian eventualities that may arise from time to time, but we rely on others to join such efforts,” she said. Kapembe-Haiduwa said the NRCS plans to roll out more of its soup kitchen activities to places in the Kunene Region and another two in the Kavango regions, as well as the Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Omusati and Zambezi regions. She said with the support of Unicef the NRCS is committed to ensuring that malnutrition among children is identified and the necessary assistance is provided.
“The staff and volunteers at the soup kitchens are at the same time conducting malnutrition surveillance activities using the internationally recognized Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC). The children found to be very malnourished, are given the right advise, while their feeding is increased from one meal to two meals (breakfast and lunch), as well as being referred to a health facility,” she informed Geingob and the sponsors. Geingob thanked the leadership from Sanlam Namibia, but also appealed to citizens out there to stop being selfish. He said the food being donated is meant for those affected people.
By Fifi Rhodes