By Pinehas Nakaziko
WINDHOEK – The Leenzing Charity Organization (LCO) has donated clothes, shoes and books to more than 29 vulnerable children from the Megameno Children’s Home b in the Shandumbala Katutura.
Leena Shindondola, a young aspiring model behind LCO says she knows how it feels to have been in a situation of those children who cannot afford to help themselves. “For this reason I can relate myself to these children. I have my own charity organisation, the LCO that help different orphanage homes, old age homes and visit hospitals to offer a helping hand to those that are in need,” says Shindondola.
She adds that visiting the Megameno Children’s Home was one of her mission to fulfil.The Megameno Children’s Home was founded in 1989 by Maria Teresia Shaalukeni. Shaalukeni says it only started off with family children that she saw starving and not attending classes, thus realising that most of them were not being taken care of. “As HIV and AIDS is becoming a pandemic in Namibia nowadays, more children are becoming infected orphans. I noticed that these children were neglected by their families and ended up the street, that is why I opened up my house to these children and made it their home,” she says.
In the beginning it was very difficult to work with 29 children alone but she later met Ashikoto Risto Pac-man, who is voluntarily helping with the administration. Currently Shaalukeni is facing lots of challenges like water and electricity bills, which always goes up to N$ 3000 to 3200 per month, and they don’t have a constant donor to pay it off. She says they have some kids who are schooling far from the house and are using taxis to and from schools, some kids need special food for their proper medication and they need to employe more workers to help the kids, but money is the problem “I am appealing to the nation to help these children, so that we can change the life of these poor kids and to make our vision 2030 a successful. These Kids are the future of tomorrow,” pleads Shindondola.