EPM kindergarten receives goodies
Good Samaritans
Penomwene Nekwaya needs assistance to create more space in the kindergarten as numbers are growing.
The Eenghoshi Bikers Club has donated food items and cosmetics to the EPM kindergarten and day-care centre, which is located in the new Havana informal settlement near Ongos Valley.The items, worth N$ 5000, will be assigned to a soup kitchen that caters to close to 100 children in Havana and surrounding locations every Saturday.
Bezano Tuhafeni, president of the club, said the donation was made to celebrate and commemorate World Humanitarian Day.
Heart of gold
Penomwene Nekwaya (25), is the founder of the kindergarten, which she established in 2021.
"I started this when I took in three people in our household who didn’t leave in favourable conditions, to help them get back on their feet,. Some did not have food and clothing."
She said the soup kitchen is growing rapidly, with more food needed to accommodate everyone.
"I am also an entrepreneur. I sell bales and also own a small take-away, so I make sure that I at least earn N$500 to buy a vegetable combo to feed everyone."
Nekwaya has plans to expand the kindergarten as it is currently overcrowded.
"I need a bigger place where I can accommodate these children, even if I can at least take in ten kids at first, because schools are far from here."
More humane world
A youngster, nicknamed Roxy, who assists at the centre, says young people should get more involved in such activities more often.
"It is important for these young children to be educated as they are the future and also need a comfortable place where they are taught."
This year’s World Humanitarian Day’s theme was 'It takes a village to raise a child’.
Tuhafeni added that in addition to feeding children, they also provide various educational programmes, which help keep the children away from illegal activities such as the use of drugs and alcohol, as well as theft, amongst many other things.
The day also recognises those who continue to devote their lives to helping the world’s most vulnerable people in many countries, under difficult circumstances.
It is also an occasion to mobilise action that promotes a more humane world.
"This donation is very special to us as it marks exactly four years since the establishment of our outreach programmes," Tuhafeni said.
This donation will not only assist them in spreading the message of solidarity, but it also brings hope to the children who are limited to one meal a day.