Youth foundation reaches out to special needs learners
The Rob Youth Foundation will embark on a nationwide drive geared towards empowering learners with special needs by supplying essentials such as toiletries, food hampers, and sanitary pads to them.When learners return to school in July, the foundation seeks to play a meaningful role in moulding their future through the provision of toiletries, food, and sanitary ware. Rob Youth Foundation (RYF) will also use this platform to speak to the learners about career paths, mental health, teenage pregnancy, alcohol, and drug abuse, and other issues facing the Namibian child.
RYF managing director Fransina Akunda said that the foundation will focus on learners with special needs across all the 14 regions of the country. “Catering to learners with special needs is important and children living with disabilities require as much attention as any other child.
“We have received a list of 3 541 learners with special needs from the Ministry of Education and through our dedicated partners, we have prepared 1 829 hampers [for them].”
Shedding light on the initiative, RYF founder Robert Maseka said they partnered with Wutow Trading as the main sponsor, while ChariTree facilitates the donations.
“Our target is the youth. We have that mandate to fulfil, and we aim to address social, and economic challenges that the youth in the country are facing, like poverty, unemployment teenage pregnancy, and the lack of sanitary pads for our girl child,” Maseka said.
In light of this, the foundation engaged the education ministry.
He added: “We would like to thank the Ministry of Education that came on board to provide storage facilities and transportation to transport the donations from our donor’s warehouse to the storage facility in Windhoek to all the 14 regions of the country. We would also like to thank the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and National Services that has availed transport to our team across the country to be able to go to the schools to hand over these donations to the learners.”
Festus Ekandjo, who handles the foundation’s logistics called for support from other corporates.
“Wutow Trading is a stellar example of what giving back to the community entails. We call upon any businessmen and women out there to join us by assisting in any way they can.”