Project Never Walk Alone recently distributed school shoes to 1 155 children from different schools in the Kavango East Region.

The handover began in Rundu on Saturday, with four schools congregating at Sauyemwa Combined School, benefiting a total of 1 000 children.

On Sunday, the team went to Cocoma Combined School 160 kilometres east of Rundu, and handed over 155 pairs of shoes.

Recon Namibia, an official sponsor of the project, pledged N.dollars 564 000 to provide 1 000 pairs of shoes to each of the two Kavango regions.

According to project statistics, over 70 000 Namibian children go barefoot every day, and the project’s goal is to improve their lives through this initiative.

Mwanyengwa Shapwanale, Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations at Recon Namibia, told Nampa on Tuesday that the organisation remains committed to the development of the Kavango East and West regions through various social projects.

“We are overjoyed to be here today to put shoes on your feet. We are all aware that not all children from the same family can attend school at the same time because they must share one pair of shoes, causing them to fall behind in their studies. We are indeed proud to be here today to demonstrate our commitment to the socio-economic development of these two regions, even though we have not yet begun operations,” Shapwanale said at the handover of the shoes.

According to Project Never Walk Alone founder, Tim Ekandjo, the Kavango East Region has become the fifth region to benefit from the initiative’s efforts.

He said the non-governmental organisation began distributing 970 pairs of shoes in the Hardap Region in October 2021, 1 291 pairs in Omaheke in November 2021, and 350 pairs in Khomas (Okahandja Park) in February 2022, and 1 058 pairs in the Erongo Region in April 2022.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency