MTC’s ‘We Race Together’ fundraising initiative raised slightly over N.dollars 1.4 million.
The nation-building initiative saw various corporate companies and Government departments pleading money for a charitable cause and culminated in several personalities taking part in a 400x100m relay race at the Independence Stadium on 21 May 2022.
The chairperson of the sponsors committee of the initiative, Ndapewoshali Shapwanale, at a press conference in Windhoek on Thursday said corporate companies managed to contribute money regardless of the tough economic times currently prevailing in Namibia.
She paid tribute to the personalities who took part in the race, saying while corporates had contributed financially, it was the personalities who made the day memorable.
“As the committee, we sat around a table and decided to support two projects to have an impactful contribution to the entire nation. We chose sustainable food security through the existing/imminent phase of community gardens in the 14 regions. We also chose a youth empowerment programme which speaks directly to unemployment,” she said.
Shapwanale added that many a time, youth go to various tertiary institutions and acquire skills, but fail to utilise these skills because of a lack of funding for the start-up.
Shapwanale said the committee will have a callout next week to those who are interested and who qualify for funding.
“We want everyone to have an opportunity to benefit. We will not just handpick individuals or institutions. We also want to make sure that there is a large group who will benefit from this. Each project (food sustainability and SME start-up) will get N.dollars 700 000, while for the youth empowerment, the maximum that an individual will get will be N.dollars 70 000,” she explained.
For the community gardens, beneficiaries from the 14 regions will each receive N.dollars 70 000.
The gardens will not be for individuals, but should rather be owned by the communities so that everyone can benefit through food security in that area.
The ‘We Race Together’ fundraising initiative falls under the Knockout Project, whose first edition focused on curbing gender-based violence, while the second one was aimed at fighting homelessness.
MTC said the public is welcome to suggest events for the next fundraising event.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
