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Nujoma to Relaunch Trust for the Elderly
Wezi Tjaronda, allafrica
Windhoek, Namibia
August 11, 2004
The Oshipala Trust for Senior Citizens, a welfare organisation that supplements Government's efforts in looking after the elderly, will be relaunched tomorrow.
President Sam Nujoma, who is the patron of the trust, will launch the organisation, which has been in existence for quite a number of years now. It's an initiative that challenges all citizens of Namibia to be involved in the quest to allow senior citizens to spend their latter years in dignity.
Jako Botha, the administrator of the trust, said that with traditional structures of extended families falling apart, most of the elderly were left without the necessary support systems.
The trust fund is administered by Oshipala Investments, which is charged with fundraising and managing the funds.
Botha said that apart from asking for donations from well-wishers, the investment part of the fund would generate its own financial resources through the sale of various products.
The fund has acquired a variety of products to provide nutritional elements to especially the most needy pensioners.
"The idea is to give the products to needy senior citizens with lots of children in their care," he said.
The products are the first project of the trust in its fundraising drive.
Botha said the products would be provided in a hamper comprising a stove, samp and a power meal that can be dissolved in milk.
The products are made in such a way that they cut time during preparation and cater for a big number of people. The 500g-power meal provides 10 meals for children and costs only N$2 per meal while the samp is enough to feed six people.
The stove makes use of a firebrick, which burns for 22 to 30 minutes. The products may arrive in Namibia in early September, after which the trust will put up a plant to package and distribute the products to the greater community.
They can be used in schools and other institutions which cater for a big number of people.Currently, says the trust, social support systems for the elderly are insufficient and for those living in rural areas, financial and transport constraints prevent them from accessing such support.
Some of the projects the trust will embark upon are to initiate re-search into implementing a training programme that would empower the elderly with knowledge and skills to become economically independent. It also plans to embark on agricultural projects to assist the elderly combat malnutrition by eating balanced diets.
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