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Striving for social change

Marbeline Mwashekele, founder of The Friends Against Poverty Campaign.Marbeline Mwashekele is no household name, but this woman has sworn to fight poverty with the assistance of the greater Namibian society. Mwashekele is the founder and sole runner of The Friends Against Poverty Campaign which is set to hold the “Give What You Have Day” on 31 March.
The campaign was established in July 2011, after Mwashekele read a story on poor Namibians who survive on food which they gather from the Kupferberg dump-site. This encouraged her to to take action and do her part as a Namibian citizen from a social responsibility perspective.
“I thought that if I could collect all the things in my house I did not need and take it to the dumpsite to distribute, I would be doing my bit,” she said.
Mwashekele said the campaign is a non-profit making scheme and is not funded. “The aim and only aim is for one Namibian to make a difference in the life of someone who really needs help” she added.
The long term objective for The Friends Against Poverty initiative is that it grows into a nation-wide campaign in all 13 regions of Namibia.
“It takes one person to make a difference to one person who in their opinion needs help. If everyone did it, the changes in this country could be phenomenal,” said Mwashekele.
The Friends Against Poverty Campaign, is a Facebook driven campaign based on the number of people who are willing to take action and assist in poverty alleviation in Namibia.
“I created the Give What You Have Day exactly for this purpose, for Namibians to have the opportunity to stand up and take action,” Mwashekele said.
Although she would like the campaign to be a monthly initiative, not so many people are willing to come forth, she added.
The Friends Against Poverty Campaign’s Facebook page currently has 235 members. The page is used to promote and interact with people who have similar goals and ideas on ways to fight poverty.

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