Digital splash in Otavi brings joy

Telecom distributed food parcels to all senior citizens in Otavi at a party it hosted last week as part of the company’s year-long 20th anniversary celebration which was launched in August last year.
About 350 elderly people attended the party which was sponsored by Telecom and supported by the Ada Ma/Hao Senior Citizens Committee.
Managing Director of Telecom Namibia, Frans Ndoroma, said the event was not only part of the ongoing celebrations of the company’s 20th anniversary but was also about bringing the elderly in the community together to socialize and get to know one another.
The event was made possible by a financial contribution of N$15,050 made during the Telecom Charity Golf Day held in Windhoek last year. Each dollar pledged at the golf day was matched by Telecom with N$5.60.
Participating companies at the golf charity event included Nashua, Nedbank Namibia, Standard Bank Namibia, Africa Online, and private individuals who fully embrace the spirit of giving to help those less fortunate in society and put a decent meal on the table for them at least for a day.
Maria da Conceicao Lourence, patron of the Ada Ma/Hao Senior Citizens Committee said “elders in Namibia like in all of Africa remain marginalised and denied the right to a dignified life. The provision of social protection for older people is a subject of great importance that needs to be addressed.”
“We are always grateful for any donations to help the needy of Otavi and everything that is donated to the Ada Ma/Hao Senior Citizens Committee goes directly to deserving people,” Da Conceicao Lourence said.
Addressing the elderly, Ndoroma said Telecom has provided Otavi with a modern infrastructure since the beginning of 1997 when the town made an historic break with manual exchanges and moved straight into the digital era, bypassing the electro-mechanical stage.
“Otavi today is linked to the national fibre optic backbone and is provided with a digital exchange, which are the latest words in modern telecommunications. Today we have close to 600 customers enjoying our services in this town and its immediate surroundings.”