Blue bank pledges N$300,000 to support the educational needs of Olympian athletes Mboma, Masilingi
Olympians, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi recently visited the Standard Bank head office to receive the pledge that the bank made to their education.
Standard Bank employees, formed a guard of hour and cheered loudly as the two sprinters, and their coach Henk Botha made their entrance into the building where they were received by Chief Executive Mercia Geises.
Shortly after their exploits in Japan, Standard Bank, in recognition and in celebration of their achievements, pledged N$300,000 to their education, inclusive of iPads to enable them to stay in touch with academic work while they are participating on the international athletics circuit.
The athletes, originally from the Kavango East region but residing in Grootfontein where they attend school and do their training have proven to the world that not only does greatness come from anywhere but they also demonstrated that dreams can be realized and that anything is possible if you put your focus and energy on it.
Standard Bank’s CEO Geises could not contain her excitement as she welcomed and expressed admiration to the stars for setting the world stage ablaze with their performances.
In congratulating the teen stars, she said she and her family, as well as many other Namibians, woke up in the very early morning hours to witness how the 18-year-old girls were running their way into the world athletics history books and into the hearts of thousands of their Namibian compatriots.
“This is a special moment, to have you not on TV, but physically here with us. At Standard Bank we say Namibia is our home, we drive her growth. We also say we are here to support you and your growth,” said Geises.
She marveled at how the duo performed under pressure. “You are so young and you are so new at the world stage but with your coach (Botha) you were absolutely able to perform under that pressure. “It is fine if you arrive and you’ve got nothing to lose, then the pressure is not so much. But how do you perform when there is so much more to lose when you have established yourself as a champion, as a contender and as a competitor? We as Standard Bank look forward to supporting you on the journey where you have to perform under pressure,” she concluded.
