Pick ‘n Pay on welfare spree

Pick ‘n Pay (PnP) Namibia has embarked on a Corporate Social Responsibility Road Trip in which the company undertakes a variety of corporate social responsibility initiatives in all regions where Pick n Pay is operational. The Oshakati Life Change Centre – one of the beneficiaries of PnP’s corporate social responsibility initiatives – takes care of more than 200 vulnerable children, including orphans. Rebekka Shilongo moved to Oshakati in 2005 and initiated an Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme, feeding orphans and looking after the poor and needy. She says: “Aside from managing the OVC Centre, counselling sessions are conducted with the children, and many of them also attend school. We educate them on behavioural change and counsel those in need.”

According to Rebekka they also provide meals three times a week to the children and further try to provide clothing and school uniforms. “The provision of food is only possible with the aid of donors, especially business people and other good Samaritans such as Pick ‘n Pay Namibia. Recently Pick ‘n Pay gave us substantial food vouchers to buy food at their outlets, and it was a blessing to be able to purchase enough to keep our kitchen going for a while. We thank them wholeheartedly.” Similarly, Ondundu Primary School has recently received photocopy paper from Pick ‘n Pay Namibia. Ondundu Primary School was built and established in 1966 by the then TCL Mine, mainly for children of mine workers and children of farmers in and around Tsumeb. It was donated to the state in 1995 when the TCL mine closed down. The school houses 471 learners, most of them being orphans or vulnerable children in the Kuvukiland resettlement on the outskirts of Tsumeb. Most parents are unemployed and learners walk long distances to school. A donation-based kitchen tries to ensure that children have at least one meal per day. Henry Feris, Managing Director of Pick ‘n Pay Namibia: “The Ondundu School strives to be one of the best educational institutions and would like to produce productive citizens who will contribute to the development of the country in all spheres of life.  Is this not a fantastic aim – one that most definitely deserves attention and support?”