Africa-Press – Namibia. TWO of the fire victims of Okauva and Eengonyo villages received assistance from the Swapo Woman’s council on Thursday. The houses of two families were completely gutted by fire last month and they lost all their basic belongings, which included their shelter, food and clothing and as a result have been struggling to make ends meet.
Constituency Councillor, Helaria Ndjuluwa, said the community surrounding Ohangwena also joined in the initiative to donate essential household items to the victims. The Swapo Women’s Council donated 60 bags of omahangu, four bags of beans and bags of maize meal.
One of the fires was allegedly caused by a child who was playing with matches while the other incident is believed to have been caused by an elderly woman who knocked the spent tobacco from her pipe.
“We have decided to provide the victims with a new shelter, maize, mahangu and beans, different kind of clothes, as well as blankets and mattresses, to sustain them in the long run,” Ndjuluwa said.
Swapo Women’s Council secretary, Eunice Iipinge, said that they saw the videos of one of the houses burning and decided to render assistance. Iipinge noted that as the council called on each other to feed the victims with the little they have.
“We thanked the Almighty God that no injuries or deaths occurred when the two houses were burning. Property can always be replaced along the way but lives are irreplaceable,” she said. Iipinge said that the little they could give will surely go a long way to assist the victims.
One of the people affected by the fires, the 93-year-old Okauva Hilaria Vanyana expressed sincere gratitude for the kind gesture shown to her by the residents of the Ohangwena Region and neighbouring regions.
