Staff Writer
A team from Bank Windhoek led by the bank’s Executive Officer of Marketing and Corporate Communication Services, Jacquiline Pack, visited the Moses ǁGaroëb Constituency in Windhoek to assess the impact of water tanks donated to informal settlements around Windhoek. Capricorn Group and Bank Windhoek collaborated in donating 13 tanks, each with a capacity of 10 000 litres, to provide safe and clean water to residents.
“As a connector of positive change, we believe that it is essential for us to take care of our community in which we operate. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, we thought it necessary to bring safe and clean water as closer as possible to communities where it is desperately needed ,” said Pack.
Bank Windhoek’s donation supports the City of Windhoek’s Mayoral Relief Fund. Launched in 2016, the Fund assists pensioners, people living with disabilities, child-headed homes, individuals in need of shelter or medical operations, victims of emergencies and disasters amongst others – within the Khomas Region.
The tanks are filled regularly and serve the densely populated Moses ǁGaroëb and the Samora Michel Constituencies, which have limited access to essential services such as potable water and electricity. The locations are some of the City of Windhoek’s priorities in terms of the provision of essential services.
The community’s response
Three Moses ǁGaroëb Constituency Community Members Representatives’, Maria Amutenya, Joseph Joseph, and Thomas Shinana, thanked Bank Windhoek for the gesture on behalf of the residents.
Amutenya recalled that they used to experience challenges with access to water, which was only available at specific periods on a prepaid basis. “Thank you, Bank Windhoek. These tanks are helping us in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic since we use the water for most cleaning and cooking purposes,” she said.
Joseph said that the community members are happy with the water facilities and that they appreciate it wholeheartedly. “This is helping us, and the City does regulate the availability of water in the tanks every second day. We are indeed grateful and encourage Bank Windhoek to look into assisting with at least a few more of these facilities,” said Joseph.
Shinana, who also reemphasised Joseph’s request, added: “With the COVID-19 pandemic, the water tanks are helping us to adhere to social distancing measures because there are fewer queues at water points now. Thank you very much for this.”
Pack said that Bank Windhoek places a high premium on this value-adding relationship with the City and looks forward to working on more social agenda and other socio-economic development projects. “The importance of water and personal hygiene will always be key to human survival. And this has never been clearer than during this difficult time,” she said.
