Martin Endjala
Keemunda, which means helping and caring for others, is the name given by the grandmother.
Little did she know that she will become just that.
Immagine Shikomba, who holds a Bachelors Degree in computer science from the Namibia University of Science and Technology formed a civil society organization eight years ago called Keemunda Foundation.
The name Keemunda comes from Psalms 121, “my help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth”.
Shikomba in her reminiscences of her late grandmother, told Windhoek Observer in an interview
that she never knew what Keemunda meant.
When she one day asked her grandmother, she was told that she will be caring for people because that is what the grandmother saw in her.
Fast forward from their conversation. Shikomba said that her passion and love for helping people comes from her grandmother’s intuitions about her future.
She said that she simply woke up one day and she remembers having a burning desire in her heart to help orphans.
She started posting on social platforms looking for orphanages who are in need of a helping hand.
She then finally found a center in Okuryangava were she volunteered to help with orphans.
“ I would use the little I have to help, sometimes they would call me for me to help buy for them electricity or food and I would use my last cents bearing in mind that it is my tomorrow’s cab money to school,’’ said Shikomba.
As her passion grew, she was able to help more orphans. However, donations are always not forth coming for CSOs and she had to fork out money from her pocket all the time.
Only last year through someone’s advice did she register her foundation, so that she can request for donations and saw Shoprite coming through for her. She received a one-day mobile soup kitchen truck and food, which saw her feeding about 300
Greenwell residents yesterday.
It is also worth mentioning that, Keemunda Foundation had already been receiving donations from Pick n Pay before the foundation was even registered, a relationship that has grown from strength to strength.
All because of the Pick n Pay Manager Patrick Issaks, whom she is humbly grateful to when help was not forthcoming at the time.
“The manager was always busy, but after we spoke and consulted the management board, despite being aware of my foundation not registered, he called me that same day and handed me a shopping trolley to pack all that I need for the orphanage soup kitchen. The items were worth N$4000-5000. And I ended up feeding about 150-200 orphans,’’ expressed Shikomba.
“Many people want to help but they do it for the wrong reasons and that is why maybe I’m very hesitant in seeking for help,” Shikomba shared.
Meanwhile, she is also pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Phycology, another passion that emanated from depression and having to take anxiety treatment.
She has decided to embark on this journey to help others who are not strong enough like her to fight mental issues.
“I was very fortunate to be strong enough to break free from my depression, and I thought to myself, what about that girl and boy who are thinking about suicide everyday,” Shikomba pointed out.
The foundation plans to carry out mental health sensitization work across schools in the regions, with the Ohangwena region already targeted for the coming weeks.
“Your passion and love for caring is more than enough to keep the fire burning,’’ emphasized Shikomba.
