The Ongos Valley Foundation, in collaboration with the Mandela Washington Fellowship, held a community outreach event where they provided food to children and community members.

It was all smiles in Katutura as many residents flocked to the soup kitchen to enjoy some soup, snacks and refreshments.

Ethel De Almeida, a former teacher and founder of the soup kitchen, takes pride in feeding communities and has been doing this for more than five years, stating that they feed close to 600 children every week.

"I'm a retired teacher, and I was a student. So this is actually my community. Many of these kids are the kids of the kids whom I was teaching, because they always say, "Teacher, teacher, thank you that you give our kids food." Now they even give us food. So I really feel very, very good. Thank you very much."

Manager of the Ongos Valley Foundation, Tyc Kakehongo, said this is not only part of their corporate social responsibility but also an opportunity to engage with the community, sharing love and hope.

"Mostly, it's mainly kids. And those are our future mothers and fathers, the future leaders of this nation. And when you share that hope with them, hopefully it just contributes to their upbringing, to their growth. And it's just, you know, just as, like I said, it's just the grace of God. And we're truly, truly, we feel blessed to be part of something like this."

Member of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Junias David, said they were able to collect about N$6,000 through donations to support the programme, with others donating in kind.

He said it's an honour to embark on such initiatives, adding that one should always give back to the community, show support, and help uplift others. 

"I'm so proud. And also, some people are also donating in kind; we will be collecting some items from an institution that also reached out. And this is how we want our communities to be. Communities are built by collectives, by contributions, by people putting resources together, stuff like that."