Making a difference

A 71-year-old retired nurse from Ondangwa is feeding about 300 people at the town and in her home village of Epinga in Ohangwena.Ondangwa mayor Paavo Amwele commended Launa Shafondjodi Shimbode for her efforts to assist in meeting the government halfway by feeding the needy. Shimbode gets support from her friends in Germany to buy food items. On Friday she handed over 300 bags of maize, cooking oil and canned fish valued at N$31 700.Amwele and Ondangwa Urban councillor Ronny Negonga were present at the handover ceremony that took place at Shimbode's house at Omwandi in Ondangwa.“I get support from Dr Raimo Groem Meyer and his wife Michaela Fink from Germany to buy food items for the people I feed in Ondangwa as well as Epinga village. I identify the needs of the people and then my two friends send money to buy the items. The food items are locally produced and are sourced from local suppliers,” Shimbode said.“I have a list of people whom I have identified for the food items from Omashaka, Omwandi and Olunkono in Ondangwa and Epinga village. This family also supports the Shimbode Combined School at Epinga with their school needs.”Shimbode said she worked as a nurse at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention at the Onandjokwe Lutheran Hospital. She said she used to conduct a home-based care programme and this is where she learnt that people are living in poverty and are in need of support.She said in 2002 she met Dr Meyer and his wife who came to Namibia to do a research on HIV patients.“I assisted these two with their research by taking them to people in villages in Oshikoto, Ohangwena and Oshana. After they learnt of the condition of people, they started buying food items for the patients, who appreciated their support.“When they went back to Germany, they kept in touch with me and continued sending me money to buy food items for the patients. They also started supporting the Epinga Combined School. When I retired in 2007, they continued sending money to me to assist the needy in my community. They also come to Namibia every year for a vacation,” Shimbode said.She said Dr Patrick Ikeakanam, Diina-Maria Uugulu and Sofia Mbandeka are among those who assist her to identify the needs of the people. Amwele said that community assistance is a shared responsibility and cannot only be tackled by government. He said what Shimbode does demonstrates that she is selflessness and has the community at heart.“This does not mean that she doesn't have members of her family who are also in poverty, but she decided to share what she gets with the needy in the communities. This is very commendable and is what everyone else needs to do - meeting government halfway,” Amwele said.“I am just urging you that we have received very good rainfall; make sure you have backyard gardens at your houses and make sure your surroundings are clean.”One of the beneficiaries Maria Kongeleka, a resident of Omashaka, said that last year was a tough year in terms of survival and they could always rely on Shimbode for food handouts. She said this was the third time they received food at Shimbode's house.Ileni Nandjato

Making a difference

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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Making a difference

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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