OYO ranks 20th in Global Giving

Global Giving is a non-profit establishment that provides grassroots and charitable organisations such as OYO with various forms of assistance. Before being listed on the international platform, an organisation enters the Accelerator Challenge - a contest to raise at least US$5 000 in 18 days. The challenge took place from 10 to 28 June this year.“Global Giving has stringent criteria and applicants first go through a rigorous evaluation,” said OYO’s director Phillipe Talavera. OYO was one of 712 global organisations that applied and were accepted into the challenge, of which only 79 succeeded. In the end, OYO was ranked 20th globally and is now listed as a partner of Global Giving.“This means we can source funding for our projects through Global Giving instead of relying purely on local funding initiatives that very often don’t receive an incentive for their support to social development in Namibia,” said Talavera. Being part of the platform also means OYO can now receive funds from companies, institutions and civilians on an international level, which is a positive development for the sustainability of the Namibian trust. Since 2003 OYO has, through the arts, created awareness of social issues including HIV/Aids, high school dropout rates in rural areas, cultural bullying and teenage pregnancy in Namibia. OYO also has a programme in correctional facilities and has had activities in all 14 regions of Namibia.“Crowd funding is not very common in Namibia and there is little spirit of giving to non-governmental organisations (NGOs). There is also no incentive from our government to do so,” he added.Some countries grant tax benefits to civilians, companies and organisations that donate funds to NGOs. This, Talavera explained, decreases the uncertainty of how the taxes are spent by bridging the distance between donor and NGO. It also helps make NGOs more sustainable and less donor-reliant. “Participating in the challenge has opened our eyes to how many friends and supporters OYO has, not only in Namibia but more on a global scale. We are humble,” he said.OYO every year welcomes students from around the world to perform their internship here and this, Talavera said, has surfaced as a great advantage. “The challenge brought our past interns and persons of international partners together from the UK, Spain, Norway, Columbia and beyond.”Former intern from the UK, Ellie Hick, is now in Columbia and as part of the challenge, she united a group of dancers to stage a dance battle and raised funds for OYO. “This is touching, given the state of displaced persons and unconstitutional affairs in the South American state. If Colombians could do this, what could Namibians do?” posed Talavera.Another long-term friend of OYO, Marie-Laure Vuillermoz from Spain united friends and family to support the Organisation in the Global Giving challenge, and raised €480. Andrine Faleide from Norway did the same and raised €260. “During their internship in Namibia, interns have first-hand exposure to the difficulties NGOs face where the sourcing of funds are limited and exclusive. Many other individuals from around the world are aware of the same challenge and united in support of OYO to be ranked 20th, which is quite an achievement,” said Talavera.The Global Giving challenge is however not over yet. Kind-hearted corporate companies are invited to visit the web page below and support OYO in its drive towards becoming a sustainable NGO. https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/using-arts-educate-4000-namibian-teenagers-on-hivSTAFF REPORTER

OYO ranks 20th in Global Giving

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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OYO ranks 20th in Global Giving

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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