Omake fundraiser fun day at Otjiwarongo

A group of dynamic youth from all walks of life saw the need to help less privileged and disadvantaged members of the community as well as people living with disabilities by forming the Omake Charity Organisation.

The organisation, officially inaugurated by the minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Zephania Kameeta, on 31 August 2018 at Otjiwarongo, will be hosting fundrasing activities from 30 May to 1 June at Mokati Stadium, Otjiwarongo.

The event aims to support various programmes such as a back-to-school drive, soup days, donation of blankets, sanitary pads and nappies as well as cleaning campaigns.

One of the founders Eddy Kgobetsi said the idea to form the organisation came to them last May. “Some friends and I were having a discussion about people who are suffering and we felt the need to help. We decided to raise funds to help the less fortunate. We felt that it is important to help our people. We wanted to give them some sort of motivation,” he said.

The event will have a music bash and sports activities such as soccer, netball and volleyball. Local artists lined up to entertain the crowd include Adora, Jayden, Laviyalava, DJ Castro, Tulisan, Obie and the Sod Crew.

Kgobetsi pointed out that all the artists who will be performing will do so for free.

“Many artists we contacted to perform were not willing to do it for free. I am however very impressed with those who agreed. They said they were excited to give back to the community, they were also pleased to have another platform to showcase their music and mingle with their fans. These are great artists and the music bash will be very entertaining and a lot of fun,” he said. The bash takes place on 1 June from 19h00.

Kgobetsi said they decided on sport activities because they wanted to encourage fitness and also provide fun activities for the youth. He believes that sport has the potential to keep the youth off the street.

“In Otjiwarongo, there are not a lot of fun-filled activities for the youth. We will also have a jumping castle and go-karting. The idea is to make our future leaders happy, so they are able to contribute positively to the development of our country,” Kgobetsi said.

Besides the music bash and sport activities, there will also be a snake show and braai festival.

Kgobetsi said after the event, they plan to start working on a vegetable garden. At the launch of the organisation, they received a two hectare stretch of land at Farm Doornlaagte, on the outskirts of Otjiwarongo.

“We want to establish a vegetable garden that will complement our soup day activities. We will be able to get vegetables from there. We also plan to create employment for the youth and take them off the street. We feel it is important to not only provide them with food, but also to teach them about hard work,” he said.

Gates open at 09h00 on 30 May and 10h00 the other days.

For more information, follow Omake Charity Organisation on Facebook.