Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK, Sept. 25 — As a part of the Bank Windhoek Empathy Project, the Bank’s Digital, Data, and Customer Transformation (DDCT) department identified an opportunity to bring hope to underprivileged children at Groot Aub Primary School. This endeavour involved a donation of essential math materials during the school’s recent mathematics tournament.
The tournament, held at Groot Aub Primary School, brought together 100 students who showcased their mathematical prowess. Attendees included teachers, Bank Windhoek staff, and generous sponsors who all contributed to making the event a success.
During the preliminary rounds, students from grades four through seven competed passionately, ultimately determining the victors who advanced to the finals. The atmosphere was electric as supporters eagerly watched the showdown between the finalists. In the end, Tia Gaes emerged as the Math Master.
Groot Aub is a settlement situated approximately 60 kilometres south of Windhoek. Reflecting on the DDCT department’s initiative, Ryan Geyser, the Bank’s Head of DDCT, shared, “As part of this project, Groot Aub Primary School received 20 math game sets for their classrooms, intended to ignite a love for math while enhancing the children’s arithmetic, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Additionally, each learner received a take-home version of the math game set.”
Understanding the importance of nourishment in a child’s development, this initiative also extended a helping hand to Jar of Hope Namibia, a local community outreach project. Jar of Hope Namibia aims to provide nutritional support to families in need. The project offered jars filled with ingredients like rice, lentils, soup mix, stock cubes, and soup powder, all essential for preparing a hearty meal. Remarkably, each jar can sustain a family of four.
Metro and Spice Corporate & Promotional Gifts sponsored the ingredients for these jars, resulting in a heartwarming total of 775 jars brimming with nourishing sustenance. Ryan Geyser aptly summed up the project’s impact by stating, “The intended outcome may have been math development and nutritional support in an underprivileged school. However, all parties involved walked away with something much more special – a profound sense of ubuntu, a shared humanity for others.”
Bryan Davis, Managing Director of Metro Namibia, emphasized the significance of providing nourishment to those in need, stating, “Every mouth that is fed makes a difference. Every child deserves a healthy and nourishing start in life, and unfortunately, that’s not always the case in many of our communities.” Margo Fourie, Managing Partner of Spice Corporate, further encouraged fellow businesses to invest in developing the skills and knowledge base essential for the country’s future economic growth.
Geyser concluded by underlining the essence of the Bank Windhoek Empathy Project, an annual outreach initiative designed to ignite a spirit of generosity within the community. It empowers bank employees to give back to worthy causes or initiatives that require support. Each department at the bank is allocated a modest budget for community contributions, with encouragement to augment it through fundraising and sponsorships, striving to effect the most positive change possible.
