NFPU supports Friendly Haven

By: HELGE SCHUTZ

THE Namibia Football Players Union on Friday handed over food donations to the Friendly Haven Shelter for Abused Women as part of its social responsibility programme.

At a press conference that was attended by several Premier League football players and coaches, the president of the NFPU, Lolo Goraseb, said they wanted to get involved in the fight against poverty in Namibia and decided to assist the Friendly Haven.
“Today we are handing over 300 5kg meat packages to the Friendly Haven so that they have something to eat. We also want to show our solidarity in the fight against gender based violence in Namibia,” he said.
The NFPU’s donation comes from a partnership with the Nile Educational Trust that was started by Gurtug Yalvac of Turkey last year.
Their partnership developed from discussions that Yalvac held with Turkish compatriot Ali Akan, who is an experienced soccer coach in Namibia and currently coaches Premier League side African Stars.
“We came together with the NFPU through Ali Akan and decided that we want to make a contribution, so about three months ago we distributed food to the needy at the stadium and that was a big success,” Yalvac said.
“Lolo told us about the Friendly Haven and after visiting it we saw the need to help so we have assisted them. This is just the start and in future we aim to make more contributions,” he added.
The treasurer of the Friendly Haven, Ndamona Kathy Vahekeni, said they were very happy to receive the gifts so close to Christmas.
“We were very happy when we heard about the meat parcels. We are now getting close to Christmas and to be honest, we have nothing to give to the women. We have about 15 women at the haven, some with children, and we are honoured to receive this support from the Namibia Football Players Union. We believe that it won’t stop here, and that companies will also assist us,” Vahekeni said.

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