Burglars ransack missionary house

A Finnish missionary has learned in Namibia that criminals do not discriminate between rich and poor when selecting a target.

Marja Rosilo has been working in Swakopmund for two months now, single-handedly renovating the old Finnish school in Vineta that currently serves as a rest house for Finnish missionaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. She travelled to Windhoek last week to cast her vote at the Finnish Embassy for elections held in her home country.She also visited Prime Minister Nahas Angula and Minister of Home Affairs Rosalia Nghidinwa.Upon her return to Swakopmund on Thursday evening, she discovered that the old house in Second Avenue had been ransacked in her absence.”When I opened the front door, I saw shoe prints on the wooden floor, which I didn’t leave there.I went through the rooms, which were mostly empty since there were no other guests.Then I saw that the kitchen window was broken, the burglar bars taken out and put aside and the curtain rail also removed for easy entry.”I wasn’t even scared, I was just angry,” Rosilo told The Namibian.Among the items that were looted was the sewing machine that she was using to make curtains for the house.Several rolls of curtain material remain stacked on a table.”I want to finish the curtains, but now the sewing machine is gone.”One of her few treasured possessions was a brand new radio which enabled her to listen to broadcasts from around the globe.When Rosilo retired in Finland recently, she decided to indulge in a fashionable outfit that she could wear on special occasions.”It was a smart dress with a jacket and two scarves that were made by Marinekko, a famous designer in Finland.”This one present that she gave herself after a lifetime of selfless service was also taken by the robbers.”They didn’t get a fortune, but it’s a big loss to me.I’ve been working very hard – long days from 06h00 to 20h00 – without salary.Is this my salary when I try to help the people in this country? Should I give them all, even my personal belongings? I don’t have a lot, because working for the church the salary has always been small.And now the best I had have been taken.Shame on them!” she said.She is full of praise for the Swakopmund Police, who arrived promptly after she called them.According to the Police, the burglary was done by three men.She travelled to Windhoek last week to cast her vote at the Finnish Embassy for elections held in her home country.She also visited Prime Minister Nahas Angula and Minister of Home Affairs Rosalia Nghidinwa.Upon her return to Swakopmund on Thursday evening, she discovered that the old house in Second Avenue had been ransacked in her absence.”When I opened the front door, I saw shoe prints on the wooden floor, which I didn’t leave there.I went through the rooms, which were mostly empty since there were no other guests.Then I saw that the kitchen window was broken, the burglar bars taken out and put aside and the curtain rail also removed for easy entry.”I wasn’t even scared, I was just angry,” Rosilo told The Namibian.Among the items that were looted was the sewing machine that she was using to make curtains for the house.Several rolls of curtain material remain stacked on a table.”I want to finish the curtains, but now the sewing machine is gone.”One of her few treasured possessions was a brand new radio which enabled her to listen to broadcasts from around the globe.When Rosilo retired in Finland recently, she decided to indulge in a fashionable outfit that she could wear on special occasions.”It was a smart dress with a jacket and two scarves that were made by Marinekko, a famous designer in Finland.”This one present that she gave herself after a lifetime of selfless service was also taken by the robbers. “They didn’t get a fortune, but it’s a big loss to me.I’ve been working very hard – long days from 06h00 to 20h00 – without salary.Is this my salary when I try to help the people in this country? Should I give them all, even my personal belongings? I don’t have a lot, because working for the church the salary has always been small.And now the best I had have been taken.Shame on them!” she said.She is full of praise for the Swakopmund Police, who arrived promptly after she called them.According to the Police, the burglary was done by three men.