NOW in its fifth year, the Face of Namibia Expo is back. The community upliftment project is held annually to create a platform and give free stalls to the community to showcase their handmade products.
The aim of the event is to uplift the community and fight poverty. Founding member and organiser of the expo Mary Shikongo said this time around, they aim to have more women showcasing their products.
“This year we will focus mainly on unemployed women and entrepreneurs who are starting up their business. As a single mother and volunteer community worker, I see many women suffering, so I have decided to come up with a strategy to assist them. We also plan to do a survey on women, which we hope will enable them to get funding for their business in the future,” Shikongo said.
Shikongo said although this year’s event is mainly aimed at catering for women, men are not left out. She said men can come to have free HIV testing and that condoms will also be distributed for free. To help better educate the nation about the deadly covid-19 disease, Shikongo said more information will also be made available to the public at the event. “We will have a few Covid-19 tests done, educate people on Covid and also distribute educational material,” she said.
For the youth, there will be debate groups from different schools. Shikongo said this year, visitors can expect exhibitors from all over Namibia and internationally. “We will have different kinds of stalls like food, clothing, vintage, kiddies corner, chemicals such as hand sanitizers and many more,” she said.
Shikongo said when she first started the expo, many people did not have faith in its success. “No one believed in me, but I am proud to see that by hosting the expo annually, a lot of companies have come on board to make this event a success. I am so proud. The event has grown from 115 exhibitors to about 250 this year thus far,” she said.
International model and youth activist, Chelsi Shikongo will make a special appearance, while Dill-iigent will entertain the crowd. The closing date for applying for stalls is Saturday. The event will take place at the Kuisebmond Stadium, Walvis Bay, from 25 to 30 November.
