Hunters with heart

Hunting guide Johannes Goliat (44) has flown to Cape Town for heart surgery thanks to the generosity of foreign tourists, trophy hunters and Namibians.

Goliat, who works at the Farming Community Krumhuk, was diagnosed with a severe heart condition last year. He is a State patient and was scheduled for heart surgery in Kenya, but there was a long waiting list and doctors said he needed surgery as soon as possible, otherwise he would not survive until the end of the year.His employers, the Voigts and Ahlenstoef families, wrote letters to their clients, mainly trophy hunters from Germany, asking for donations.Within four weeks, N$120 000 was raised to cover the costs of the operation.This was Goliat’s first flight and his first trip out of Namibia, but he was undaunted.”I am not afraid to fly, as I am not afraid of heights,” he said before his departure.Christine Voigts of the Farming Community Krumhuk says Johannes is “the heart of the farm” and well liked by the guests because he has such a sunny personality.He is a State patient and was scheduled for heart surgery in Kenya, but there was a long waiting list and doctors said he needed surgery as soon as possible, otherwise he would not survive until the end of the year.His employers, the Voigts and Ahlenstoef families, wrote letters to their clients, mainly trophy hunters from Germany, asking for donations.Within four weeks, N$120 000 was raised to cover the costs of the operation.This was Goliat’s first flight and his first trip out of Namibia, but he was undaunted.”I am not afraid to fly, as I am not afraid of heights,” he said before his departure.Christine Voigts of the Farming Community Krumhuk says Johannes is “the heart of the farm” and well liked by the guests because he has such a sunny personality.