BW empowers Van Wyk’s community change dreams
Xenophone van Wyk recently won N$30 000 towards his efforts in Tsumeb's informal settlement of Kuvukiland, through the Bank Windhoek #JourneyingTogether social media campaign. He was the third winner of the competition, which concluded in May 2020.
As a change-maker, actively taking creative action to solve a social problem, Van Wyk entered Bank Windhoek's #JourneyingTogether initiative, intending to assist community members of Kuvukiland. They are currently experiencing adverse challenges in fetching water over long distances from water points.
As part of his community's solution, Bank Windhoek assisted in sourcing fourteen iron water wheelbarrows, each with a capacity to carry four 25 litre water containers, which would decrease the number of trips a household would have to make to water points. Fourteen families, identified by Van Wyk, benefitted from his win.
A professional first aid responder, who also runs a non-governmental organisation known as 'Helping the Homeless', Van Wyk said nothing fills his heart with joy more than seeing others' lives improve. He added that when Bank Windhoek announced him as winner, he knew the opportunity would elevate his need to help others. “My gratitude goes to Bank Windhoek for granting me the opportunity to make a change in my community,” he said.
The #JourneyingTogether overview Bank Windhoek's #JourneyingTogether social media campaign is part of the Bank's Brand campaign launched in 2019. Contenders who wanted to bring about change were interviewed on camera and shared ideas on how they would positively contribute to making a difference in their communities if they had a certain amount of funds. The videos with the most public votes on Bank Windhoek's social media platforms made it to the finalist rounds and eventually made it to the finals.
The first participant to win the launch phase was Imelda Katjau from Windhoek, a registered nurse by profession, followed by Swakopmund's Mervin Gaoseb.
With a dream of making a difference in the lives of Tuberculosis (TB) patients, Katjau's wins went towards her community initiative of setting up a soup kitchen, which provided healthy meals to TB patients who were not taking their treatment due to a lack of regular nutrition.
Gaoseb nominated Anna's Soup Kitchen, which offers weekly meals to over 200 children in Swakopmund's DRC informal