Zebaldt Ngaruka
The second edition of the sports awareness programme for Okahandja suburbs is starting this Saturday at the Fyf Rand location in the Otjozondjupa region.
Various teams from the garden town’s locations will compete against each other in netball, football, boxing, chess, and a 1.6-kilometre (km) marathon run in a Sports and Health Awareness Campaign tournament.
The event aims to facilitate and implement mass sports participation activities within the sports offices of the Okahandja and Omatako constituencies, with a theme of “Sport Through Productive Lifestyle”.
Mara Pack Kandjiriomuini, who is the sports officer for Okahandja and Omatako constituencies, told New Era Sport that the annual event will primarily look into the lack of participation of Fyf Rand locations in other sport codes than football and boxing.
Our office has initiated a programme to encourage youth in the suburbs to actively participate in sports. One can see that no teams registered for volleyball, which is an indication that youth need to be taught about that sport code and live a better life through sports,” she highlighted.
Kandjiriomuini added that this is a continuous project, and it started with its first phase in Veddersdal and now will be Fyf Rand, where the 3rd and 4th phases are expected to be staged at Okahandja and Osona village, respectively.
The sport games will start on Saturday at 06h30 with the 1.6-kilometre street mile or fun run from the Ovitoto road to the school’s sports ground.
“All other games like netball, football, and chess, will start at 08h30, continue during lunchtime, and boxing will start at 18h00 at the sports ground and is expected to end at 21h00,” she alluded.
Ideally, after completing all phases, the sports officer said her office is planning to have an Okahandja/Omatako Sport Expo that will comprise all suburb teams within the constituencies to compete against each other in various sport codes.
Kandjiriomuini, also a coordinator for the event, added that her office is working with the ministry of agriculture to enforce this awareness programme.
“5 Rand youth will be trained to prepare land for growing crops as well as planting some trees in a selected open area in the suburb on Thursday,” she indicated.
She also added that youth will also benefit from the free distribution of seeds from the mayor of Okahandja, Kaunapawa Fillemon, whereas schools and soup kitchens will get plants from the ministry.
Kandjiriomuini told this publication that since Friday is World Aids Day, the ministry of health will be at the Fyf Rand sports field where HIV testing will be done as well as providing medication for chronic diseases to the community.
“We, therefore, invite community members and sports teams in our garden town to this big occasion and play a part in the development project within the region,” she stated.