MAY 2020
Hello!
My name is Udo Reinhardt and a few years ago I founded the fair trade company AURUM Africa together with my Italian friend Leandro Stanzani. We import Marula oil from Namibia (for the production of natural cosmetics) and from there I received an urgent request for help last week.
I start this request for donations to Ulla Shilumbu and several thousand women and their families who live and work in northern Namibia. GOFUNDME https://www.gofundme.com/f/aurum-africa-lebensmittel-fur-namibias-frauen
Ulla is the one who coordinates the collection of the marula nut kernels from which our oil is pressed. In her cry for help, she described to me how disastrous the situation after the COVID-19 shutdown in Namibia was, and this prompted us to act immediately. What we were able to give in emergency aid is far from enough.
Ulla coordina la raccolta dei semi di marula da cui viene estratto il nostro olio. Nel suo appello d’aiuto, mi ha descritto quanto sia catastrofica la situazione dopo la chiusura del COVID-19 in Namibia e questo ci ha spinto ad agire immediatamente.
That is why I am now addressing all of you with an urgent request to support us with whatever amount. We have to buy food as quickly as possible to alleviate the current greatest need, hunger. These foods are then distributed directly by Ulla to the weakest families in the widely dispersed village communities.
Since Ulla can assess the situation on site much better than we do from Europe, I asked her to put together what is most urgently needed in what quantity and what is also available in the local markets. Their composition is as follows: For each woman and her family, we need about 10 kg of corn flour, one or two canned fish, each 400 g, and a soap.
This ration costs the equivalent of 5-6 €, a family can survive for about two weeks. If we want to help at least 2000 families, we need the planned 10,000 € as soon as possible. Of course we are happy about every € more, since the situation will certainly not improve any time soon and we would like to expand the group of those who will receive the food deliveries from Ulla.
Depending on the amount of donations received, these foods could of course also be expanded to include things like salt, rice, flour, sugar or beans.
At the following link the call to action from Ulla Shilumbo: https://youtu.be/EKB0ctXQA0s
I would like to end my call with an African saying, which I always like to put at the end of lectures or meetings: “It doesn’t matter where you are, it depends on what you do where you are”.
AUGUST 2020
4 months, 48 donors, 10,433 euro raised! Hurray, GOAL ACHIEVED. With patience, perseverance and never giving up. Our fundraising campaign AURUM Africa Lebensmittel für Namibias Frauen in support of 2000 needy families in northern Namibia due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 launched on the GoFundme website 4 months ago, has achieved the desired results.
Heartfelt thanks to those who contributed and to those who believed in our solidarity project.
Udo Reinhardt
Leandro Stanzani