3 minute read
GIRLS JUST WANNA CHANGE THE WORLD with Jasmine-Rose Goagoses
GIRLS JUST WANNA CHANGE THE WORLD
Frustration at seeing the most vulnerable in need is what drove Jasmine-Rose Goagoses to start a project to assist when she was just twenty-four years old. Today her charity, Namkid, runs collections and distributes food, blankets and more to those living in poverty.
In 2020, she is focused on changing the lives of ten people living in Khorixas by building simple iron-sheet houses with cement floors. And in-between all of this, Jasmine-Rose is employed as a community care worker for Project Hope, an organisation that focuses on vulnerable young women who are HIV positive or at the risk of becoming HIV positive.
99FM’s MYD Heart spoke to Jasmine-Rose to find out more about the charity, and why such a young Namibian feels it is her responsibility to help those in need.
“Namkid started as ‘Make a Difference’. I used to run it alone but in 2015 my friends and I came together to work on it.” This is how Jasmine-Rose explains the project’s beginnings.
“We are thankful for our privileges, but there is an imbalance if one side of life is in torment and the other in
WITH JASMINE-ROSE GOAGOSES
paradise. We thought, we have to give back, we have to help and we can, we really can.
“In March 2015 I organised a clean-up event in Khomasdal. My neighbourhood gathered children between the ages of 8 and 19. We cleaned up everything that was not rock, sand or flora. Then we moved on to ‘Feed the Streets’ in Okahandja Park in May 2015, where we fed three hundred people. In June 2015 we did ‘Feed the Streets 2000 – Winter Drive’ in Kilimanjaro, where we fed and clothed three thousand people.”
Jasmine-Rose and her team moved on to many more projects that involve feeding and clothing Namibian children, with more in the pipeline for this year. One, Jasmine-Rose explains, aims to provide sanctuary for children through a community centre: “We are planning to build a community development centre that not only gives people a chance to be self-sustaining but will also enlighten them, building up their confidence, making them realise that they can accomplish anything.” This community centre will be a central point to continue their food and clothing distribution drive, explains Jasmine-Rose.
In addition to the community centre, Namkid are planning a fundraising event later this year, where Namibian artists will partake in beautifying the capital city while addressing social ills through art. When asked why Namibians should support Namkid, Jasmine-Rose says, “Because it is for their people. We are all aware that there are poor people, and we know life is hard, but it is a humanitarian responsibility for everyone who breathes to help those that need it, if they are in the position to do so.”
Passionate about the support Namkid provides, Jasmine-Rose notes: “These events are really humbling. It is heart-melting
to see the children excited about the clothes they receive. I remember one girl walking home with a handbag and a few clothes. She walked out as if she’d been on a shopping spree. She had a great smile, and appreciated it – while walking out with no shoes on her feet.”
Talking about her greatest moment so far, Jasmine-Rose says: “When Mrs Monica Geingos sponsored all the food, up to N$30 000-worth, for the ‘Feed the Streets 2000’ initiative. She also came to the venue and gave a small speech and it was televised. We had a feeling of accomplishment, and we realised that whatever you put your mind to can be in your grasp. Growth as a team and individual inspiration is what is most memorable for us from all our past events. It still keeps us going.”
