Small acts, lasting impact

Empathy Project transforms lives
Through its annual Empathy Project, Bank Windhoek is helping improve learning conditions, safety and access to basic resources for children and young people across the country.
Rozanne Swart
  • 29 Minutes Ago

Since 2015, Bank Windhoek’s annual Empathy Project has invested more than N$4 million in community initiatives, giving employees seed funding to address local needs. This year, the bank committed N$700 000, enabling nearly 2 000 employees across the country to support projects in their communities.

The initiatives range from donating essential hygiene products to providing care packages for local workers. However, much of the focus is on improving the lives of children and young people, particularly by providing basic resources that make schools and learning environments safer and more comfortable.

In Omborondo, about 55km from Omaruru, children who previously sat on floor mats were given tables and chairs for arts and crafts activities. Bank Windhoek employees also donated crayons and colouring books to support their learning and creativity.

In Ongwediva, staff helped construct a pit latrine and distributed treat packages at the Dr Frans Aupa Indongo Special Children Centre, which cares for about 40 children with special needs.

Bronwyn Moody, the bank’s head of strategic communication and social impact, said the initiative was about identifying and responding to what communities genuinely needed. “Empathy is more than a slogan on a banner. It is our people walking into a community, asking what is really needed and staying long enough to help fix it. That is the kind of bank we want to be: one that knows its communities by name,” she said.

Other projects focused on improving access to water and creating safer learning environments. In the Omusati Region, employees installed a 5 000-litre water tank and donated stationery to a rural school serving more than 300 learners, which had been affected by water shortages.

In Eenhana, staff donated security fencing to protect 131 learners at a newly established school. Meanwhile, the bank’s collateral compliance team in Windhoek donated building materials to the Home of Good Hope in Goreangab, which supports hundreds of vulnerable young people.

The project also allowed employees to get directly involved in making a difference. Reflecting on their work, the Omaruru Branch team said: “We did not simply purchase and deliver items. We personally painted, installed, welded, created and built.”

Their message – “what may seem small to us can mean everything to someone else” – captures the value of community-driven support and the difference that practical interventions can make in children's everyday lives.