Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) Senior Communications Manager Jerome Mutumba has announced significant funding for the Cheshire Home in Katima Mulilo. The center provides shelter for children and youths living with disabilities.

In terms of the agreement with the Cheshire Home, DBN will provide N$250,000 annually for three years. The total of N$750,000 will be dedicated to upgrading facilities at the center. The first tranche of N$250,000 is earmarked for provision of solar power.

Talking about the donation, Mutumba says, although the amount appears substantial, it is a drop in an ocean of need. The residents of the Cheshire Home in Katima Mulilo, are some of the most vulnerable in Namibia, and come from poverty-stricken environments that made it impossible to give them adequate food, clothing, shelter and education.

Mutumba goes on to challenge other enterprises to assist the home with other needs that exist, and may arise. He invites DBN borrowers and other potential donors to call his office for contact details. By giving together, he says, all can make a difference.

On the topic of DBN’s social responsibility, Mutumba says that although the Bank provides commercial lending for developmentally beneficial projects, it provides support to entities that cannot qualify for loans, by virtue of non-profit status, through its corporate social investment programme.

He explains that, with the agreement of the Bank’s shareholder, Minister of Finance, Hon. Calle Schlettwein, representing the Ministry of Finance and the Government, the Bank sets aside a portion of its profit for the dual purposes of corporate social investment and the Bank’s Project Preparation Fund.

The Bank’s Corporate Social Investment Policy has multiple targets, defined by specific fields in which the Bank seeks to make targeted interventions. These are poverty alleviation, development of education, skills development, care for the environment, community health, and activities that materially improve the business environment.

He notes that the Cheshire Home in Katima Mulilo satisfy multiple targets of the Bank’s social investment policy, including health, education, skills development and poverty alleviation. He concludes by saying that the Bank regards the center as a signature project of its social responsibility.