Gondwana draws all eyes on blindness

Following the release of the official statement from the Office of the President regarding the COVID-19 presence within the Namibian Borders the 'Dinner in the Dark' event has been postponed to a future date, yet to be determined. Gondwana and Capricorn ask for your kind understanding.

Daniela Diekmann

Have you ever tried eating dinner completely blindfolded? If your answer is no then prepare to have your senses heightened as you partake in an evening of ‘Dinner in the Dark’ in support of a good cause.

Gondwana Collection Namibia is organising a fundraising dinner on the 20th March 2020 to support visually impaired athletes representing Namibia at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The ‘Dinner in the Dark’ is organised in cooperation with the Gondwana Care Trust and the Capricorn Group. All proceeds of the evening will be donated via the Sports on the Move Foundation to the Namibian top-athletes Ananias Shikongo, Johannes Nambala and Lahja Ishitile, whose careers have already featured remarkable successes.

Shikongo recently won a gold medal (200m sprint) and two bronze medals (100m and 400m) in the T11 category at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. At the 2017 World Championships in London, he brought home a silver medal. In 2013 Nambala became the first Namibian to win a gold medal in the 400m at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon. Ishitile, is the youngest of the three short-distance runners at the age of 22. She won bronze in the T12 category over 100m at the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow, and in 2019 she was awarded Namibian Athlete of the Year with a disability at the annual Namibian sports awards.

The organisers invite everyone to the fundraising-evening at the Windhoek Country Club. The start of the evening, in accordance with the motto ‘All Eyes on Blindness’, will involve guests being blindfolded as a symbol of solidarity with Namibia's para-athletes. As the event also marks the eve of the 30th Independence Day celebrations, guests are also urged to keep their eyes open towards issues such as corruption, gender-based violence, inequality and environmental degradation within our country.

Since the costs for the evening are covered entirely by the Gondwana Collection Namibia and the Capricorn Group, the entrance fees will fully benefit the Sport on the Move Foundation. Together with the help of sponsors, the newly-established foundation aims to change the image of para-sports in Namibia. Through genuine support on all fronts, the foundation aims to create a supportive environment to enable para-athletes to compete at the highest international level and to offer them prospects for a life after sport.

The musical entertainment for the evening will be featuring Namibian artist of the year 2019, Lize Ehlers; the acapella group African Vocals and the six-year-old drummer Elijah Hwande (Kati) from Swakopmund; the Etosha Safari Camp's very own musicians, the Etosha Boys; the songwriter and musician Richard Redecker; the drummer and producer Adam Brandon-Kirby; the guitarist Conrad Hegarty and Imms Nicolau. For the country's 30th independence celebrations, the above-mentioned musicians under the lead of Richard Redecker have joined forces to produce the song "Roll that Stone Away". The song will premiere on the evening of the 20th. In addition, a talented local comedian will also form part of the entertainment on the night.