Christmas comes early for Palapye residents

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday December 19, 2021 06:00

This is why for the very first time, River View Mall in Palapye in collaboration with Kingdom Embassy International Church hosted their first annual Christmas Tree Reveal and Lighting recently. The duo also decided to give 100 underprivileged members of the community early Christmas gifts in the form of food hampers worth P410.

According to Capello director from River View Mall, Palesa Tiro, Christmas time had become such a commercial concept and as a result core fundamentals of that time of the year were slowly withering away. She said the spirit of Christmas is supposed to embody a sense of love, community and charity. This time of the year is the time for thanksgiving and a time to come together and count our blessings.

“River View Mall and Capello at Palapye initiated this event with the intention to ignite the spirit of Christmas and charity within our community. By launching our iconic Christmas tree, we are aiming for togetherness during this festive season.

In this spirit of charity, during this time we also hope to pledge 100 food hampers to the department of Social and Community Development of Social Welfare. We have requested for a list of 100 identified child-headed families,” she said.

She explained that during this time of season, their objective was to launch their first Christmas attraction with the hope to build it into something progressively bigger every year. She added that over time they hope River View Mall would become a national attraction during the festive season as well as a movement that encourages community cohesiveness and collaboration.

She explained that sustainable community development is at the core of their plans. She added that at River View and Capello they always consider their community’s needs. She said they are also passionately conscious of where the community wants to go. Tiro also emphasised that when discussing development they normally focus on the tangible results such as GDP, employment rate and others overlooking non-tangible results such as dignity, pride and a sense of worth.

Furthermore, she pointed out that a strong community with strong sense of pride and ownership produces strong and progressive individuals who were driven to carry the community to a brighter and bigger future. She explained that was the reason to partner with the department of social and community development. She added that positive change starts to come from within the community itself.