About 27 orphans and vulnerable children at the St. Joseph’s Primary School at Gabes in the ||Kharas Region on Wednesday received full school gear from the Namib //Uib fishing company.
Gabes is located some 30 kilometres west of Karasburg with a population of about 2 000 people and the donation was done through the Swapo Party national leaders assigned to the ||Kharas Region.
The St. Joseph’s Primary School is a State-aided primary school in the Keetmanshoop Diocese and wholly owned by the Roman Catholic Church.
Receiving the donation, ||Kharas Regional Director of Education, Arts and Culture |Awebahe ||Hoeseb said even though Namibia is blessed with abundant national resources it will need human resources to ensure that such natural resources benefit its people.
“It is for our own good to educate our children because they are the human resources that we will need in the future in order for us utilise optimally the resources we have and bring much-needed development to the people,” he said.
The church, he informed the gathering, has a hostel that accommodates learners whom most of the parents, caregivers and guardians are unemployed, under-employed and are living below the breadline.
“The community of Gabes, therefore welcomes and accepts this donation appreciatively,” he said.
Chairperson of the Swapo national leaders assigned to the region, Lucia Witbooi who handed over the donation said education is one of the steps out of poverty and while the government is emphasizing that children must attend school and matriculate, the issues with uniforms among children from low-income families can get in the way of them enjoying school.
“With this donation, our aim is to remove the barriers to learning and with children’s lives so significantly disrupted over the past year due to COVID-19, let all us play our part in ensuring that as many as possible learners get a right start to the new school year,” she said.
Speaking to Nampa Rudolf Swartbooi an unemployed parent to one of the beneficiaries said the gesture came to his aid as he is unable to afford to buy school uniform for his daughter. “This donation will really go a long way for us, we thank those that have given it to us,” he said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
