Local entrepreneur Kaveto Tjatjara on Friday donated six waterless eco-friendly toilets to the Siguruguru Senior Primary School in the Tumweneni informal settlement at Rundu in the Kavango East Region.

The six toilets, housed in a brick structure, are valued at N.dollars 150 000.

Handing over the toilets, the 31-year-old Tjatjara, who was born in Rundu, said the waterless toilets can work in areas without sewerage infrastructure.

The toilets will cater for the 745 learners enrolled at the school and their 15 teachers.

“The toilets are waterless, so when you ‘flush’, instead of water, sawdust is used as a cover material and it does not smell. Highly-trained sanitation workers safely collect the cartridge and transport it to our composting facility, where we are working on transforming it into valuable by-products such as briquettes, which can be a source of energy,” Tjatjara explained.

He noted that the learners and teachers at the school use nearby bushes when nature calls which he said is undignified, adding “This solution will restore the dignity of people in areas with no toilets.”

Tjatjara further said the lives faced by young people come with big problems such as climate change, and water will be a scarce resource, especially for a desert country like Namibia, which is why it is important to start building more sustainable systems for daily use.

Young people are key partners in driving that change, he stated.

According to the education management information system, for 2017, 70 schools in Kavango West had no toilets, while 106 had such facilities.

Speaking at the same occasion, acting deputy director of education in the region, Muhongo Mateya said a caring nation is one that puts needy people at the centre

He said the donated items the school has received so far is an indication that Namibia is a caring nation.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency