By Joe-Chintha Garises
KEETMANSHOOP, Aug. 22 — The Namibia Diamond Corporation (NAMDEB) donated beds and mattresses to the //Kharas Regional directorate of education.
The donation which included 56 beds and 120 mattresses was handed over by the company’s chief executive officer Riaan Burger on 22 August 2022.
The donation idea came after concerns were raised about creating conducive environments for community hostels during the principals’ conference in Lüderitz earlier this year.
Burger said children are in school and should stay in school. “Education of a child comes partly from textbooks but mostly from observing the behaviour of teachers and parents,” he said.
The schools to benefit from the donation in the //Kharas region are Blou-wes, Snyfontein, Ganachas and Grunau.
“The teacher is perhaps the most important factor and a novel equation for quality in education, but educational content, learning environment, and school management are critical elements in this process,” //Kharas governor Aletha Fredrick said when receiving the donated goods.
Fredrick said the Covid-19 pandemic did not only cause severe losses in education systems across the world but had also highlighted the vulnerabilities in education systems, worsening existing inequalities, including the needs in infrastructure, sanitation facilities inefficiencies and access to potable water.
“It also highlighted the lack of key facilities such as hostel accommodation, classrooms, administrative blocks, electricity, furniture as well as need to strengthen feeding programs at schools and school hostels,” she said, urging the private sector and other partners to come on board and support the government.
“One of many ways a business can help improve the quality of education in their localities is by taking on social responsibility to provide material and financial resources to address needs at local schools.
“Only through the support of corporate institutions and donations to schools will the education experience of pupils improve, and this alone can have a very influential impact on the community,” Fredricks said.
Investment in education is the most rewarding guarantor for sustainable economic growth in any country so the government, public and private stakeholders should ensure a hygienic and conducive environment for the children, she added.
