Tulihongeni kindergarten children taught in dilapidated shack

SHAPUA, 16 OCT – Otjozondjupa regional councillor for the Otjiwarongo Constituency, Julius Neumbo is appealing to the business community and people of goodwill to financially or materially support the Tulihongeni Kindergarten at Shapua village in the Ohangwena Region.
Speaking to Nampa in a telephonic interview on Monday, Neumbo expressed sympathy with the kindergarten children who are currently taught and cared for in a dilapidated shack.
“What I want is for the business community to join us to build a better classroom for the children before the end of October,” Neumbo cited, adding that he has sent letters to some companies to contribute as little as N.dollars 200, as he believes it will make a difference.
He wants people to support his initiative for the children of the kindergarten to be taught under proper teaching conditions by November.
Neumbo, who hails from the Shapua area, already donated 20 bags of cement and a load of sand towards the construction of the planned classroom.
“I will donate more bags of cement and sand for the children to be provided with a proper building as soon as possible,” he added.
Three local young men; Teofelus Josef, Shoombe Josef and Higinus Johannes have volunteered and already started to make bricks using the cement and sand availed by Neumbo.
Situated in the Ohangwena Region’s Engela Constituency, Tulihongeni is a community-run kindergarten that started operating under a tree in 1992 before the shack in question was put up in 2013.
It suspends teaching activities during rains, when the wind blows and in cold weather.
“Therefore, we are supporting the kindergarten by also soliciting some funds to contribute towards the construction of a proper structure for the children,” the headmaster of nearby Tulihongeni Combined School (CS), Lukas Namwoonde told this news agency in an interview at the school on Monday.
Namwoonde commended Neumbo for taking action to have the kindergarten developed into a better early childhood development centre.
He believes a proper classroom will encourage the teacher of the kindergarten to prepare the children aged 2-4 years well, before transferring them from there to Tulihongeni CS’ pre-primary class, and it will discourage absenteeism amongst the children.
“The kindergarten this year recorded a growth in its children population, which has increased to 30 children from 18 last year,” noted Albertina Namupala, the kindergarten’s sole teacher.
Shapua village is situated some 16 kilometres north of Oshakati.
(NAMPA)