Seaside Primary School at Walvis Bay raised over N$100,000 for the construction of an administration building.

Seaside Primary School at Kuisebmond, Walvis Bay, opened doors in 2017, with 600 learners and 19 teachers.

This figure has since increased to 1,700 children with about 60 staff members.

In the past eight years, the infrastructure has not matched the growth of the staff and learners.

Teachers are crammed in an administration block while the learners attend school in groups in the morning and afternoon, a system well known as platoon.

The school management decided to organise a fundraising gala dinner to construct an administration building.

The initiative was a platform where Seaside Primary teachers, community members, retired politicians, a few companies and the Minister of Education supported the mission to raise funds.

Although the target is N$1.2 million, the dinner raised over N$100,000 in pledges, cash and services.

The Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, said the government will match the amount raised, bringing the total to over N$200,000.

Steenkamp applauded the school leadership, teachers and learners for being resilient amidst challenges.

"Can you begin to imagine what it's like for a Grade 2 child, 9 groups of Grade 2 coming to school following the platoon system and coming to school in the afternoon? You have moved from resilience, from being resilient to being gritty, because if you take passion and your perseverance and you have the tenacity of people who, despite their personal troubles and difficulties, still show up, they are present, they are fully prepared, and they are ready to mould these people, the ones that you saw tonight."

Steenkamp said Seaside Primary is the only school offering six Namibian languages to children despite limited teachers and other resources.