A call for assistance from Kambimba Combined School in the Mukwe Constituency of the Kavango East Region has finally been answered, with local blueberry producer Namibia Berries stepping in to help.
Namibia Berries has pledged to construct a hostel for learners who have been staying in a community hostel at the school. This follows a call for assistance by Kavango East governor Hamunyera Hambyuka during his visit to the school in June.
During the visit, the leadership toured the makeshift community hostel, which had been erected with zinc sheets next to the school and was deemed unsafe for learners.
The leadership subsequently appealed to the business community for assistance, and Namibia Berries responded.
"At the end, the young people of Namibia up here in Kavango East are the future, especially of what we are trying to build in our farming activities, and we can assist to help to get them a better environment from where they are staying now; we will try our best to do that," expressed Namibia Berries CEO, Michael Rodenburg.
Rodenburg said the company is finalising the designs for the planned hostel, kitchen and dining area. He said the budget would be announced later but promised that construction would begin before December.
"I am hoping that we can start construction, maybe with the first foundation, before the end of the year, and that we complete the building by, I would say, February or March next year. That would be our timeline, to be checked with our project manager because we will project manage it ourselves, but we will go fairly quickly and potentially even quicker if we could possibly already start before the rainy season because you could see where the learners are sleeping now, the roofs are leaking, and see if we can already make a plan earlier."
Education director Christine Shilima said the donation would help advance the goals of education and improve the quality of education at the rural school.
"A company from Divundu has secured funding to come and construct a hostel block that is two in one, one side for the girls and the other side for the boys, with a kitchen and dining room."