The National Youth Service (NYS) has officially welcomed the biggest intake in its history of more than 700 youth recruits at Henties Bay.
The 726 young people are the 15th intake, and they come from all corners of Namibia.
They are here to benefit from the National Youth Service's mandate of providing national service and technical and vocational training.
The values of patriotism, discipline, and voluntary services are further instilled through the programmes offered.
"The National Youth Service intends to expand this intake by an additional 2 000 youth, bringing the total to over 2 000 for this financial year. This increase will not only broaden access but re-enforce our dedication to nurturing discipline, leadership, and patriotism among our youth," said Sports Minister Agnes Tjongarero.
The centre at Henties Bay has successfully trained the 8th, 9th, and 10th intakes since it opened in 2014.
NYS Board Chairperson, Dr. Emmerentia Leonard, says financial constraints resulted in the relocation of the training to Rietfontein in 2018, hosting the 11th until 13th intake.
"The training faced challenges related to the integration of trained and untrained youth, which impacted the effectiveness of the programme, leading to the relocation of the training back to Henties Bay. Following a 4-year period of inactivity at Henties Bay, we resumed National Service training in April 2023 with the 14th intake. This current intake thus represents a significant milestone as it is the second training since our return to this centre."
The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), which spearheads the Nationhood and National Pride programme, is involved in the 6-month training of this diverse group of young Namibians.
"Once we know each other in our diversity and differences, we must build a level of tolerance. Just because somebody does not speak the way you do, it should not be something you are irritated by, annoyed by, or something you feel you are not connected to. You should be interested when somebody is different, and you should want to learn more. That is the only way we build tolerance because a lack of understanding brings conflicts," highlighted MICT Minister Emma Theofelus.
NYS has signed agreements with the police, defence, and correctional services to provide 40 instructors for the training and employment of the graduates.
About 200 graduates from previous intakes have been already enlisted.