A local company, Flush, has come to the rescue of teachers and learners at the Siguruguru Senior Primary School by donating six eco-toilets to the educational institution.
More than 700 learners and 15 teachers were forced to share four toilets, which meant they had to make do with the bush when nature called.
Flush's Chief Executive Officer, Kaveto Tjatjara, handed over the eco-toilets worth N$150 thousand, noting that his company is committed to reducing open defection in underprivileged communities.
"There were young children that took me on a school ground tour and they showed me how they walk to the bushes to use as toiles and how they have to use sticks and leaves to clean themselves. That is not dignified for people, especially young children. The girls are telling me that there are also snakes there."
Grade Seven learner Melvin Mteke thanked the company on behalf of the school.
"As I am speaking to you now, we are still under tents. Our worry is the rainy season, which is coming now. Where will we sit? During windy days, sand is blown in our eyes. Our books get wet as well as ourselves. I want to call upon other companies to come on board and donate to us a library because we need proper books to read and improve our reading skills. Some of my fellow learners are still sitting on the ground."
Acting Education Director, Matheus Mataya, says the government had to source money from elsewhere to construct Siguruguru Senior Primary School as it was not budgeted for.
"A caring nation is a nation that puts the needy ones at the centre of development. Siguruguru is a community that is needy, and all these donations that you have received are a demonstration that, to a certain extent, we are a caring nation. We have put the Siguruguru community at the centre of whatever developmental activities have to take place in this timeframe."
The government also recently allocated N$20 million for the construction of 12 classrooms, administration and ablution blocks at the school.
The school also faces a water shortage but is expected to benefit from Recon Africa's borehole drilling programme, from which many communities have so far benefited.
The development of the school was delayed by the land dispute between the Rundu Town Council and residents of the Tumweneni Informal Settlement.
The residents illegally occupied the piece of land in 2017, prompting the council to approach the Windhoek High Court seeking their eviction.
The Rundu Town Council has since donated the plot to the Directorate of Education to pave the way for its development.