By Anna Ingwafa and Surihe Gaomas
WINDHOEK
The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) has awarded bursaries with a combined value of N$350 000 to five Namibian students.
Two of the bursaries are for studies in Actuarial Sciences, while the remaining three students will study to become paramedics at various South African universities next year.
The bursary recipients for Actuarial Science are: Immanuel Amupadhi (17) and Mukerenge Elfriede Mbava.
Another Actuarial Science student, Mirjam Nangolo, eventually chose to accept a similar bursary from First National Bank of Namibia (FNB).
Her scholarhip is now open to any potential candidate who has already qualified to study to become an actuary.
The Paramedic Studies bursary recipients are Louw Greeff (20), Godhard Spiegel (30) as well as Isak Nyambari – granted the bursary on condition that he submits proof of university admission.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony on Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer of MVA Fund, Jerry Muadinohamba, said that there is a critical need for paramedics and actuaries in the country.
“Namibia has a shortage of its own paramedics and the MVA feels it is part of its corporate social responsibility to help in this area.”
Namibia is believed to have less than five Namibian actuaries, as most actuaries in the country are from South Africa.
He urged scholarship recipients to make maximum use of the study opportunity the MVA is giving them to fill this critical skills gap.
“Namibia does not have a single advanced life support paramedic and therefore the two candidates who perform best in this course will also be allowed to specialise through the advanced life support paramedic course,” Muadinohamba said.
The students appeared excited about the studies that lie ahead of them and said they would do their best to succeed.
Spiegel, who has worked for International SOS since June 2004, said being a paramedic is a very satisfying job as one is able to help save lives.
Greeff completed his second year as a paramedic student at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Because of the passion he has for his chosen career, he is currently volunteering with E-Med Rescue in Windhoek.
In an effort to improve the training of paramedics, the MVA Fund together with City of Windhoek and the Ministry of Health and Social Services will accelerate local training of paramedics, especially in basic life support.
MVA Fund Human Resource Manager, Joram Hashikutuva, said the fund received a total of 22 applications for scholarships.
Only six of the original 22 candidates were eventually successful, based on the stringent criteria of university admission and passing a competency assessment test.
Amupadhi will pursue a three-year programme in Actuarial Science at Stellenbosch University.
Actuarial science applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in the insurance and finance industries
Last year, the MVA Fund spent N$277 000 on scholarships for six Namibian students. Two of them undertook B-Tech degrees in paramedics; another two degrees in occupational therapy and the remaining two completed their LLB degrees this year.