ONKUMBULA – The assistant pro-vice chancellor of the University of Namibia’s Oshakati campus, Dr Paulina Uugwanga, has expressed concern over the suffering of the African child in an independent Namibia where cases of abject poverty among children are rife.
She also noted that in various parts of the country children still do not have access to education, sufficient water, sanitation and hygiene in schools and homes.
Other concerns she raised were the lack of awareness on evil practices in society such as drugs, and on sex education and technology, while children continue to be misled and be at risk.
“Some African children are living with disability without amenities, while many are being stolen as objects and sold as commodities overseas. But we continue to say that when Africa was colonised children too suffered and fought back the yoke of colonialism. Now that Africa is free, children need to be free in their own continent, therefore our governments must listen to all these sufferings. They must not pretend as if they do not know child trafficking is real,” said Uugwanga.
She thus urged African governments to always act very fast when children are in danger and do everything within their powers to safeguard the basic rights of children.
Uugwanga shared this sentiment during the commemoration of the Day of the African Child held at Onkumbula. “Our children deserve a better life, protection, quality education, humanity and dignity as they are our precious gems and the future,” she said.
On that note, she pledged a donation of an unspecified consignment of sanitary pads to learners in the area and committed to do the same next year.
Meanwhile the governor of Oshikoto Region, Henock Kankoshi, urged everyone to dedicate their efforts to the education of children
“Let us encourage our learners to take their education more seriously because education can change the livelihood of any person. Without good education life and future of our children will be tough and very difficult to cope with. Our children need a fair start, a chance to thrive and learn the experience of a better life; hence the joint efforts of all stakeholders in education towards the motivation and encouragement of our children is of a vital significance,” said Kankoshi.
“We are living in a dynamic global world of technology, where nowadays ICT (information communication technology) plays a very important role. ICT is a challenge to everybody, therefore every teacher must try by all means to be computer literate and in turn, every teacher must make sure that his/her learners are computer literate too,” he stated.
The director of education, Aletta Eises, cautioned learners not to be caught up in the hype of social media but to rather use the internet and gadgets for educational purposes in order to better themselves.
She in the same vein appealed to the nation to stop sexual abuse and gender-based violence against women and the girl child.