Staff Reporter
Windhoek-There are positive changes at OkondjaÞu Combined School partly because of the help of the First National Bank of Namibia Foundation Trust meant to effect transformation at the school in the Okakarara Constituency.
Among the positive results is the fact that examination results across all grades improved during the first trimester of the 2017 academic year. “Furthermore, there has been a decrease in pregnancy rates from six to two learners, and teenage learner pregnancy is something that our Government is also extremely concerned about and we are happy that education has had an impact,” says Revonia Kahivere, Corporate Social Investment manager at FNB.
The FNB Namibia Holdings Foundation Trust has been supporting the school for two years running now since last year. This year, the bank once again chipped in with N$50 000 towards a study skills workshop for Grade 10, Youth Workshop for Grade 6 and 7, Sports Day and Academic Awards. Sixty boys and girls took part in this year’s Youth Development Workshop on 28 July at the school premises, while 40 elders from the surrounding communal farms were spoilt on that Saturday.
“Since FNB’s involvement, the mind sets of the learners, teachers, principal and the community have changed and because of this positive mind-set change, transformation is evident. We are so proud of the learners and teachers at the school, who have managed to improve Grade 10 results from a 40 percent pass rate in 2015 to 66 percent in 2016,” says Kahivere, adding that there have been further positive changes which the school, teachers and FNB Foundation were extremely excited about. “This means that our contribution is having a real impact on the learners and the teachers and for that we are eternally grateful.
“This workshop showed me that the playing fields in all spheres of life are not the same but despite these disparities, one needs to have a belief in one’s abilities and destiny,” says Bolle Hans, manager of Public Sector Banking at FNB, who attended the workshop at the school. He spoke about self-respect, and respect for others (peers and teachers/parents) as well as discipline in all areas of life. “Give more of yourself (your gifts and talents), and time to others and your personal growth will benefit from it. Study hard, work diligently, and focus on short-term goals, towards your overall goal and you will succeed,” he advised.
Angela Katjimuine addressed the girls and spoke about various fundamental life skills, the key message being respecting oneself, others and the environment. Her main purpose was to inspire and motivate the learners. Feedback from the participants was very positive and both the girls and boys committed themselves to living more meaningful goal-orientated lives.
The elderly thanked the sponsors for the food hampers, lunch and in particular the youth for washing their feet. They referred to FNB as the bank with the tree always reaching out to uplift the communities. The rural school was established in 1970 with about 1 120 learners.