Auleria Wakudumo
Deep in the forest of Oshiti shaHaihonya village in the Ohangwena region lies the Helao Nafidi Combined School, a place where commitment to education is tested daily.
Here, teachers leave behind the comfort and luxury of their homes to live in small shack rooms within the school premises, enduring isolation and poor road access to ensure the Namibian child receives the education they deserve. The school is far from the nearest town, Okongo. The only vehicles that can navigate the rough terrain are bakkies – but even they are scarce.
They operate on arranged trips. This forces teachers to remain at the school for extended periods, unable to travel easily to town. Helao Nafidi Combined School has only one teacher’s house, a single-bedroom unit that is shared by four teachers. The rest of the teaching staff are forced to live in shacks on the school grounds.
The school caters to 507 learners – from pre-primary to grade nine.
School principal Elias Hamukwaya, who has led the school for 22 years, said he has never considered leaving despite the difficulties.
“Never in those 22 years did I have second thoughts of leaving my work because of the hardship we face. I have my teachers and learners at heart,” he remarked.
Hamukwaya said that while older teachers have adapted to the conditions, younger ones often request transfers. “Many teachers own vehicles, but they leave them in Okongo because the road to the school is inaccessible with ordinary cars,” he stated.
The principal said they have submitted an application to extend classes to grade 10 next year.
Hamukwaya stated that this step was taken for the benefit of the learners, as many learners are currently forced to construct makeshift shacks around Okongo when they cannot secure a place in the Oshela Secondary School hostel.
Okongo Constituency councillor Efraim Shipindo confirmed the hardships but acknowledged some improvement over the years.
His office managed to fund the construction of a small boy’s hostel, accommodating only 10 learners.
“That is because it is all my office could afford. Additionally, my office provides sanitary pads regularly to the girls. We are also seeking help from individuals to assist us in donating mattresses to the school. We want to donate 100 mattresses, but we only have 40,” Shipindo said. Following a recent visit to the school by Ohangwena governor Kadiva Hamutumwa and the Ohangwena education director Isak Hamata, officials promised to build a community hostel for learners and to consider the school’s application to extend classes up to grade 10.
This would reduce the struggle that learners face when they have to relocate to other towns or schools for higher grades.
Shipindo urged the government to ensure that every school constructed in the country comes with complete facilities for staff, so that teachers in rural areas are not left behind in living conditions and comfort.