What started as a childhood passion for teaching has grown into a community lifeline for children in Buitepos.
At only 10 years old, Promise Mazila was already teaching other children at school.
By 15, she had founded the Clovers Club in 2004, a group aimed at helping young children focus on their schoolwork, stay away from negative influences, and discover their talents in singing, dancing and modelling.
This was the beginning of a journey filled with pain and hope.
Life was not easy for Mazila. As the eldest of nine siblings and a young mother of two by the age of 23, she often went to bed in tears.
“I would cry myself to sleep because I could not feed myself and my children,” she said.
But despite the struggles, she refused to give up. In 2014, she opened a Buitepos kindergarten in Gobabis. What started as a small school soon became more than just a school. It became a place of safety and hope for children in the community.
Buitepos Kindergarten was established in 2014. With sponsorship support from the Road Fund Administration in 2018, it gradually grew into a formal educational institution, now known as Buitepos Private School. While this growth marks a significant achievement, it has brought with it serious challenges that threaten the school’s sustainability.
Buitepos is a marginalised community.
Most parents face severe financial constraints. Over the years, the kindergarten evolved into a preschool and later expanded to include a junior primary section.
In 2022, Mazila’s dream started taking shape – Buitepos Kindergarten and Private School was born.
Today, the school has about 30 learners.
Parents in the community depend on it so that their children can study close to home.
But the journey remains difficult.
“Many parents cannot afford the fees, leaving the school without income to pay teachers or buy learning materials,” she said.
Mazila and her team are now fighting to expand.
Their vision is to build classrooms for grades 1 to 7 so that children do not have to travel far for education.
“Our community wants their children to stay close. We want to make that possible,” she said.
Despite receiving support from the RFA in 2018, funding remains the biggest challenge.
To make ends meet, the school board often comes together to raise money to keep the doors open.
Adding to the struggle, she feels let down by officials from the gender equality ministry.
After meeting all requirements for a government subsidy, her application was rejected.
Funding was directed to another new kindergarten in the community.
“It is painful because we work so hard to give our children a better future, but instead we are left fighting for resources,” she said.
Still, Mazila’s determination is unshaken.
Inspired by her daughters and driven by her dream for the children of Gobabis, she continues to push forward.
Despite repeated applications for government support, especially to assist with teacher salaries, the school has not been successful in securing reliable funding.
She has reached out to organisations and sought partnerships with various sponsors, but she has yet to receive meaningful recognition or consistent support.
This situation is worsened by the lack of unity within the community, where some government employees have not embraced their social responsibility to support local initiatives like hers.
“These financial hardships have resulted in stigmatisation and deprivation, directly affecting our dedicated staff members who often go without salaries. Yet, even under these harsh circumstances, Buitepos Private School has maintained excellence for over 10 years. Our greatest success story is that not a single child who began their learning journey at Buitepos Kindergarten has ever dropped out of school. Today, many of these learners are among the best-performing students in other schools, a testimony to the solid educational foundation we provide,” she said.