Zebaldt Ngaruka
OTJIJARUA – Morukutu Primary School from Epukiro constituency and Ottenhoffen Primary School based in Germany celebrated 10 years of partnership recently in Otjijarua village in the Omaheke region.
The partnership agreement was signed by the two schools on 9 June 2015 and gave birth to an organisation called Outjenaho where both schools functions.
Speaking to the New Era, Jonah Kalunduka, Morukutu PS principal said the two schools celebrated a decade of shared journey and responsibilities.
“This celebration is a milestone of constructive ideas, collaboration, achievements and challenges,” he said adding that the event was a great opportunity to plan ahead besides celebration.
The principal said that the partnership is driven by some United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for Agenda (UNSDG) 2030, specifically Goal 3 of the UNSDG responsible for good health and wellbeing, Goal 4 for quality education and Goal 6 which prioritise clean water and sanitation.
Through the partnership, Kalunduka said learners are receiving fruits and sanitary pads every second week as one of the goals driven initiatives.
Asked on what has the Morukutu PS benefitted from the partnership agreement for the past 10 years, the principal mentioned the borehole which was drilled at the school as one of the major achievements.
“We also managed to built a dinning hall, greenhouses gardens and expansion of school’s playground,” he said.
The principal added that the annual grade six learners tour is sponsored by the partnership and there is teachers exchange programmes between the two schools. “Our school also was sponsored with sports wear through the partnership,” he added.
Besides being grateful about the achievements, Kalunduka said the school is facing more challenges such as inadequate classrooms, library, administration block, and internet connectivity.
“We have a community hostel and continue facing challenges of capacity to accommodate all learners that are too distant from the school. This situation forced us to accommodate more than its carring capacity,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Ottenhoffen PS, Martina Zoglowek, the chairperson of Outjenaho said she is grateful about the development at the Morukutu PS brought by the partnership adding that they will continue to support learners for better education and health.
“We will supplement their meals by introducing vegetables soup by January 2026 and we will put up solar system at the school,” Zoglowek said.
She emphasised that they will continue to manage the structures put up and they also have entered into agreement with Gobabis Vocational Training Center to assist with some technical works at the Morukutu PS.
On his part, Floyd Hambira, a member of the partnership said shared history of the initiative and added that the partnership aim to expand to other parts of the country.
“We are happy about the development here considering the past when learners and teachers struggled here with water and other needs. The future looks brighter here at Moruku PS,” he said.
Hambira said that there is a huge change and one is delighted about the progress and changes made at the school.
The 10th anniversary partnership celebration was attended by the Omaheke Governor Pijoo Nganate, Epukiro constituency councilor, traditional leaders and the Otjijarua village community.
The constituency councilor Pineal Packy Pakarae complimented the partnership for the good gesture and immense assistance to the Morukutu PS.
“We will continue working with them in contributing positively to the education of the Namibian child,” he said among others.
-zngaruka@yahoo.com