AROAB – Deputy minister of education Faustina Caley said many young people who will go through the Aroab Community Learning and Development Centre will have access to better choices other than leaving the village in search of elusive opportunities in other parts of Namibia.
This was her reasoning earlier this week during the handing-over of the centre, funded by the Japanese Embassy in Namibia, to the education ministry in this south-eastern village of the
//Kharas region.
“This CLDC is intended to serve as an enabler for the rural community of the settlement to enhance positive development and increase acceptable social networks amongst the youth,” Caley added.
It would also be a hub for community engagements relating to cultural events, thereby serving as indirect marketing of the image of Aroab to the rest of the world.
The politician said the donation of the facility should be seen as part of a greater effort to connect communities through the provision of quality education, and furthermore stimulating the next levels of socio-economic development for the village and its surrounding areas.
“We believe that investing in the youth will secure a better future for our country. Hence, from this support, government will be able to provide continued accessible, equitable and inclusive education to this younger segment of our population,” Caley noted.
The facility will have a ripple-effect in that it will have additional classroom space for senior secondary learners, in addition to hosting learners who dropped out of school.
She then called on other local and international agencies to emulate the good gesture of the Japanese embassy in supporting government’s efforts to provide quality education for Namibian learners.
“So, we are grateful to the government and people of Japan for this gesture, as we can finally provide a safe and conducive school environment,” she continued.
In her welcoming remarks, //Kharas governor Aletha Frederick said it makes sense to agree that community-based learning through this space will act as a catalyst for sustainable development.
“It will certainly enable people to take self-directed and applied action to manoeuvre the challenging circumstances of the constantly-changing socio-economic environment, and this will eventually increase their chances to make a living,” she observed.
Hisao Nishimaki, Japanese ambassador to Namibia, said although the world is currently facing a multitude of global challenges emanating from the aftermath of Covid-19, climate change and the conflict in Ukraine, he trusts that the inauguration of the Aroab Community Learning and Development Centre will cast a bright light upon the south-eastern corner of Namibia.
“It will become an oasis for those (out-of-school youth and unemployed community members) who seek to reskill themselves to be masters of their own businesses,” he emphasised.
The building, constructed at a cost of N$1.1 million, consists of a multipurpose hall, seminar room, two administrative offices, storeroom, reception area and ablution facilities. The government of Japan has up to 2021 provided financial assistance to Namibia to a total amount of U$268 million, consisting of U$157 million in the form of grants and U$11 million in loans in the areas of human resources development, agricultural development, stability of the country’s future, and lastly emergency response programmes.