Staff Reporter
Windhoek-To help take the benefits of mining to remote regions where mining doesn’t occur, Bannerman Resources Namibia recently visited two schools in the Omaheke Region – Donkerbos Primary School and Chief Sofia Jacobs Primary School – to provide 333 learners with individualised parcels of school uniforms, socks, shoes and backpacks.
This marks the eighth consecutive year that Bannerman, an exploration company based in Swakopmund, has helped Namibian learners though the company’s Early Learner Assistance Scheme.
Working in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Bannerman has to date helped more than 2,400 students, mostly in the Erongo Region, through the programme. This year, with the support from its partners in government and shareholders at the One Economy Foundation, the Bannerman team extended its reach to learners in the Omaheke Region.
Aminuis Constituency councillor and National Council member, Peter Kazongominja, present at the handover at Chief Sofia Jacobs PS, applauded Bannerman for its commitment to contributing to President Geingob’s goal that in building Namibia, no one should be left out. “When we ask what benefits we are getting from the country’s natural resources, this is the benefit, this support for needy children, from an exploration company that is near the sea but is ploughing back support into rural communities,” says Kazongominja.
The importance of providing support to rural schoolchildren was evident in the assembly of those who attended the handover, including the director of education for the Omaheke Region, Pecka Semba; CEO of the One Economy Foundation, Uajorokisa Akwenye, the traditional chief and councillors, along with many of the learners’ parents.
Werner Ewald, managing director of Bannerman Resources Namibia, encourages the schoolchildren to listen to their teachers and to cast their net wide in search of their dreams.
“If your teacher says work hard, then do it. We want to hear that children from Chief Sofia Jacobs Primary School have become teachers and policemen and leaders. Work hard. You can do it. We’d like to see that in Namibia everyone realises their dreams.”