Selma Gumbo
OKAPEMBAMBU – Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb (DPMT), through the Tsumeb Community Trust, recently donated 235 mattresses valued at over N$274 700 to the Okapembambu Mobile School hostel. The school is about 20km east of Opuwo, which is a town with a Himba community of over 700.
The school hosts over 434 learners from Okapembambu and the surrounding villages, and has a complement of 10 teachers and six people who volunteer as cooks. The community hostel, which accommodates 304 pupils, was the beneficiary of this latest donation as many of the pre-grade 7 learners used to sleep on the floor.
Handing over the donation, chairman Max Johnson of the Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb Community Trust said education is the key priority for DPMT. This is because the company believes education is a benefit that supports long-term capacity-building and a sustainable future for local communities.
Johnson went on to reveal that since
its inception, Dundee has invested more than N$35 million in the upliftment of the communities in Tsumeb, Oshikoto region and nationwide, and has invested over N$8 million in education specifically.
In his acceptance speech, headman of Okapembambu Egypte Tjikundi thanked Dundee and its management for the noble gesture to his school and community at large, whom he said barely have anything at all for their community hostel. He thus hopes
other donors will come forward to help cater for the needs of the pupils.
Meanwhile, a representative from the regional governor’s office, Theodora Kazombiaze, echoed similar sentiments, stressing the importance of working together to fulfil the dream of the Namibian child. He said government alone cannot solve the problems in the communities, and therefore welcomed the assistance of the private sector.
*Selma Gumbo is an Information Officer in the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology’s Kunene regional office.