RUNDU – First Lady Madam Penehupifo Pohamba recently opened the ELCIN community hostel which accommodates learners from Siya Combined School and other nearby schools in the area.
The community hostel is an initiative of the local ELCIN church and the community of Siya village, in the Kapako constituency, 25 kilometres west of Rundu. The hostel accommodates 51 boys and girls, mainly orphans and vulnerable children.
Pohamba told the children that they are the cream of the nation and have to study so that their future could be bright, advising them that “life is full of challenges”. She urged them to remain focused on their education no matter the situation they may find themselves in.
“The opportunity to be in school only comes once and if you miss that opportunity it may never come again. What I want to tell you is that school days are the best in life. There will be no better days,” she said before quoting the slogan of the Namibian Defence Force which says, “Train hard and fight easy.”
Pohamba donated 70 blankets, shoes and N$10 000 to the hostel. She further presented a N$1 000 donation from Mukwaita Shanyengana, the son of one of the missionaries who started the ELCIN Church in the area.
Hompa Alfons Kaundu of the Mbunza tribe also spoke at the opening ceremony, saying that he was happy with the idea of the community hostel and hence the traditional authority did not hesitate to give the land for use when approached. “I give land for a good cause and for development that benefit my people, and for future generations to benefit,” he said.
The councillor for Kapako constituency, Frieda Siwombe, urged the children to study hard and become somebody in life.