Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK – Towards its efforts to celebrate the Day of the African Child, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) ran an essay competition aimed at Grade 7 pupils in the Khomas Region, asking them to write an essay on “Why tourism is important to Namibia”.
Of the entries that were received, Zelna Hengari, NWR managing director, decided to give 15 learners (instead of the original 10) the chance to go on an educational trip at Hardap Resort, which falls under NWR. Over the past weekend, 13 of the winners embarked on this lifetime experience.
In order to provide an opportunity for the winners to get the most out of the trip, NWR partnered with EduVentures, which specialises in providing environmental education to learners throughout Namibia. On June16, the Day of the African Child, the learners had the opportunity to learn about the importance of biodiversity, the tourism sector and how it impacts them.
Maria Johanness, EduVentures senior environmental educator, provided the learners with an opportunity to do exercises that made them realise the significance of taking care of their environment. “I strongly believe that after these lessons, the learners will be able to appreciate their environment more. I hope that when they return to their homes and schools, they can make use of the knowledge they gained.”
Mufaro Njabulo Nesongano, NWR corporate communications and online media manager, was grateful to the Windhoek schools that took part in the competition. “We certainly realise that this opportunity should be expanded to other areas in Namibia. Our idea is to incorporate more schools next year when we do the same trip. We were very pleased with the quality of essays we received and the feedback from the winners regarding the educational trip. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that all 13 of them had not been to our Hardap Resort. This therefore further showed us why this is an important programme to continue having.” As the brains behind the EnviroKidz concept which funded this educational trip, NWR’s Hengari was excited at meeting the winners on the Day of the African Child. “I initially could not make it, however, after seeing the photos on our social media page, I felt compelled to go and greet them and say a few words of encouragement as they are our future leaders.”