ONGWEDIVA – The Oshigambo High School in the Oshikoto region now has a brand-new girls’ hostel.
The hostel, which took four months to build, consists of three rows of seven rooms. Each room will accommodate 10 girls, and in total, 210 school girls will be accommodated in a safe, secured environment.
School principal Pinehas Ekongo said over the years, the girls’ hostel had been in a dilapidated state and posed a dangerous risk to the girls.
The hostel was built inside the school premises to shorten the distance to and from school, to monitor the pupils, and for safety purposes.
Ekongo said the new hostel was a necessity because the previous one was far from the school, and during winter and rainy seasons, the girls suffered the most.
“Even if the student forgot her textbook at the hostel, she is forced to walk back, and that alone takes 10 minutes. She misses out on lessons in just those minutes,” he added.
Renovations to the boys’ hostel will have to wait a bit.
“When we evaluated the factors on which hostel to renovate first, we prioritised the girls. Their hostel was terribly old, and the rooms were congested and confined. The boys’ hostel will be the next project”, said Ekongo.
Meanwhile, the school received 18 buckets of paint from Peralin Paints Ongwediva worth N$40 000.
The sales representative of the Ongwediva branch, Fillip Shinavene, said the sponsorship was a way to give back to the community.
“The community which supports the school also supports Peralin Paints. So, we decided to give something back to the community in these economically hard times,” he noted.
The principal expressed gratitude for the sponsorship, saying they were going to spend a lot of money, but Peralin Paints met them halfway.
Ekongo stated that the donation is the very first in two years, and all resources used to build the hostel and renovate the classrooms came from the school’s funds.
Apart from the new hostel, a few classrooms were renovated to create a more conducive learning environment. The classrooms now have smartboards, air-conditioning, water dispensers and CCTV cameras.
“It is because of this transformation that our students are performing very well. We are ranked number 2 academic-wise in the whole country. Our students are motivated and competitive,” he boasted.
The school ended second overall in the top-performing private schools’ Grade 11 results last year behind the Canisianum Roman Catholic School (Omusati).