A Chinese proverb goes: if you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.
This proverb draws a clear picture about the potential of education in Chinese life. It is thus not surprising that education investment becomes one of the most key investments in Chinese culture.
To a parent, investment in their kids’ education is their priority concern. Chinese parents would provide financial and material support for their kids’ education even if they will go hungry themselves.
The parents will manage to satisfy the schooling desire of the children, be it a primary school goer, or a high school leaner or a university student.
This attitude of education of Chinese is in a sharp contrast with many Namibians.
Many Namibians fail to see the importance of education. The majority of Namibians still believe Grade 12 is what they desire to achieve, failing to regard higher education as an important step to achieve their desired career and as a value-added role in Namibia’s nation building. Of course, strained financial background and narrow mindsets are attributive to such perception of education, which results in very limited or no education investment.
Education investment is not only just judged by capital injection, but also by individual desire and attitude for educating himself/ herself. In my annual selection of Namibian candidates for scholarships provided by Chinese Loving Heart Organization, the important criteria I have to follow is the candidates’ attitudes and mindset about medical study in China. The communication including the interview with the candidates from the past three years reflected and exposed the candidates’ (also their parents) attitudes and their world view on education.
Some take the scholarship seriously while others take it lightly. The take-it-lightly attitude is partly due to a high percentage of poor education background among Namibians and also a lack of perusing culture of higher education across the country.
A jade stone is useless before it is processed; a man is good for nothing until he is educated. Education costs money, but then so does ignorance. Namibians’ poor education situation has already been seen as the major obstacle to the development of Namibia.
However, the Namibian government has realized the potential problems of a low percentage of an educated population and more and more Namibian people are also aware of the pivotal role a good education will play in their life.
We know that education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.
The Chinese community in Namibia has set a good example with regard to lighting of the fire of education for Namibian people.
Chinese government, Chinese companies and Chinese individuals have mobilized and funded many schools and school goers in Namibia including donation of schools, scholarships, materials and equipment.
Education is everything to the Namibian children’s future. Many Chinese business people and companies have done a great job in education investment for Namibian people. Chinese Loving Heart Organization, Afrina Property Developer CC, Bright Future Import and Export CC, Nami Prefabricated Housing CC, NA Construction CC, Qing Dao Construction CC, Ming Tong Construction CC are just a few of them.
Among the Chinese companies making education investment for Namibian people, the Chinese Loving Heart Organization is the most outstanding in terms of scholarships offered.
The Chinese Loving Heart Organization is a non-profit organization based in Windhoek.
In the past five years this organization has offered millions of full scholarships to assist over 30 Namibian candidates to go and complete their medical study at Nantong University Jiangsu Province China.
The annual advertisement of scholarship offers published in local media such New Era and The Namibian and The Namibian Sun received very positive response from Namibian candidates.
There are averagely 200 Namibians applying for this scholarship annually, which show that Namibians increasingly cherish a keen interest in going to China to study medicine.
From the application documents, interviews and hundreds of enquires we receive each year during the period of scholarship selection, we notice that more and more Namibians vest high spirits and strong aspiration to further and improve their education level.
This is very encouraging. What impressed me is that all the candidates dream to be a doctor. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Such candidates will surely become very competent in the nation building of Namibia.
A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. Huge amounts of scholarships from the Chinese government, Chinese Loving Heart Organization and other Chinese institutions will facilitate the medical development and improvement in Namibia, esp. in the rural areas as the candidates all promised to go and work in those less developed areas in Namibia after they complete their medical programs in China.
I am very pleased to witness such a passion for the homeland development from the young generation and I am much confident that these young learners will be the backbones of nation building and they will build a very bright and promising future for Namibia.
The Chinese community will continue with such education investment in Namibia.
Professor Yang Ganfu