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Anker school receives earthquake hostel blocks

2022-05-19  Staff Reporter

Anker school receives earthquake hostel blocks

Cecilia Xavier

 

ANKER - The education directorate in the Kunene region handed over two earthquake resilient hostel blocks to Edward //Garoeb Primary School hostel with the carrying capacity of 64 learners each.

The estimated value of the facilities is N$17 million.

Edward //Garoeb Primary School is located north of Khorixas at Anker settlement. The school currently has 295 learners with nine teachers and a principal. It caters from grade 1 to grade 7 and has 14 classrooms. 

The two blocks were constructed following the parents demand to have their children back to Anker, from Fransfontein, where they were relocated with their teachers and support staff, following an earthquake in 2018 that caused damage to the school buildings. Last April, the community was shaken by yet another earthquake of 5.0 magnitude which was described as the biggest.

“All of us who are here today can testify and write a book about what happened on the faithful day of 8 March 2018 when the earthquake measuring 4.1 struck the community of Anker causing infrastructural damage to Edward //Garoeb Primary School, interrupting normal school life, leaving residents, our children and our staff members shocked and traumatised,” said Angeline Jantze, the education director in Kunene.

Jantze said since the incident happened, the directorate has been concerned with the learners, teachers and support staffs’ safety at the school and hostel. As a result, a taskforce was formed to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy, emergency response, measures and a variety of actions in an effort to bounce back from the disaster.  

“You may recall those were challenging times. It was not an easy path to get to where we are today, considering all the difficult consultative meetings and community engagements that took place over the past four years,” Jantze said.

The education director urged the school management to take care of the infrastructure.

“I am hereby representing the gratitude of my fellow learners at my school. We, the learners of Edward //Garoeb, acknowledge the big change made by all the stakeholders, therefore, we could not withhold our appreciation to the beautiful hostel. We promise to take care of our dorms and oblige to the rules and regulations set up by the superintended,” said Blommetjie Guriras, the school head girl.

 

*Cecilia Xavier works for the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology in Opuwo.


2022-05-19  Staff Reporter

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