2006-03-27Staff Report 2 "By Frederick Philander WINDHOEK More than a thousand dancing in the aisles, hysteric, yelling and screaming school kids yesterday morning appropriately welcomed their life hero, Gazza at Dawid Bezuidenhout Secondary School in Khomasdal. Gazza started his first official duties as the first formally appointed goodwill ambassador of the Ministry of Education under a cloud of secrecy at the Khomasdal school. ""We deliberately kept the singer's visit to our school top secret because we wanted to happily surprise all the learners,"" said head boy Julio Engelbrecht, who considers Gazza's visit to the school as the ""event of the year"". The musician last week consulted with the school's learners' council about his pending visit, which caused a momentous stir among learners and staff. ""The wait was definitely worth the while,"" said Engelbrecht. The press had been waiting for the singer since 07h15 yesterday, but due to some technical problems, Gazza only arrived later at the school, much to the dismay of the teachers. When he finally appeared, a roar of approval and hero-worshiping echoed through the capacity filled hall. The singer basically had to force his way into the hall up on stage, from which he addressed the learners. ""Education is the one facet in your life that should not be neglected amidst all the negative influences we all experience in our daily lives. I too was an unruly and ill-disciplined learner when I was your age, but gradually I changed my attitude as I was progressing through my school career. Today I know better,"" the soft-spoken Gazza told the appreciative crowd of young people. The atmosphere became more relaxed when some of Gazza's best-known tunes were blared out over a rather inadequate sound system. ""There is definitely life after school if you study hard. To be taken seriously as a learner and future leaders of the country, it is imperative for you all to study hard and consistently. I wouldn't like to see you become one of the many school drop-outs which our streets are already teeming with,"" he said. To the delight of the learners, Gazza threw a few of his CDs into the crowd that swept forward ardently to get a copy, which were later autographed by the musician. The sad news, exclusively shared with Art/Life, is that the previous night thieves broke into his grand sports car and removed a sound track of his latest piece of music, which he recorded on Wednesday evening in the city. Gazza asked members of the public to be on the lookout for the CD. People can call his manager, Aureli at the FNCC on telephone number 222122 if they have any information on the burglary. The virtuous musician will visit more schools in the capital and in the regions." 2006-03-27Staff Report 2
