Festus Hamalwa
ONGWEDIVA – Learners and staff at Onawa Secondary School have expressed their frustration regarding the water crisis prevailing at the school. Teachers who spoke to New Era said the school has been experiencing insufficient water supply since 2018, and the critical water shortage gets worse day by day. Over 1 000 learners and staff have been living with no proper running water at the school.
On Thursday, learners and teachers at Onawa Secondary School in the Anamulenge constituency, Omusati region, held a peaceful demonstration demanding water at their school. The group marched to the office of the director of education at Outapi, where they handed over their petition.
In the petition, they state the situation is unhygienic and has become unbearable, especially for learners in the hostel. This situation has caused unsanitary conditions, as they, according to them, are under-staffed when it comes to kitchen and hostel workers – and they now have to take extra time to fetch water from the tanks to clean and prepare meals.
They also stressed that staff members and pupils are working under strenuous conditions, as they have to collect and fetch water to sustain their households – and at times, there is no water. Thus, toilets on campus can go several hours without being flushed, leading to a foul smell across the school.
Despite plans put in place to ensure learners relieve themselves (pit latrines), the learners are simply too many. This has also placed cleaners in a compromised health position.
Learners stated the tanks at school sometimes run completely dry – and many times only small drops of water come out.
They added, learners go to school without bathing – and to make matters worse, the toilets do not flush.
The chairperson of the school board at Onawa SS, Walter Hangula, said learners and staff have been suffering for too long, and teachers are always frustrated by the water situation.
Hangula said the school board tried several times to write letters to NamWater to solve the issue of low-pressure water pipes but nothing has been done for the past four years. A grade 12 learner Teopolina Shikwambi said it is not easy for a lady to live in school without water, especially during the menstruation process; it affects them negatively. “Sometimes, we go to school with dirty uniforms or without bathing,” she lamented. Shikwambi added they sometimes fetch water from wells or boreholes in the surrounding areas.
Another learner, Absalom Shaanika, said they live in an unhygienic environment. “We are at risk of getting various diseases. We are really suffering in an independent country,” he said. The learners say they hope the ministry of education and relevant stakeholders will finally take action and provide a lasting solution for the water crisis at their school.
Approached for comment, Omusati education director Benny Eiseb did not answer his mobile phone; however, he last week informed Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila about the water crisis faced by the schools in the region during her visit.
According to Eiseb, he is concerned about schools that have been without clean water for too long.