Lorato Khobetsi
WH E N L e s i e n a Swartbooi, a resident of the Takarania informal settlement in Mariental was retrenched in 2019, she established a daycare facility in her bedroom to teach over 46 children in her care. Swartbooi, who was a teacher at another crПche since 2003, was the breadwinner of her family, and taking care of children was all she knew. As the number of children increased, she realized that she needed a bigger space if she wanted to continue to offer an education to the children from her area.
She approached various institutions to seek assistance to construct an early childhood development centre in her community. Swartbooi said after her request was approved by Anglo-American Namibia Foundation, she teamed up with another community member, Hermanus Afrikaner, who also operated a daycare centre in the area.
After three years of seeking assistance to make her dream a reality, the foundation, in collaboration with the Mariental municipality and the ministries of education and gender equality, inaugurated and handed over a fully-equipped early childhood development centre for the community of Takarania at the value of N$1,6 million.
“I love children, and because I wanted to help my community, I did not have a problem combining with my neighbour. Here we are. Finally, we have this building. I am ecstatic. I cannot thank the stakeholders enough. I always wanted to help my community, and they made it possible,” beamed Swartbooi. The newly-constructed centre boasts two large classrooms, an ablution facility, kitchen and a playground, which can accommodate about 80 children. Unlike the previous corrugated iron structure, the community is appreciative of the fact that it is now upgraded to a modern structure, which will shelter their children from rain, wind and the sun during their lessons.
At the inauguration of the centre, Hardap regional governor Salomon April was speaking on behalf of the Deputy Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, where he reflected on the need for the community to take ownership of the centre and to ensure that the children attend classes in order to develop the required skills.
He further said the early childhood centre should be used for the purpose it was established for. The Ang l o - Ame r i c an Foundation has so far invested more than N$16 million in the construction of early childhood centres in southern Namibia.
*Lorato Khobetsi is an information officer at MICT Hardap.