Eveline de Klerk
WALVIS BAY – The Walvis Bay municipality has donated N$70 000 to government schools at the town for the development of gardening projects.
The donation was made after a proposal for gardening projects was submitted by the Directorate of Education, Arts and Culture through its Walvis Bay circuit office to supplement feeding programmes at the schools.
The donation itself was made through the municipality’s environmental fund, which was established to award grants for projects that aim to enhance the quality of life of Walvis Bay residents through proper management of the environment and natural resources.
Environmental coordinator at the municipality Nangula Amutenya said they usually fund projects aimed at improving the environment by giving out grants every financial year.
“The purpose of this specific donation is mainly to help contribute towards food security in urban areas and also to give learners an opportunity to learn how to grow their own food,” said Amutenya.
She added that the fund in partnership with the parks section of the municipality also purchased items that will be donated to the schools in an effort to kick-start or upgrade their existing gardens.
“These gardens were established to supplement school feeding programmes and to create a practical environment for students studying agriculture. We will also offer technical support to staff members at the various schools who will run the gardening projects,” she explained.
She added that a team from the fund recently also hosted a workshop with representatives from the various schools to enlighten them on the purpose of the donation as well as a practical in terms of gardening tools, seeds, transfer seedlings and how to prepare the soil.
Some of the donated items the schools received are sifted building sand, plant trawlers, planting bags, seedling trays, super phosphate, germination mix, various vegetable seeds and garden utensils, among others.
The schools that are benefitting from this donation are Flamingo Primary School, Flamingo Secondary School, Duinesig Combined School, Kuisebmond Primary School, Seaside Primary School, Immanuel Ruiters Primary School, Kuisebmond Secondary School, !Nara Primary School, Tutaleni Primary School, Tutaleni High School, Namport Primary School, JP Brandt Primary School, Narraville Primary School, De Duine Secondary School.