By Surihe Gaomas
WINDHOEK
Jan Jonker Afrikaner High School in Katutura became the first pilot school to benefit from the Star School Project, which was launched last week on Friday.
The Star School Project is a HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programme amongst school children, which aims at initiating the Star school programme in about 40 schools in Namibia during the next three years.
Officially launching the project, Prime Minister Nahas Angula commended the initiative saying it would empower learners to adopt an “AIDS-free life” through responsible behaviour change.
“We need to give students options to choose from and engage their minds in productive and rewarding activities … HIV/AIDS is indeed a pending catastrophe and time bomb which will sooner rather than later explode right in our faces,” said Angula.
It is estimated that 230 000 Namibians were living with HIV/AIDS in 2005, while adult prevalence was estimated at 19.6 percent.
The Premier said as much as these figures are regarded by many people as just numbers, “these statistics represent human beings” with the vast majority of them being young people.
In view of this, the Star School Project, the first of its kind in Namibia, will be piloted in five schools in the Khomas Region during 2007 and 2008 and later at schools in the Erongo Region.
Swedish entrepreneur Dan Olofsson and Johan Hansen from the Swedish company Ittur are the co-founders of the Star School Project.
They first started the project in Kwazulu-Natal Province in South Africa in 2006. The Star school programme is now run in over 40 schools in South Africa and has been described as a success.
“We are very glad to launch the project in Namibia. Strengthening the self-esteem of young people is important for the mission to fight HIV/AIDS as well as to help inspire them to do well in other areas of life,” said Olofsson.
The project further aims at accelerating the pace and depth in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in society for a healthy and productive generation of the future.
Angula, who is the patron of the Star School Project, encouraged learners to take the project seriously. He assured guests at the function that as the flag of the project rises high at school premises, Namibians would be sending out a collective message of hope, optimism and confidence in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“The youth is our hope and our future. This project is from today a personal commitment. AIDS-free – that is me – should be a new song to sing so that you can achieve your dreams,” he said.
Angula highlighted that 19 percent of the population are affected by HIV/AIDS in the country.
He urged learners to play a role in the fight against the disease by making the right choices.
Speaking at the same event, Star School Operations Manager South Africa, Siphile Mdaka, said young people have the responsibility to build a better future.
“We can win the battle against poverty, unemployment, HIV/AIDS and famine. We as the youth can build the future of Africa,” he said.
Mdaka explained that the project started about two and half years ago in his country.
The project is not only about changing behaviour and transforming the minds of students, but also the school community.
The hope is that through the project, students will gradually build up internal strength through a number of “mental vaccinations” in combination with regular and spontaneous programme activities.