Rössing Uranium recently handed over infrastructure to the Willem Borchard Primary School (WBPS) in Okombahe, Daures constituency. The infrastructure support was made available to the school as the set-up around the feeding scheme kitchen only provided a corrugated iron sheet shelter for the cooks with no tables and chairs, and with no seating for the learners when they come for their meals.
With support from the mine, the kitchen was moved to the back of the school yard, and the cement tables and chairs constructed will now serve as formalised seating for the learners supported by the feeding scheme. The same area can also be used for an assembly or other meetings the school might have. The fence at the back of the school has also been reinforced.
Rössing Uranium approached the Namibia Institute for Mining and Technology (NIMT) in Arandis to partner in the project. They refurbished desks and chairs that were broken and unused at their own cost, and Rössing transported the desks and chairs back to the school, where the learners are now making use of the revamped furniture.
This support is defined under Rössing Uranium’s “Bigger-Than-Me Project’(BTMP), which aims to stimulate collaboration between stakeholders and beneficiaries, thus having an end-result that has a bigger impact than what Rössing Uranium would have achieved on its own. The project is segmented into seven components, which are in support of 10 Sustainable Development Goals.
Daylight Ekandjo, Rössing Uranium’s corporate communications manager said: “Annually, Rössing Uranium proactively identifies social performance activities that are long-term and focused on improvements in the quality of life. As such, our approach was to identify a primary school within the Erongo region with whom Rössing Uranium could establish a relationship over three years – thereby supporting the concept of making an impact that will last beyond our direct involvement”.
The infrastructure support was done with a Rössing Uranium-based contractor, Shipanga Enteprises, who also employed residents from Okombahe for the building project.