The learners’ representative council at Sauyemwa Combined School in Rundu is providing less-privileged learners with shoes and uniforms through the Dress-Up-A Friend Project, otherwise known as “Dwareka Mukweni” in Rukwangali.
The project commenced in 2019 and started yielding results in 2020.
The learners’ representative council (LRC) with their teachers identify those in critical and dire need of shirts, skirts or trousers and pairs of shoes, and then purchase such as per the identified needs.
“It means so much to me that I was chosen to receive this pair of shoes. I am thankful to the team, and applaud them to continue with this project,” said one of the beneficiaries, Ndumba Matheus.
The sixth grader added that although he has a school uniform, he is aware that he is still growing and it won’t fit properly in future, but he motivated his peers to not let the lack of uniforms and/or shoes deter them from attending classes.
“Even if you don’t have a school uniform or school shoes, come to school and study hard to become somebody in life. Don’t let this stop you from coming to school,” encouraged the 12-year-old aspirant medical doctor.
Teacher and LRC mentor, Frans Kandjilu said the need for school uniforms among learners is high, and the amount of money collected couldn’t cater to all of them, hence the decision to just purchase 20 pairs of shoes, because the majority of the identified learners needed shoes. “Those who needed shirts, trousers and/or skirts were left out with the idea of accommodating them after the LRC collect funds during the school’s next casual wear day planned for 14 February 2022, and others yet to come,” he said.
Kandjilu added that about 50 learners benefit from the project in a year.
“This year, we started with 20 pairs of shoes (14 pairs for boys and six pairs for girls), costing N$3 000. This amount was collected during the last casual wear day of 2021. It was planned to help learners who may face difficulties in acquiring school uniforms in the early days of January 2022.”
Kandjilu added: “Parents are compelled to make sure their children are clothed. We are talking about school uniforms, because it’s a measure put in place by the ministry to avoid competition among learners. Not every parent is privileged to afford expensive clothes for their children, and those who may be able to, would put pressure on other parents”.
He said this eventually make the less-privileged learners feel demoralised or discouraged from attending school, adding that school uniforms are a good means to keep every child in school, as it provides a unique and unvarying kind of identity among learners, regardless of their social statuses.
Kandjilu stated the idea is to make every child feel comfortable and appreciated at school, while grooming a responsible and caring future leadership in communities, a role he says is being carried out well by the LRC.
“It is against this background that we wish to see this project initiated or implemented in every school, because we believe that every school has that needy child. Gone are the days when schools had casual wear days and the funds learners contributed towards this were never accounted for. Dressing them up through their own efforts makes them responsible and caring towards each other,” said Kandjilu.
– psiririka@nepc.com.na