Omuhaturua Primary School
Omuhaturua Primary School is in the arid and sparsely populated Omaheke region. Most of the children are Herero speaking, but the catchment area also includes some San ethnic groups (indigenous “Bushman”) that live in the Kalahari on both sides of the border with Botswana.
In common with other nomadic peoples in other countries, the San are sadly a marginalized ethnic group in Namibia. One of our Namibian Directors learned that 43 San children were sleeping on the sand outside the school dormitory under a make-shift tent held up by borrowed soccer posts: they could not afford the boarding fees.
The boys and girls were mixed together, fending for themselves without food or adult supervision. At this school and others in the area, a lack of accommodation means most San children leave school before completing grade 3, before receiving any biology, or life skills (including HIV prevention) education.
In response to a recommendation from our Namibian Board, we funded 43 children to sleep in the hostel and eat their regular meals for the third trimester of 2008. During the same trimester, the skilled and active Principal secured a grant to build a second dormitory building and students from a High School in England built and painted it. Providing accommodation and meals has encouraged all 43 San learners to return to school at the start of the academic year in January 2009.
Sekolo Projects Namibia continues to work with the school Principal to find a sustainable way of supporting these children without creating stigma. We invested in shade netting and gardening supplies for the school hostel to expand their garden plot and growing season. Now, the learners work together to grow vegetables which supplement their meals in the hostel.
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Learners work together to put up shade netting.
Receiving the blankets and mattresses provided by Sekolo Projects.
Photo Gallery
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Planting seeds after putting up the shade netting to extend the garden plot and growing season.
San girls laughing with us in the library.
Learners help keep the hostel garden weeded and watered, to grow additional vegetables for their meals.