Ondundu learners eat in style
The newly-built Ondundu dining hall, at Ondundu Primary School, was officially inauguration on Wednesday by Honourable Ester Anna Nghipondoka, the deputy Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, in Tsumeb. The construction of the hall was made possible by Outotech and Dundee Precious Metals (DPM) at a cost of N$3.8 million.
Deputy Minister Nghipandoka said that as government they are committed to providing quality education to all Namibian children, but they are challenged by lack of resources and can not single handedly deliver to the extent that they wish to deliver. “The coming on board of Outotech as facilitated by the Dundee Community Trust is an assistance that we really value and we undertake to maintain the facility and ensure that it is utilised to the fullest for the benefit of the children of Ondundu Primary School and beyond,” she added.
Mr John Hasyn, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Dundee Precious Metals stated that in his short 56 years of life, he has never known what it is like to have an empty stomach for longer than a few hours. “I do not know what it is like to go to school hungry, No child, whether in Namibia or anywhere, should go to school on an empty belly, so this dining hall in not only about filling the bellies of Ondundu learners, but it is a symbol of something much bigger,” said Hasyn.
He further emphasised that DPM through its Tsumeb Community Trust has spent over N$12 million in the community since they arrived in the country in 2010. “But nothing defines it better than your faces today, just a picture of your smiling faces, the sound of your songs and the sight of your dances, and the opportunity for us to play just a very small part in helping you realize your dreams is enough for us to say and believe that ‘We succeed because we care’,” he concluded.
Mr Michael Muller, Director of Projects at Outotech said they believe in leaving a positive mark, where ever they are, especially for children because children are the future. Mr Julianne Nakale, the Principal of Ondundu Primary School quoted Nelson Mandela as saying once “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, a mineworker’s son can become the head of the mines and a child of the farm worker can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have not, what we are given, that separates one person from the other.”
It took four months to build the Ondundu dining hall and no money was spared, with quality material and first class workmanship delivered throughout construction.
