Inaugural Afrox Leadership Academy concludes
The inaugural Afrox Leadership Academy (ALA) programme which was birthed out of the desire to identify the best possible method for intervention in skills development and poverty eradication in the country, concluded last week in Windhoek.
Earlier in April, Afrox Namibia launched the leadership mentoring programme for secondary school learners, which kicked off as a pilot project and hosted 16 Grade 10 learners chosen from public schools, over a six-month period.
The community projects initiated by the students ranged from offering learner to learner based remedial classes at school, soup kitchen feeding schemes, after school kindergarten care and after school learn-to-read programmes for lower primary learners in identified communities.
“When we started dreaming about a value adding programme a couple of years ago, and eventually settling on this Leadership Academy programme, I believed that we were onto something valuable. We saw how the future of this country could be impacted by investing in the lives of our young people. Today, having been involved in the process of the Academy, listening to the stories of strength and the dreams that these young people have, witnessing their growth and development as the programme progressed, I am convinced, without a doubt, that we did the right thing,” said Eckhardt Vorster, the Managing Director of Afrox Namibia at a gala dinner.
Delivering the keynote address, First Lady Monica Geingos, expressed support for the programme saying that while education is the greatest equalizer, it is more than just academics.
“It is character development, it is integrity. It is more than just giving or offering money. It is about ensuring that ALA alumni have a holistic spectrum of support, and this ALA programme is doing just that. There comes a time in life where money becomes secondary, and the search for significance and real value becomes your driving force. When you are focused on the right things, you’ll find a way of using what you have and make it work for others. At this point, the question you’ll have to answer is – am I doing enough to make a difference in the lives of others?,” Geingos said.
Caption: The Afrox Leadership Academy students completed their year of leadership training. In the picture, are the first intake of the academy with Eckhardt Vorster, Managing Director of Afrox and First Lady Monica Geingos.
