
Etunda becomes educational and health hub for rural children

Hans-Wilhelm Schütte (left), Managing Director of Ohrongo Cement, with former President, Dr Sam Nujoma, finalising the deal to support the building of the Etunda Primary School and Clinic. Current planning makes provision for further development and expansion. Etunda is the founding father’s farm on the B1 road between Otavi and Otjiwarongo.
The project was motivated out of a desire by Dr Nujoma to provide schooling to children residing in the rural areas in the Otjozondjupa region. National census data identified a number of people in Namibia who are most vulnerable in terms of drop-out or non-attendance at school. Among the groups identified were the children of the surrounding farms. In addition, schools are seldom able to meet the demand for enrollment and have to deal with overcrowding and a general lack of finance to pay for school fees. Further obstacles to rural schooling are the distance to and from school, a lack of transport, a lack of hostel facilities for accommodation, as well as a low level of interest from parents. “The health of our people is critical to enable them to contribute to the socio-economic development of our country. A clinic will provide quality health care services to school children and workers in Otavi District and the surrounding areas,” said Dr Nujoma. “We will support the clinic by means of supplying the necessary medical equipment for the daily operations of a clinic. The funding for this will kindly be provided by Support e.V. from Ulm, in collaboration with the OOCT. The grounds have been debushed and cleared and the first bricks have been delivered. The construction date is yet to be confirmed”, said Mr Schütte closing with the statement “By supporting projects like these, Ohorongo supports the slogan Growth at Home and helps to work towards Vision 2030.”