Afrox Leadership Academy Pupils Share Their Experiences

The first of its kind, the Afrox Leadership Academy in Namibia is drawing to a close.

The academny ran as a pilot and focused on 16 Grade 10 pupils selected from the top three academically performing public schools in the Khomas region.

Eckhardt Vorster, managing director of Afrox Namibia, said: “We saw the future of this country in our young people, we saw their dreams and the change that could come from sowing the seeds now. In the midst of all the interventions, which add a lot of value to Namibia, Afrox opted to take the road less travelled. For us, that meant choosing to make a unique contribution, and thus the Afrox Leadership Academy”.

Participants of this inaugural academy successfully completed a week-long leadership training camp, after which they engaged in various community upliftment projects. The community projects ranged from tutoring fellow pupils to help them with their school work to recycling, soup kitchen feeding schemes and after-school kindergarten care.

One of the participants whose project centered around tutoring, Kyrah Hampe of Delta Secondary School, said this of her experience: “The most fulfilling thing about my community project has been seeing the improvement in the academic performance of the pupils which far exceeded our expectations”.

Also speaking about her experience, Adara Witbooi, who worked on a community feeding scheme in Otjomuise’;s Agste Laan, said: “This soup kitchen is totally dependent on the community members’; goodwill. When we got involved, we managed to help provide some extra utensils for the kitchen which has facilitated the faster preparation of the meals”.

Fellow academy participant Mercy Amadhila added: “We must learn to be grateful for the privileges that we have and remember that the input you make now will last for a very long time in the lives of the recipients”.

The academy also had mentorship sessions where the participants engaged with different mentors on issues relating to discovering who they are as individuals and how they can make a tangible contribution in the lives of their families, friends and communities.

Echoing these sentiments, Fanuel Shinedima and Julius Ekandjo of Hage Geingob Secondary School further stated that one of the key lessons learnt during the course of the academy was the importance of never giving in to fear and staying focused, irrespective of the challenges one is faced with. “Fear is simply ‘;False Evidence Appearing Real’; so you should never give in to it.” Julius emphasised. “You must not be shy. You must speak up and express what you feel inside,” the soft-spoken Jacobin Shigwedha added.

The academy will conclude in a gala dinner that will celebrate all the success stories coming out of this pilot phase. During the dinner, which is scheduled to take place on the 9 November at Safari Hotel, Afrox Academy participants will showcase the community upliftment projects they have been involved in.

– Afrox Leadership Academy