Needy Bethanie pupils receive shoes

NEEDY pupils at Bethanie Primary School at the sleepy village of Bethanie in the //Kharas region received new school shoes last Friday.

An initiative called ‘ Keep a Child In School’, the brainchild of police officer Danny Esterhuizen, which he initiated last year in collaboration with other stakeholders, donated 20 pairs of shoes to the less-fortunate pupils at the school.

Esterhuizen, in an interview with The Namibian yesterday, said the project’s main objective was to keep a child in school.

“Article 15 of the Namibian Constitution guarantees the right of a child to be taken care of, but the responsibility for caring solely rests on the parents or community,” he said.

Caring for the needy, he added, is the best way to deal with societal issues.

“The initiative to keep a child in school could also be seen as a community policing effort to keep young children off the streets for them not to become susceptible to crime,” the man with 18 years in police service added.

According to him, the initiative he calls “marathon project” is to get proper uniforms and winter wear for all underprivileged pupils by the end of this school term.

The good gesture, he said, is “simply an act of kindness”, adding: “There is no plan to do the right thing for mankind as plans normally defeat their purpose”.

“You simply do it,” he said, referring to himself as the brainchild behind the project.

The school’s principal !Notago //Gowases described the donation of the new footwear as a “ kind profound gesture”.

She said those who had benefited have been coming to school barefoot or wearing worn shoes since schools opened for the 2020 academic year. She said most of the needy pupils are orphans and vulnerable children and depend on their grandparents’ grants.

“The shoes will protect the children from cold winter and hot summer days,” she added.

Bethanie is located about 130 kilometres south-west of Keetmanshoop.