NWR launches school garden programme

NAMIBIA Wildlife Resorts (NWR) officially launched its school garden programme on Friday at Oshekasheka Combined School in the Oshana region.

NWR spokesperson Nelson Ashipala said the parastatal aims to build 14 gardens at 14 schools – one in each region – this year.
He said the investment, valued at N$ 500 000, is powered by the 10% commission that comes from each purchase of a Nam-leisure card.
Ashipala said NWR will ensure no child is absent from school due to hunger.

“We are focusing on schools on the school feeding programme. We understand that the government provides maize meal to the schools, but there is nothing that supplements that,” he said.

Ashipala said people on the ground will constantly monitor the gardens’ progress.Oshekasheka Combined School principal Simon Haitembu at the launch said NWR has made their dreams come true.
“The idea of setting up a modern garden is inspiring to the school, and we are thankful to NWR for bringing this initiative and making us one of the beneficiaries,” he said.

Haitembu pledged to make sure the garden is sustained.
“The school will make sure the garden lasts longer, and is able to produce more,” he said.

Naemi Theofelus, a pupil at the school, said the garden is not just for cultivating plants, but is also a ‘learning laboratory’.
“… to motivate schoolgoing kids to work harder so that the best pupil in each grade will have the opportunity to visit any of our resorts,” Ashipala says.

He says the selection process was done by considering schools with potential which are also registered under the school-feeding programme. He says NWR will in future build more gardens at schools countrywide.

“This was done to ensure a proper balanced diet, adding vegetables to the porridge the children are always having,” he says.
According to one of the teachers at the school, the garden will improve pupils’ agriculture education.

“Often practical subjects like agriculture are neglected because of financial constraints. We therefore appreciate NWR for meeting the government halfway,” she says.

Pupil Timotheus Nekundi says he is excited to see the different foods being incorporated in the school’s meals.

“We already have a garden, but the one that was built by NWR is more modern, and I am excited to see what we will grow there.
“I am looking forward to eating more potatoes, carrots and cabbage with rice,” he says.

The Oshekasheka culutural group performed at the event.