Afrox leadership persists despite Covid-19

OKERI NGUTJINAZOAfrox Leadership Academy (ALA) recently held its annual leadership training camp with the focus on maintaining a healthy mind, perseverance during hard times, and leading yourself and others.

The academy which is the brainchild of Afrox Namibia, was initiated in 2018 to identify and develop leadership potential

among Grade 10 pupils in Namibia.

The aim of the programme is to make a meaningful contribution to the national developmental goals by inspiring young people to take active leadership roles and make a difference in the communities in which they live.

This initiative which was piloted with 16 Grade 10 pupils has to date trained a total of 41 students. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ALA programme were notable to recruit new participants for the 2020 programme but shifted its focus to the 2018/19 ALA alumni.

The programme crafted a plan of action for 2020 which included tutoring, mentorship and a training camp. The annual leadership training camp was held at Hodygos Okahandja, in October, facilitated by the African Leadership Institute. The discussion centred around transformational issues such as how to lead yourself and others, perseverance and endurance through tough times, realising one’s full potential, and maintaining a healthy mind.

Tanyaradzwa Master, from Delta Secondary School Windhoek, says she has become more self aware since going to the first workshop came last year and having the alumni together this year was impactful. “We were constantly reminded that reputations and legacies are easily fractured. And also, that a lot of people were

watching us. Those statements felt less like pressure and more like personal standards I should hold myself up to. Because of that, I am a lot more conscious of the image I put out and my behaviour holistically,” she said.

She added that it has made her more diligent, precise and reliable with any type of work. “One thing I will never forget was when Mr Jerome, our facilitator, said “Never, ever think you are better than anyone. You may be better off than someone but not better than.” Not to say I was arrogant before. However, it made me more mindful of my thoughts of and behaviour towards people,” she said.

Ailly Nuuyoma, from Chairman Mao Zedong High School, said ALA taught her how to take charge of her life, and has influenced the decisions she makes.

“It has given me a whole new perspective of life at such a young age. All of this is beneficial as this is helping me in achieving my life goals,” she said.

Nuuyoma said the training camp was an opportunity to revisit the lessons they learned last year.

“The things I was able to take from the academy have given me a new mindset and it just shows how much I have grown as an individual. This should be an encouragement to other young people to take advantage of such opportunities as this will create a pool of young leaders that will help in building a better nation for the next generation,” she said.

Eva-Rakel Johannes from Concordia College said the the camp was impactful as it repolished the skills they learned during the first training session. “We got to somewhat reflect back on to what we learned in a totally different way on the aspects we already touched. It feels absolutely humbling to have had another training session because it allowed me to balance how important it was to be doing what I was doing and how important it is to keep doing it for other people,” she said.

Managing director of Afrox Namibia Eckhardt Vorster said although the lockdown presented an extended period of uncertainty for the ALA programme, they had to learn and imbibe a lot of patience and flexibility, understanding that mentorship and continuous development are key ingredients for the sustenance of the programme.

Speaking on the direction and the immediate future of the ALA programme, Vorster said due to all the uncertainty brought about by Covid-19, it is difficult to make any concrete projections regarding the make-up of the ALA programme in the immediate future. “We still believe in the concept and we are convinced that the programme will carry on from strength to strength and this is reflected in the success stories emanating from previous participants of the ALA programme,” he said.

Vorster said the investment into the development of leadership among the youth is important, and one they deem necessary to make as a company. “During hard times like this it is even more important that we create and tell the credible news stories about ordinary Namibians doing extraordinary things and we believe the ALA can be the incubator for these stories” he said.

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