Old teachers never die Â…

EMILIA Nhinda, at the ripe old age of 99, is the oldest living pensioner of the Government Institutions Pension Fund.

A retired teacher, she was born near Ondobe in the Ohangwena region and dedicated 50 years of her life to teaching. The General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications at GIPF, Maria Dax, who recently visited Nhinda, says despite her advanced age, the pensioner can still relate her life experiences and recall her classmates and teachers.Nhinda taught at Engela until 1938 and then went to Oniipa for a year.In 1938, she was sent to the Stofberg Teachers’ College in South Africa by the Lutheran Church, together with five others from her region.The following year the Second World War broke out, and the three female students had to discontinue their studies due to a lack of funds.When she returned from South Africa, Nhinda taught at the Niipa Teachers’ Training Seminary.She was also one of the founding teachers of the Okahao Girls’ Boarding School.Nhinda says, the teaching profession was very tough during those years because of a lack of textbooks and teaching aids.She urges today’s teachers and students to “appreciate what they have and make the best of it”.The General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications at GIPF, Maria Dax, who recently visited Nhinda, says despite her advanced age, the pensioner can still relate her life experiences and recall her classmates and teachers.Nhinda taught at Engela until 1938 and then went to Oniipa for a year.In 1938, she was sent to the Stofberg Teachers’ College in South Africa by the Lutheran Church, together with five others from her region.The following year the Second World War broke out, and the three female students had to discontinue their studies due to a lack of funds.When she returned from South Africa, Nhinda taught at the Niipa Teachers’ Training Seminary.She was also one of the founding teachers of the Okahao Girls’ Boarding School.Nhinda says, the teaching profession was very tough during those years because of a lack of textbooks and teaching aids.She urges today’s teachers and students to “appreciate what they have and make the best of it”.