Tourism supports education in Kavango

VALERIE Peypers, the owner of n’Kwazi Lodge in the Kavango Region, has established a pre-primary school for children from Manyana village, about 21 kilometres east of Rundu.

The lodge is situated on the banks of the Okavango River and she decided to give back to the community by opening the only pre-primary school in the area. The school is a little further downstream, closer to the village. Currently there are three teachers at the school who teach in English and use the Accelerated Christian Education system from the United States for their syllabus. There are two classrooms and 43 children. The school opened in 2008 and is mainly funded by foreign donors and tourists who visit the lodge. The donations cover the teaching materials, buildings, teachers’ salaries as well as bursaries for some children to study further.Originally the lodge started helping the community by establishing a cultural dance group who performed for tourists for money.’The people started to earn some extra money as here in Manyana we have a lot of old people and orphans so each cent helps,’ said Peypers. ‘We have people who came here as tourists some six years ago and who are still donating and sponsoring the children,’ she added. The lodge also sells crafts made by local people and all the money from the crafts goes directly to the person who made the items.They also have a ‘Sit and Knit’ corner at the lodge where people can sit by the fireplace in the evening and knit. The knitted pieces are then sewn together and the blankets are handed out to the elderly and orphans. The pre-school is a stepping stone for the children and many are sponsored to continue their schooling at schools at Rundu. The children at the pre-school receive two meals a day and most walk three kilometres to attend the school. They are also taught basic hygiene like brushing their teeth each day. The top performers from the Manyana community are sent to schools in Rundu and from there to university. Paulus Andela is one of those who received a scholarship and is currently studying mechanical engineering in Russia. Simon Kavanga is studying medicine at a university in the Ukraine. Festus Mbangu passed his studies as a nurse and midwife at the Windhoek Central Hospital and wants to continue his studies in the Ukraine. Elias Mbanze studies chemical engineering at Unam and Musongo Immanuel studies business management at the Polytechnic of Namibia. All of these students are sponsored by donors.

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