Unacceptable Conditions At Okanguati

AS a former teacher at Okanguati Combined School, it is with concern that I write in response to the intolerable conditions that still persist in the Okanguati community, Kunene.

It was two months ago that the region made national news due to a cholera outbreak and as a result the local combined school was closed. The cause of the outbreak, particularly within the school’s hostel, was found to be due to the dilapidated condition of the school sewage system, which has been backing up into the school for two years.During my time there, letters were written about the “deplorable conditions” of the hostel and visitors from the Ministry witnessed the conditions firsthand, but nothing was done and the result was the cholera outbreak.Now the Ministry of Education has been forced to act, but since the school has reopened progress has stalled.The children are now living in local churches where there are no bathing facilities.Is the answer to unsanitary bathing conditions to take the bathing facilities away? Pit latrines were dug at the school, but it is only a matter of time before they become un-usable and the bush again becomes the primary toilet.The pit latrines are a band-aid to the problem that will only fester again without proper treatment.Would you expect the same slow response if this was a school in Windhoek? It pains me to even ask that question, but I remember a teacher from Ruacana coming to visit our school in 2007 to participate in a sports tournament and commenting that she couldn’t believe a school would be allowed to exist in such a condition.Such is the norm in the outskirts of the neglected Kunene.Development begins with education, so we are only harming ourselves but not supporting our youth in Okanguati.How do we expect our children from uneducated families to recognize the importance of school if they are being so disrespected in the school system they first come to experience? Ministry of Education, please work with the Ministry of Health and complete the task your neglect created in the first place.Last but not least, Okanguati is hosting a sports tournament in Opuwo on the weekend of the 19th of July.There will be performances by national concert groups and it is a great opportunity for businesses, charities and the government to support the school in helping itself.Come out and support the cause! Frustrated But Hopeful Via e-mail Note: Name and address provided – edThe cause of the outbreak, particularly within the school’s hostel, was found to be due to the dilapidated condition of the school sewage system, which has been backing up into the school for two years.During my time there, letters were written about the “deplorable conditions” of the hostel and visitors from the Ministry witnessed the conditions firsthand, but nothing was done and the result was the cholera outbreak.Now the Ministry of Education has been forced to act, but since the school has reopened progress has stalled.The children are now living in local churches where there are no bathing facilities.Is the answer to unsanitary bathing conditions to take the bathing facilities away? Pit latrines were dug at the school, but it is only a matter of time before they become un-usable and the bush again becomes the primary toilet.The pit latrines are a band-aid to the problem that will only fester again without proper treatment.Would you expect the same slow response if this was a school in Windhoek? It pains me to even ask that question, but I remember a teacher from Ruacana coming to visit our school in 2007 to participate in a sports tournament and commenting that she couldn’t believe a school would be allowed to exist in such a condition.Such is the norm in the outskirts of the neglected Kunene.Development begins with education, so we are only harming ourselves but not supporting our youth in Okanguati.How do we expect our children from uneducated families to recognize the importance of school if they are being so disrespected in the school system they first come to experience? Ministry of Education, please work with the Ministry of Health and complete the task your neglect created in the first place.Last but not least, Okanguati is hosting a sports tournament in Opuwo on the weekend of the 19th of July.There will be performances by national concert groups and it is a great opportunity for businesses, charities and the government to support the school in helping itself.Come out and support the cause! Frustrated But Hopeful Via e-mail Note: Name and address provided – ed