Elombedap

Australian High Commissioner Philip Green’s
site visit to the Elombe Combined School (Ondongwa, Namibia)
Direct Aid Program (DAP) project (16 February 2008)

The Australian High Commission’s Direct Aid Program recently provided funding of more than R121 000 towards the building of a school library in Namibia. The Direct Aid Program is a small grants scheme aimed to assist organisations involved at community level in the fields of poverty alleviation, education, health, human rights, rural development and conservation. Each year the Australian Government contributes nearly one million rand in small grants to community-based organisations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.
The Australian High Commission received a proposal from Dr Angolo-Amutenya, the Permanent Secretary in the President’s office in Namibia, requesting funding for the construction of a library at Elombe Combined School. The school has 613 learners and 21 teachers and is situated in Ondangwa, a small town in the rural far-northern region of Namibia.
On 16 February the Australian High Commissioner, Mr Philip Green, visited the construction site. During his visit the High Commissioner was received by officials, teachers, parents and learners. At a ceremony which included song and dance by the school learners, the Acting School Principal Mrs A Shikongo delivered words of thanks. Also present at the ceremony was the regional Inspector of Education from the Namibian Ministry of Education.

 

Figure 1: High Commissioner Green with community members who
supplied their labour to the project on a voluntary basis.

 

Figure 2: The library under construction 

Figure 3: The Acting Principal Mrs Shikongo (right).

  

Figure 4: Mr Nicky UUgwanga, the Inspector of Education from the Ministry of Education (Oshikoto region) addresses the local community.

Figure 5: The community meeting to inaugurate the library.

Figure 6: Addressing community members.

Figure 7: The local kids who will benefit from the library.