Niël Terblanché
MTC employees, supported by the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund and Namib Mills, donated more than 250 mattresses and essential food supplies to learners of the Cocoma Primary School in the Ndiyona circuit of the Kavango East Region.
The generous initiative, part of the employee-led MTC Care programme, is a vital lifeline for many learners who struggle daily with educational inequalities.
During the handover, school principal Moses Ndumba expressed gratitude, noting the difference this gesture will make to Cocoma Primary’s learners.
“We are highly appreciative of the support that we have received today. Some of our learners have been sleeping on the ground or beds without mattresses, which is highly uncomfortable. This donation greatly improves the living conditions for pupils at the school,” he said.
MTC’s spokesperson, Elisabeth Massamba, stressed that necessities like mattresses contribute directly to a conducive learning environment.
“We cannot talk about equality in education if hostels, meant to be safe spaces, lack basic infrastructure. As MTC employees, we felt compelled to support Cocoma Primary upon learning about their situation,” she said.
She added that while the donated mattresses address an immediate need, learners still sleep on floors or frames without mattresses, and the hostel itself lacks fundamental amenities, such as a solid foundation and fencing to protect learners from wildlife that roams the area at night.
Meanwhile, recent inaugurations of modern educational infrastructure in Namibia’s far northern regions stand in stark contrast to the conditions faced at Cocoma Primary.
Over the past week government and development partners inaugurated state-of-the-art facilities, including fully furnished hostels and advanced classroom technology designed to enhance the learning experience.
The new infrastructure not only provides a safe and comfortable learning environment but also helps support the academic performance of learners, positioning them with better resources to thrive.
Massamba pointed out that Cocoma Primary’s needs highlight a troubling disparity in access to quality educational infrastructure in rural regions.
The school’s ongoing challenges stress the pressing need for broader governmental and private sector intervention to create equitable educational opportunities for all Namibian learners.
MTC Care’s donation made great strides toward addressing immediate needs, long-term support is necessary to bridge the gap between resource-rich and underfunded schools.
