A child born without sight leaves a vision for others

A child born without eyes has left a legacy that has delivered more than N$1 million towards specialised classrooms for visually impaired learners in Swakopmund.

The legacy of Wilku van Staden was formally marked last Thursday, with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the new Ocean View campus of Stepping Stones Special Education School.

The unveiling took place in the same week as Wilku would have marked his birth 17 years ago. His parents, Jannie and Ingelore van Staden, unveiled the plaque fastened to a classroom sponsored by the Wilku Trust.

The ceremony was intentionally small, attended by close family, friends and senior members of the school.

Family members wore matching dark blue T-shirts bearing identifiers such as “Wilku's mom" and "dad”, "Wilku's grandma" and "grandpa" and “Wilku's aunt" and "niece”, giving the gathering a deeply personal tone.

Ingelore said it was a great privilege and honour for the family to see their son’s legacy fulfil the purpose for which it was created.

She said the trust had given meaning to Wilku’s short life and death, allowing the family to help other children and offering hope that many more would benefit in future.

Jannie thanked members of the public who supported the trust over the years, saying their generosity made the outcome possible.

He said the family hoped the legacy would continue to bear fruit in the lives of others.

“This is fulfilling the purpose for which it was created, and we are very happy about that,” he said.

Helping others

Wilku was born with a rare congenital condition, anophthalmia, meaning his eyes did not develop. He had no eyelids and no visual development from birth. He was the couple’s only child at the time.

The Wilku Trust was initially established to allow the family to provide home-based education and care for him, as they were not ready to send him to specialised schools elsewhere in Namibia or South Africa. Wilku died at the age of 20 months in 2010.

Following his death, the trust redirected its focus to supporting visually impaired and blind children.

Speaking at the event, Stepping Stones founder and director Almarie Mostert said the school began in 2015 as a small kindergarten for children with neurodevelopmental differences and had since evolved into a broader platform for children with complex needs.

“The plan was that we will build Stepping Stones into mainstream school,” Mostert said. “But it became so much more.”

Mostert said the expansion into facilities for visually impaired and blind learners was deeply personal, as she herself lives with severe visual impairment.

“This disability has made me who I am today,” she said.

Life’s work

She said her professional training in South Africa and the United Kingdom, combined with growing up alongside blind peers and a blind sibling, shaped her life’s work.

“I never imagined that I would help to establish a school for children like me and my brother,” she said.

Mostert described the new classrooms as part of a growing multidisciplinary platform aimed at supporting children who have “no other place to go”.

Kurt Johannesson, Wilku’s grandfather and a trustee of the Wilku Trust, said the trust was formed shortly after Wilku’s death and has spent 17 years raising funds through public events and donations.

“For 17 years we’ve been collecting money and the public has been wonderful with open hands,” Johannesson said.

He said the trust was able to hand over more than N$1 million towards the specialised classrooms, calling the outcome a fulfilment of the trust’s mandate.

“Our cause was worthy,” he said. “Wilku’s dream has come through today.”

Johannesson said the trust would now conclude its work but urged continued public support for the school.

“I hope that after this gathering they will still donate to the school,” he said.