Walking 14 km daily for school

Enzo Amuele

Oshikunde

Every morning, Moses Nghitotelwa wakes up at 5:00 to prepare for his two-hour walk to Oshikunde Combined School in the Ohangwena Region.Nghitotelwa (19) walks seven kilometres every day from Omhito village to the school to achieve his dream of becoming a teacher one day. Once he is done, he walks the same distance to get home.

His situation is no different from that of the majority of the school’s learners, who walk similar distances each day to obtain an education.

However, Nghitotelwa is saddened by the long distance between his home and the school, which has started to take a toll on his academic performance.

In addition, Nghitotelwa, who lives alone at the homestead of his late grandmother, said he has gone to bed hungry countless times, which negatively affects his studies.

Sometimes, he is forced to go to his neighbours for help.

Chasing dreams alone

He told Namibian Sun that his mother lives in the same village, with her husband, but said she plays no role in his life.

“My mom does not take care of me. My aunt from Walvis Bay is the one who sends me food by bus. I just know that my father is in Ondangwa, and I last saw him when I was 11 years old,” he said.

Asked what keeps him motivated, he said he has dreams of becoming a science teacher. He added that he is inspired by the teachers at the school and he wants a better future for himself.

Nghitotelwa said that he wishes he could be accommodated in the school’s hostel, which houses over 200 learners from surrounding villages.

“I was in the hostel last year. I was assisted by a teacher to pay for the hostel fees, but this year I could not afford to pay the fees to secure accommodation in the hostel,” he said.

Never give up

Nghitotelwa said he does not have money to go to Eenhana to get identity documents despite having reached the legal age required to obtain one.

He called on good Samaritans to assist him with whatever they could to help him finish school and improve his current circumstances.

He also urged learners who are in the same situation to never give up and said they should continue to look forward and trust that good things will eventually come their way.

Over and above capacity

The school’s principal, Hoster Simasiku, said the majority of the school’s learners who are not in the hostel walk long distances to get to school.

“The hostel is already overcrowded because we have exceeded the required capacity,” he said.

Hoster added that an upgrade of the hostel as well as classrooms is underway, but acknowledged the difficulties faced by many of the school’s learners.

“We cannot guarantee all learners will be in the hostel by the time the upgrade is done, but it is our priority to have all the learners who walk long distances in the hostel,” he concluded.

Ohangwena regional education director Isak Hamatwi told Namibian Sun that he is unaware of this particular school and the long distances learners walk to reach it.

He said that with more schools being established across the country, some learners no longer have to walk so far, adding that it is an indication that education authorities are tackling the issue.