Dignity restored at Mulumba Primary School

ELIZABETH JOSEPH
Sanitation is a basic human need, which contributes to human dignity and quality of life.

For this reason, the MVA Fund through its corporate social investment policy donated a block of new ablution facilities at a cost of N$250 000 to the Mulumba Primary School at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi Region on 5 February.

The Fund deals with people with disabilities resulting from car crashes. Hence, these facilities are accessible by learners in wheelchairs.

During the official handover ceremony, Katima Mulilo mayor Charles Matengu said the noble gesture by the Fund would go a long way in ensuring the learners at the school have access to clean and hygienic ablution facilities.

Matengu said the ablution facilities would not only bring about an improvement in health but would also boost the dignity and safety of learners.

“At the heart of the MVA Fund culture lies an uncompromising commitment to uplift the Namibian society, with the main goal to ensure that we deliver on tangible and long-lasting benefits to our communities. This conviction has led to the Fund’s drive to establish legacy projects and one such project is the construction of ablution facilities for the Mulumba Primary School,” said Rosalia Martins-Hausiku, the MVA Fund’s chief executive officer.

The newly built ablution facilities aim to improve sanitation and hygiene, increase educational performance, reduce absenteeism, and improve retention of teachers and learners at the school.

Martins-Hausiku urged the school management to guard against vandalism and to promote cleanliness of the facilities so they benefit more learners in the years to come.

Presenting the keynote address on behalf of Zambezi governor Lawrence Alufea Sampofu, special advisor Ignatius Nkunga thanked the Fund for its noble gesture.

“The new ablution facility reaches beyond the bricks and mortar of water and sanitation. These will spare hundreds of learners and future generations of the indignity of using the bush, and compromised health,” stated Nkunga.

Linus Simasiku, the principal of Mulumba Primary School, said: “Thank you, MVA Fund, for helping us win our war against open defecation.”

The Fund will continue to embrace the notion of inclusivity by improving the living conditions of all Namibians. As such, the Fund undertakes to extend a helping hand to more communities, especially those in marginalised areas through its corporate social investment policy.