Independent but united

ELIZABETH JOSEPH
Rebecca Shimooshili

Grade 9 gives back to the community on every Independence Day. A day celebrating the anniversary of national independence. Namibia went through several stages from being colonized to gaining its independence on 21 March 1990. Since that point in history, Namibians have been striving to give back to those that were willing to risk their lives for the next generation's freedom. We all have our own interpretation of what we think Independence Day stands for. Some say "It is the day when Namibia became independent and free of South African rule" while others stated that it's "the event where many lives were lost, fighting against colonizers for our freedom." Despite the beliefs people possess, Independence Day only has one purpose, for us to commemorate the event as well as the individuals that allowed us to be where we are today. From __March 2019, we, the grade 9 class, requested non-perishable food items from our fellow Duneside learners as well as began to prepare an Independence Day ceremony. The non-perishable food would then be donated by us to the Old Age Home of Kuisebmund. It warmed our hearts to witness the Duneside learners contribute to their community. Each school day of the 2 weeks, before we went to Kuisebmund, the learners would donate several plastic bags filled with a variety of food items for the residents of the Old Age Home. Our parents also made a small donation of a pot of soup and 3 loaves of bread which would be served to the residents as a late lunch. 19 March 2019, was the date of our memorable school excursion. We departed from school at 10h00 accompanied by Mr. Du Plessis, our History teacher. The excitement started to build up as we got closer to our destination. When we arrived at the Home we carried the bags towards their kitchen and as we walked in, their faces lit up with joy, The atmosphere there was amazing to be in and the conversation was enjoyable to be involved in. After greeting everyone and introducing our class as the representatives of Duneside High School we began conversing with them. They told us many stories of the challenges they faced as children as well as the challenges they face today as adults. A woman named Molly told us that she and her husband had been living there for almost 10 years and that their children can't visit them often due to the fact that they don't have transport to do so. She also mentioned that many of them only had enough food to sustain them for less than a month. We reassured her that with the food items we brought them, the food would then last them for more than 2 months. The class boys brought along chess boards and challenged Mr. Du Plessis. The boys were surprised when they lost while they knew he had much more experience than what they had. While the boys were wallowing in their defeat, the rest of the class were making up food parcels for the residents to make sure it was fairly distributed amongst them. The class began handing out the food parcels to them and we got the most wonderful feedback ever. Some cried due to joy and others embraced us with hugs and thanks. When everyone had received their share of the donations, a small group of the class served cups of soup and slices of bread to them while the rest of the class was doing a speech on how grateful we are to be with them and for them giving us the platform to do what we did for them that day. They applauded and thanked us for the food, but we reassured them that it had not only come from us but the whole of Duneside. They continued to eat their lunch and enjoyed it so much that they saved some of it for dinner too. Unfortunately, it was time to say our farewells and leave them to rest. We prayed with them asking for the Lord to be with them and left, putting them in His hands. Our arrival back at school occurred at about 12h50. Our principal, Mrs. Einbeck, asked us what lesson we acquired that day. The majority of the class answered “We learned that we need to appreciate what we have and those around us because they might not be there when we grow older. We need to open our eyes to be able to see what people gave up their lives for and to take initiative to do something good for others." Mrs. Einbeck was very pleased with our answers and dismissed us. What really inspired me throughout the whole experience was the words of an old lady that was "Don't take what you have now for granted. There are people in the world that have less than nothing. Appreciate what you have now because it will be worth it in the future."