THE Dibasen Rebuilding Project, a fund set up by former learners of the Dibasen Junior Secondary School at Okombahe, some 60km west of Omaruru, welcomes the recent visit by President Hifikepunye Pohamba to the ‘forgotten’ school.
Once the pride of the former Damaraland, Dibasen went through several fires before and shortly after Independence because of political reasons and it resulted in damages of millions.
As a result, the school which hosted around 900 learners during the early 1980s now only accommodate around 200 learners and effectively crippled education in the district.
The blaze reduced the number of classes from 21 to seven while the hostel blocks were cut from four to two.
Of the two remaining blocks, only one can be described at habitable.
The school need around N$4 million to rebuild everything.
Former learners, aided by the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab, launched the Rebuilding Project in October 2005, and had been the driving force behind efforts to get Dibasen to rise again.
Current learners at the school hail from as far as Oshakati and Katima Mulilo.
In the past, Dibasen was a school of choice for learners from places like Windhoek, Keetmanshoop, Walvis Bay, Gobabis and Opuwo.
President Pohamba visited the school last week to acquaint himself with conditions there.
We are delighted by the visit of President Pohamba. We hope that his visit will result in renewed efforts from the part of the Government to get Dibasen to rise from its ashes. We believe that his visit was prompted by the desire to see the school taking back its rightful place in the Namibian education sector.
Closing that school will be a catastrophe, especially for the peasant farmers in the Erongo Region.
It will result in the cutting of school and support staff, force the already struggling peasant farmers to send their children to other towns and negatively affect the general economy of the village.
Apart from donations in kind, which were handed over the learners when the buildings went down in ashes, the project raised N$ 24 891.16 which is currently kept in an FNB account.
As former learners of Dibasen, we are ready to hand over that money to the Government to kick-start the rebuilding process.
We would also like to take the opportunity to wish President Pohamba good health as he celebrated his birthday on August 18. May he be around long after his term to witness the fruits of his hard work.