Partnering for Thriving Communities – Education and Health

At Namdeb, we don’t just mine diamonds, we use them to build a better tomorrow. In this regard Namdeb has a deep commitment of ensuring access to quality education and healthcare. In this feature, we look at how Namdeb continues to support education and health as key avenues that contribute towards thriving communities.

Excellence through Education

The Oranjemund Private School (OPS) was established at Oranjemund in 1945 to address the education requirements of employees’ children. OPS has over the years significantly been subsidised and financially reliant on Namdeb. The foundation laid by OPS with the high standards of academics, sports and culture have played a pivotal role in maintaining excellent standards. Namdeb is proud to be associated with the positive influence OPS has had on the many lives and the contributions made in laying a strong foundation.
Many of Namibia’s prominent people are direct products of OPS and the legacy of excellence through education continues. OPS principal Connie Willemse says the school remains committed to providing quality education for optimum and unique child development and will continue to explore options to provide excellent education to the Namibian child in a safe and conducive environment.

As part of the Oranjemund Town Transformation process, Namdeb in conjunction with other key stakeholders continue to seek a sustainable long-term solution for education in Oranjemund. The government through the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (MoEAC) identified the need for public schooling and in 2014, a new public school, Ambrosius Amutenya Combined School (AACS) was established in buildings donated by Namdeb and converted to classrooms for this purpose.
It also became apparent that the secondary schooling in the town was sub-optimal, and as a result, Namdeb and the Government collaborated in formulating a public secondary school. In 2020 Namdeb decided to donate a fully equipped secondary school infrastructure which previously formed part of the Oranjemund Private School to the government.
Namdeb will continue to seek ways to partner or collaborate with others to explore innovative initiatives that can address the constantly changing learning environment and the emergence of the 4th Industrial Revolution to develop new skills towards building Namibia.

Health and Wellbeing

Namdeb is moving with global trends towards incorporating a fully people-centric approach to employee health, safety and overall wellbeing. This is achieved through a holistic wellness programme which strives to address one or more personal, physical health, social, psycho-emotional, financial, or occupational issues in a preventative or mitigating capacity.
It is through programs such as these that Namdeb has achieved great strides in the global fight against HIV/AIDS over the past thirty (30) years in making a difference towards an HIV/AIDS free generation. In 2002, Namdeb became the first organisation in Namibia to provide antiretroviral medicine (ARVs) to employees, spouses, life partners and dependents. The company’s wellness intervention programmes also provide a significant amount of support to assist employees who are affected and infected by the virus and further extended to communities.
To date, Namdeb prides itself to being at the forefront of eliminating inequalities associated to the AIDS pandemic.

COVID-19 Response

Namdeb was deliberate at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in its response to safeguard the health and safety of its employees and to support the local community and through its commitment to mitigate the risks of the virus.
Furthermore, the company established a fullyfledged testing facility at the Namdeb Hospital. The Namdeb laboratory was originally designed to service the Namdeb operations, as well as the community of Oranjemund however it also caters for the surrounding towns of Keetmanshoop, Rosh Pinah and Lüderitz as part of its contribution towards the fight against Covid-19. Namdeb continues to play a fundamental role within the community for both Covid-19 testing and vaccinations.

Thriving communities

Namdeb will continue to partner with key stakeholders to improve health and education outcomes. This subsequently increases livelihood opportunities; supports community resilience; enhances opportunities for economic diversification that contribute to the stability and growth of the local economy and Namibia at large.