By: Annakleta Haikera
Debmarine Namibia yesterday donated gardening equipment valued at N$60 000 to the Mbambi
Senior Primary School situated in the Sinyugwe circuit of the Kavango East region.
Mbambi is a far-flung village in the Mukwe constituency some 60 kilometres from Rundu.
The donation consists of gardening equipment such as shovels, rakes, clippers, watering cans and
gardening hosepipes.
The garden equipment for the school with 355 learners is aimed to provide early childhood
training on the importance of agriculture in the hope of educating kids about where their food
comes from.
Debmarine’s senior communication officer Anna Ikela said the company through its social
investment fund was pleased to donate the gardening equipment to the school for learners to start
a garden at the school, thereby making school children more aware of the journey of food from
field to fork.
"We are keen to support the work being done by the school, especially the gardening project,"
Ikela said.
Sebastian Mangundu, who is the gardening teacher at the school, said the Grade 5-7 learners will
use the garden for practical learning activities, for them to have a good understanding of how
food are grown and to eat produce that they have grown and cared for themselves.
"Our idea is to have a big garden to produce food and to show learners how food is grown to
help them eat better now and in the future," Mangundu said.
“We want to teach learners how to produce food for themselves at home or wherever. We have
already produced some food which we have given to the learners to taste the fruits of their hard
work. Some of the vegetables were sold to generate funds for the school."
Mangundu said they have produced seeds which were sold to the public while some were
donated to the Mukuvi Primary School to enable them also to start with a small gardening
project.
The acting school principal Kapirika Dominicas said the region is blessed with fertile land, a
perennial river and has thus the potential to become a food basket for the country and beyond
with good investment in the field of agriculture.
"As a school we started with a school garden last year. This is to allow learners to gain
agricultural skills at an early age,” Dominicas explained, adding: “We want learners to start
practicing how to do gardening. Those who are able will use the equipment to produce more
food for learners and the community at large."

The principal said the gardening project will help learners understand the subject of agriculture
that is being taught at the school. He is positive that project will benefit learners as it will mould
them to become future agricultural farmers.