By:Annakleta Haikera
Missionary schools have contributed to the development of Namibians.
This was expressed by the Deputy Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Faustina Caley during the commemoration of the Andara Combined School’s 100 years anniversary in Mukwe constituency, Kavango East.
According to Caley, “Many can see what has been accomplished in those hundred years. There are networks of mission stations, parishes, centres, kindergartens, primary schools, high schools and colleges, hostels, hospitals and clinics, homes for handicapped children and development centres.”
The school has been in existence since 1923 under the Roman Catholic Church. It currently has 1200 learners from Grade 1to 11.
The Deputy Minister encouraged the Andara learners to promote the values of hard work, academic excellence, and commitment.
She further explained that the values of those who have established the school include inclusivity.
“As everyone is aware, Catholic schools defied the apartheid policies of ethnic and racial segregation and opened their schools for all before independence.”
The event was attended by hundreds of Andara Combined School alumni, various leaders, and community members from across the length and breadth of the two Kavango regions.
The guest speaker of the event was the Minister of Works and Transport John Mutorwa, who encouraged the learners to uphold their morals and respect their culture.
“Those who are in leadership don’t have all the answers to many questions, but if some learners come up with brighter ideas, it can help the government to solve some puzzles,” Mutorwa said.
“Kavango Region had only two schools, Andara and Nyangana, but today, there are many schools in both Kavango regions. So this means learners have access to study anywhere they want and go to university, unlike in the past where one had to go to South Africa for university.”
Fumu (King) of the Hambukushu Traditional Authority, Erwin Munika Mbambo paid homage to his predecessors and all the Hompas or Queens, in the two Kavango regions for welcoming missionaries to establish schools, hospitals and church missions in their respective traditional areas.
Mbambo said such a move paved the way for the missionaries to transform the lives of the region’s inhabitants through the provision of quality education.
He then urged those in attendance and all the region’s inhabitants to encourage their children to take their education seriously so that they can enhance their knowledge and better their lives.
At the same event, the office of the Prime Ministerdonated sanitary pads, soaps, and biscuits through the Regional Council.
Since the school’s establishment in 1923, Andara evolves from seat of a kingdom to centre of learning, producing in a span of a century countless numbers of level 5 leaders, such as the likes of renowned Namibian writer and political analyst, Professor Joseph Diescho and member of parliament Elifas Dingara, to mention a few.

The school is located some 180 kilometres east of Rundu,.