On 16 September 2021, Wernhil and Broll Namibia, a subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group, presented donations to two of their partner schools, Monte Christo Project Primary School and Dr. Abraham Iyambo Primary School, at the Teachers Resource Centre, Windhoek. The donations form part of Wernhil’s Christmas Wish List initiative for 2020, the fifth edition of the annual initiative.
The Christmas Wish List initiative gifts a winning child between the ages of six and twelve their Christmas wishes, to the value of N$6 000. The winning child also chooses one of Wernhil’s partner schools to receive a Christmas gift valued at N$6 000 and Wernhil, in the true spirit of the season, gifts the other school to the same value too, with both schools receiving their donations in the following year.
In December 2020, the Christmas Wish List initiative shared a total amount of N$68 000 between Wernhil’s two partner schools, fifteen families as part of the Family Edition, and ten children, with Sem K. David being the winning child. Sem received a soccer kit and ball, new school uniform, books, stationery and – sponsored by Optic Exclusive Wernhil – a new pair of glasses. He chose Dr. Abraham Iyambo Primary School as the school he wished to support.
Concluding the 2020 edition of the initiative, and taking the needs of both schools into consideration, Dr. Abraham Iyambo Primary School received 65 litres of hand sanitiser and Monte Christo Project Primary School received a safe for the safekeeping of important documents. Accepting these gifts on behalf of the former school was its Principal, Mrs. Flora Petrus, and teacher, Mrs. Linea Iipinge, and on behalf of the latter was Principal, Mrs. Elizabeth Murangi.
Delivering the opening remarks at the handover was Sylvia Rusch, Head of Marketing and Public Relations (PR) at Broll Namibia, who stated, “As one of the initiatives we are most passionate about, we are glad to carry it out for another year and contribute to the education of young learners. As Wernhil celebrates 31 years of existence, we recognise the need to support the communities which have made those years possible. It is for, and together with, our communities that we live our O&L Group Purpose, “Creating a future, enhancing life”, and this initiative is our Purpose in action.
Johan van der Westhuizen, General Manager at Wernhil Shopping Centre, also expressed his commitment to the Wish List initiative: “This is one of our signature events that we are only proud to support. We don’t plan to back down from this initiative, even in tough times.”
Paulus Lewin, Khomas Regional Deputy Director of Programmes and Quality Assurance, spoke on behalf of the Khomas Regional Education Director, Paulus Nghikembua, and expressed his gratitude to Broll Namibia and the O&L Group for their contributions to the schools, which would be a source of relief to parents and teachers. He added that the Directorate of Education, Arts and Culture looks forward to continuing these partnerships and investing in education together.
