In February this year diamond producer Namdeb Diamond Corporation was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the Cooperative Education Unit (CEU) of tertiary education institute Polytechnic for exposing students to a real work environment under Polytechnic’s Work Integrated Learning programme.

Namdeb, a joint venture between diamond major De Beers and the Namibian government, provides various on-the-job training and learning platforms for students from multiple Namibian vocational training centers and institutions of higher learning.

“Over the years hundreds of students have been exposed to our business-discipline operations. We are all partners for the good of our country,” said Namdeb CEO Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi.

The certificate handover took place at CEU’s first Consultative Industry Breakfast held at Arebbusch, in Windhoek, under the theme of “Sustaining Relationships”.

Meanwhile, together with Namdeb, hard stone processing company Debmarine Namibia, a subsidiary of Namdeb, donated various equipment and books to 29 schools from nine regions in February this year.

The donated equipment valued at N$616 000, is part of the joint foundation’s Schools Equipment Project (SEP). The SEP was established in 2011 in response to numerous requests from schools countrywide to address their operational challenges.

Since its 2011 inception, the project has donated equipment to about 30 schools. The most recent donation included computers, photocopy machines, wall screens, science equipment, fax machines, multimedia projectors and educational books. The donation is expected to benefit about 15 100 children.

Being committed to the development and future of Namibia, Debmarine Namibia and Namdeb believe that the donation will go a long way in contributing to the country’s socioeconomic upliftment.

Handing over the donation on behalf of the two entities Zaamwani-Kamwi said: “Debmarine Namibia and Namdeb acknowledge the importance of education as a catalyst for the country’s development plans. As such we have selected the education fraternity as one of the key focus areas of our contribution to sustainable socioeconomic development.”

Zaamwani-Kamwi concluded her remarks by saying that “education cannot be left to government alone. We can only be successful if we all join hands - parents, learners, private and public sector”.