Ohorongo Cement Building Futures Through Student Assistance

Sackaria Nakamela

Ohorongo Cement awarded a bursary worth N$80 000.00, to a Mechanical Engineering student at the Namibia University of Science (NUST).

Sackaria Nakamela, a former learner of Haufiku Haimbili Secondary School and now in his third year of studies at NUST, was awarded the bursary on the basis of his performance at university.

“My first and second years at university were very tough, as I relied heavily on my father to finance part of studies, especially for the study materials, accommodation and transport. With the bursary from Ohorongo Cement I can now concentrate on my studies,” said Nakamela.

The bursary will cover his registration fees, tuition fees, stationery, textbooks and accommodation for 2017.

Nakamela grew up in a single parent home and has been helping his mother in the mahangu field, which was their source of food security. According to him, the experience he gained doing this, helped him develop self-reliance and discipline. He would like to work at a raw material processing plant, to gain experience before setting up his own.

“Namibia is endowed with raw minerals and most of it is processed outside the country. I would like to set up my own manufacturing plant like Ohorongo Cement, that process and add value to local raw minerals.”

His advice to other is "whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability."

To prepare him for the industry, Nakamela will be engaged in projects related to his field of study during school holidays at Ohorongo’s Sargberg plant, were he will also be mentored by the Ohorongo technical team.

Two electrical engineering and two nursing students are also being funded by Ohorongo Cement, for the second year running. In addition, 13 students from the Namibia Institute of Mining and Technology are also doing internships at the cement manufacturing plant near Otavi, in the fields of Fitter & Turner, Boilermaker, Diesel Mechanic and Electrical.

Ohorongo launched its bursary scheme in 2015 to help deserving Namibians, both employees and non-employees, to construct their careers. The bursary scheme was set up to help Namibia achieve its strategic objectives, as set out in the country’s Policy initiatives of Vision 2030, the Growth at Home strategy of Ministry of Trade and Industry, as well as the Harambee Prosperity Plan.

“We believe that for Namibia to achieve all these objectives, and help better the lives of its people, we need to increase the educational level of its people. That is why we have embarked on a program aimed at helping join deserving young people to acquire an education, said Hans-Wilhelm Schütte, the Managing Director of Ohorongo Cement.