Maltas conclude successful year

Henriette Lamprecht
Entrepreneurship and leadership can launch you on a path to change the world. Closer to home the University of Namibia''s Maltas Club''s entrepreneurship and leadership gave young students the freedom to transform their own lives as well as those of their communities and family. This year''s members completed over 22 community projects for the 2016 academic year. Many of the projects they embarked on, forever changed the lives of all those involved.

The 2016 team officially kicked off with their boot camp in early March at the prestigious Wolwedans Lodge in the Namib Rand, where the students learnt amongst others how to run a successful business from the renowned Namibian ­conservationist, Mr Stephan Bruckner. The purpose of the boot camp was to teach the students more about sustainability.

A week later the annual Maltas Nedbank Awards took place at the Arebbusch Lodge in Windhoek, where the best students were selected to be part of Maltas 2016. The Deputy Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ms Christine //Hoebes, delivered the keynote address on behalf of Maltas Patron, Mr Nangolo Mbumba. At the start of April the new team rolled up their sleeves and joined forces with the Unam Entrepreneurship Class of 2015, Dinanpama Manufacturing and Supplies, Namibia Wildlife Resorts and Digital Photo Center and held a prize-giving ceremony at the Helvi Kondombolo School in Northern Namibia. A day later the team continued to the Werde Project School near the border of Etosha and delivered school uniforms and stationery to the value of N$35 000. Close to forty learners were blessed with new school uniforms.

Towards the end of April 2016, the team started with the annual NAMCOL motivational sessions at the Yetu Yama Center in Windhoek. The purpose of these annual workshops is to inspire ­learners with the message that one can always bounce back from adversity no matter the circumstances.

In May the club celebrated the International day of Portuguese Language and Culture, followed in June by the Malta members joining the Namibia Multiple Sclerosis team to support the fight against the disease.

Towards the end of June the team joined the University Center for Studies in Namibia (TUCSIN) in their 38th birthday celebrations, where the chairperson, Dr Beatrice Sandelowsky, spoke at length on how TUCSIN empowered so many young people, including the Maltas founder, Dr Wilfred Isak April. In March 2017 the club will partner with Lark Journeys (a Namibian tourism company) to conduct a motivational excursion to Tsumkwe to inform, educate and empower the youth.

In July this year the team prepared the Namcol learners of Yetu Yama for their upcoming exams with the help of mock examinations. In addition the club also volunteered at the annual Nedbank City Run.

The following month the Maltas members were witness to the launch of the NUNW''s official newsletter. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform employers and employees about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace. The team then moved to Keetmanshoop where they joined the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in conducting its 6th annual cancer run in Keetmanshoop. The team returned to Windhoek, hosting learners of the Havana Primary School for breakfast at Wimpy Wernhil Park.

The club in September launched a nationwide campaign which aims at ensuring rural girls stay in school by providing them with sanitary towels. A reasonable number of girls in northern Namibia stay out of school due to their menstrual cycle. To club decided to raise 10 000 sanitary towels to cater for three schools in Northern Namibia. Thus far over 5 000 sanitary towels have been collected which will be delivered in early March 2017.

The club hosted the first ever Namibian student Conference on Undergraduate Research in October 2016 which will be an annual conference providing students a friendly and conducive environment where they can share research ideas and thinking, practice their presentation skills, receive constructive feedback and network with others in a similar field.

At the start of November the Maltas Club was officially registered as a non-governmental organisation which will result in an educational leader­ship institute by 2025. The aim is to present students with basic entrepreneurial and leadership skills. The team also joined in celebrating the Brazilian Namibian film festival and, joining efforts of White Feathers, Dinapama Manufacturing and Supplies in hosting an early Christmas party for children at the Mandume Kindergarten in Okahandja Park. The members also pledged to support through a mentorship programme 29 learners who will start grade 1 in 2017, ending 2019.

Members also took part in an international competition which challenged more than 500 universities to find new ways to combat global extremism. Next year the the team will embark upon a journey to the Portuguese Islands in the Indian Ocean, as well as community outreach projects in Maputo, Mozambique.

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