Haimbili’s long journey to varsity

STAFF REPORTER



For some students, the fight for a better life only starts after graduating from a tertiary institution. However, the same cannot be said about 23-year-old Verner Haimbili, whose long, drawn-out fight to enrol into university began after completing high school five years ago.

Hailing from the Oshamukweni village in the Ohangwena Region, Haimbili has been trying to register at university, to no avail. He is one of nine siblings and lived with his self-employed single mother up until his matriculation in 2015.

In 2016, after completing grade 12 with flying colours, he was one of the top performers at Haimbili Haufiku Secondary School. He then moved to Windhoek.

Haimbili said from an early age, he believed that education would give him an opportunity to elevate his family out of poverty. However, his attempts to register at university were not successful due to a lack of financial means and scanty information during his high school days.

“I moved to Windhoek that year to possibly pursue studies at the University of Namibia (Unam). But, despite being accepted, I faced a number of challenges that made enrolling at the institution of my dreams very difficult,” Haimbili said.

Five years later, and numerous life twists in between, Haimbili was still not registered at Unam. His hopes of becoming someone his family and community can look up to as a symbol of success were dimmed, but not lost altogether.

Much to his delight, at the end of November this year, Unam learnt of his plight in The Namibian and reached out to him.

At Unam, the office of the dean of students (ODS) is a unit that works towards creating an enabling and conducive environment, characterised by quality programmes, that contributes to the holistic development of students.

“This is one of many cases that the ODS encounters on an annual basis. Since it is our daily duty to help students facing financial, academic and psycho-social or health challenges, we found it fit to reach out to Haimbili and render our support,” said assistant dean for professional services, Tangeni Velikoshi.

“Apart from the application process assistance, the university will enlist him to benefit from the accommodation, meal and tuition support scheme that aims to assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds,” he added.

“We will also engage with other stakeholders, like Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund, to enable him to complete his studies with ease moving forward,” Velikoshi said.

“We will provide career guidance and counselling services to Haimbili in order to identify the career path that fits his personality,” said Markishuana Nependa, a student counsellor working closely with Haimbili in the ODS.

This is due to the fact that some students tend to change courses in the latter part of their studies, which causes unnecessary wastage of time and resources.

In response to Unam’s gesture to meet him halfway, Haimbili said he has reached out to many offices in Windhoek asking for financial support, but received no assistance.

“When I received the call from Unam, I was extremely excited. Finally, my dreams can come true,” he said.