IOL Donates Books to Pre-School

As a Walvis Bay native, Melinda was inspired by her son, a preschool learner who initially struggled with general reading skills. She wanted to improve his abilities to make him school-ready.

“I did a brain profile of my child and was somewhat disappointed with the overall results that I received. This inspired me to do deeper research on brain profiling to better understand how the anatomy of the body works,” she recalls. She started a preschool in Swakopmund to help parents prepare their children for school by sharpening their reading skills.
“I immediately realised that this, in fact, is a community service widely needed countrywide. I decided to further myself by enrolling in a course at the Institute for Open Learning. Through this, I could further my own studies and improve my reading skills. As they say, ‘each one teaches one,'” she proudly recalls.

This was roughly 24 years ago. Today, she has mastered the skill to such a level that one notices the transformative impact it has had on her community.
Melinda moved to the northern town of Otjiwarongo, affectionately known as “OTT” by many Namibians, to open another preschool called “Raise a Reader” for the community.

“At OTT, I really excelled in my passion for reading because, once again, this was a social service desperately needed by the community,” she said. With the expansion of her school, she needed more reading materials to ensure the overall growth of the service she provides to the community.
She approached IOL, knowing that her history with the institution could be the gateway to helping the children.

“Melinda pushed an open door when she approached us. We were more than willing to assist her school. We remain committed to providing exceptional online and distance education programmes and systems to empower our students from grassroots level to senior graduates,” Jemyma Lottering, the Distribution Manager for Education at IOL, proudly said. She handed over a variety of relevant reading materials to the school.

Melinda and her team wholeheartedly thanked IOL for their contribution to her school. “Thank you very much, IOL. Your selfless action speaks volumes about the service you provide to our communities in Namibia. This donation adds more volume to Namibia’s ultimate dream of reaching a 100% literacy rate,” she reiterated.

About the Institute for Open Learning
The Institute for Open Learning is a higher open and distance education institute, offering opportunities to study in various academic fields and skills courses. It ensures that access to higher education is not limited to only the few who can afford to study full-time by providing access to affordable and quality higher education through its innovative and state-of-the-art academic administration systems and online platforms. Student enrolment has grown to over 62,000 since its establishment, while its presence remains central to the personal attention and esteem of its higher education model. IOL has never strayed from its original vision of committing itself to excellent and recognised educational programmes and maintains its involvement with public and community educational services.