It's the end of the year!

This was a year of change for us at NPH. We got a new name, director, website and this blog!
We are grateful for the gifts of this year and look forward to the things to come!

Namibia Publishing House and Namibia Educational Services staff at the End of Year Lunch:

Another Short Story from a Young Namibian Writer

Angel Amukongo at NPH Offices in Windhoek

Angel Amukongo attends Suiderhof Primary School. She is in Grade 5. She loves books. Her passion is reading and writing. Her dream is to have her stories published, so she can share them with other learners.

NPH is very happy to help realise that dream. At the same time, we would like to invite teachers to submit to us best short stories of their learners (maximum one page long) so we can publish them on our blog.

Stories must be typed and sent as a Word document to info@nph.com.na. 

Good luck writing!

The Story of Romania

Angel Amukongo

Once upon a time, there lived a very clever and obedient girl named Romania. Romania was a smart girl who lived with her mother in a little town called Mah. Although Mah was a capital, some people called it a little town because it was very small.

Mah was a small beautiful town that had a river and hard-working people. It had enough land where people could plant crops alongside the river for their families and to sell so that they could earn money.

Years have passed and there was no rain. The river started getting dryer and dryer each season until it dried up completely. All the crops were dying. People were suffering hunger and some were forced by the situation to leave the town.

Romania‘s mothers dream was for her daughter to be educated and become a doctor. She decided to leave the capital and move to another town where they could grow crops again and her daughter could go to the right school. They packed their belongings and left for a town called Moah.

Moah was more than seven thousand kilometers away from Mah. Once there, they started another life, but Romania always missed her friends and her town Mah, where she was born.

Ten years later, Romania’s mother died suddenly. Romania was on her own, but she finished her studies and graduated. She got married and was blessed with a daughter whom she named after her mom.

Together with her family, Romania soon left Moah and went back to her homeland Mah. When she saw the state in which her beloved town was, she decided to build a hospital there to help the people of Mah who were suffering a lot.

She became the first doctor to open a state hospital in Mah and enjoyed her work very much. With time, the news spread to the surrounding villages and more people came for help to the hospital. The town started growing again, and when the rains returned, the river filled up and the town was just as beautiful as it used to be.

Dr Carole Bloch Makes a Presentation at NIED

Carole Bloch during the presentation on early literacy at NIED

Last week Friday, 25 October 2013, a specialist on early literacy, Dr Carole Bloch, Director of PRAESA at University of Cape Town, visited NIED to make a presentation for pre-primary teachers and educational officers in the country.

Pre-primary teachers from across Namibia
present at the workshop

The event was a great success, and nearly 40 pre-primary teachers from across Namibia present at the workshop have expressed their gratitude to Namibia Publishing House for inviting and sponsoring Dr Bloch's visit.

A pre-primary teacher reading a story
from the Big Book

The presentation by Dr Bloch was one of many presentations conducted at NIED between 21 October and 1 November 2013 as part of the Namibia-Saskatchewan Partnership Project. The Canadian delegates were Ms Laurie Hudyma and Ms Twyla Mensch.

Namibia Publishing House would like to thank the staff at NIED, the present teachers and educational officers for their warm welcome and the opportunity to contribute to this event.

German Donors Visit Kavango Schools for the Sixth Time!

Our Sales Representative in the Kavango Region, John Masatih, together with Dennis Orlam (NPH Publishing Director), Mr Alfons Dikuua (the Kavango Region Director of Education) and the German delegation of donors, under the leadership of Mr Wolfgang Fiedler, visited selected schools in the region to deliver textbooks, classroom equipment and various school materials to the value of N$40,000.00 per school. 

Mr Alfons Dikuua (the Kavango Region Director of Education) introducing the donors

It is now the sixth year that Mr Fiedler came to Kavango to donate school materials. The schools have been selected by the regional office and were asked to provide a list of their needs.

Learners from Mbeyo Primary with the donated textbooks and equipment

Mr Wolfgang Fiedler handing over the donated textbooks
to Mr Alfons Dikuua 

The textbooks and the materials were purchased from Namibia Publishing House, Namibia Educational Services and Edumeds Rundu, our local educational materials providers.

The schools welcomed the visitors with cultural presentations and gifts. 

It was a celebration for the whole communities who willingly gathered to witness the event.

Women from Naucova community welcome the guests with gifts

We would like to thank Mbeyo Primary School, Naucova Primary School, Rudolf Ngondo Primary School, Rundu Secondary School, Sauyemwa Combined School, Ndiyona Combined School and Max Makushe S.S. School for their hospitality.

Special thanks go to Mr Abel Singunde, Manager of Edumeds Rundu, who was instrumental in organising the ceremonies at the schools.

Learners from Max Mukushe S.S. School with their new textbooks and the donors

Update from Educational Offices in the Erongo Region

John with the staff of the Omaruru Education Centre

Our Senior Sales Representative, John Muyambango, is at it again! This time he visited the Omaruru Education Centre, where he chatted to the staff about our products and the launch of NPH into the Namibian publishing market. Thank you to all the staff members at the Centre for their warm welcome.

John also visited the Walvis Bay Circuit Office where he talked to the Circuit Inspector, Mrs Gawises, and the Advisory Teacher, Ms Oosthuyzen. Thank you for your time and hospitality.

John with Mrs Gawises and Ms Oosthuyzen
from Walvis Bay Circuit Office

A Short Story by Grade 5 Learner

Angel at NPH Offices in Windhoek

Angel Amukongo attends Suiderhof Primary School. She is in Grade 5. She loves books. Her passion is reading and writing. Her dream is to have her stories published, so she can share them with other learners.

NPH is very happy to help realise that dream.At the same time, we would like to invite teachers to submit to us best short stories of their learners (maximum one page long) so we can publish them on our blog.

Stories must be typed and sent as a Word document to info@nph.com.na. 

Good luck writing!

The Story of Disobedient Children

Angel Amukongo

Once upon a time, there lived three disobedient brothers. Their parents were very rich – they always had feast parties and celebrations. The three disobedient brothers’ names were Richard, Michael and Jason. Their parents didn’t know anything about their naughtiness because at home they behaved well.

When Richard was 5 years old, he influenced Jason. Jason was very obedient and quiet until he saw Richard and Michael being naughty. Then he thought it was fun, so he also started being naughty.

One day at school, the principal phoned the three boys’ father because every one of them did something wrong at the same time. Jason stole thr chalk from the class teacher, Michael beat up a boy at school and his nose was bleeding, and Richard was making a lot of noise, screaming and shouting in the classroom.

When their father came to school, he brought a belt with him. He told his three sons to stand in front of the whole class and he beat them all equally, so they all cried that day.

From that day onwards, Richard, Michael and Jason changed their behaviour. They apologised to the whole school, their classmates and teachers. Everyone was surprised because they all knew their behaviour and were not sure how long this change would last.

From that day, every day the boys came to school, they were quiet. They didn’t beat other kids any more, they never made noise or stole anything, or did any horrible thing again. They made friends with most of the kids at the school, and they behaved very friendly towards everyone.

One day when their parents had to go to London for a long business trip, they boys had to go with their parents. The boys lived in London for 2 years, and when they returned, they were accepted again at the same school because of their good behaviour.

More NPH School Visits

Last week our Senior Sales Representative, John Muyanbango, travelled through  Hardap and Karas Regions visiting primary and secondary schools.

Principal David Mouton with his learners from
Piet Diergaardt PS in Hardap Region

Thank you for the warm welcome to all staff from: Rehoboth Private School, Tsumis Farm Primary School, Piet Diergaardt Primary School, Angra Pequena SSS, Brightstart Monterssori School, Luderitz Christian School, Hoeksteen Combined School, Rosh Pinah Academy, Aussenkehr Primary School, Ehin Baard Combined School, Chris Lotter Primary School, Adam Steve Combined School, Oosterheim Combined School, Private School Excelsior and Keetmashoop Privaatskool. 

John with Principal Van Rooi  and
HOD Van der Westhuizen from
Hoeksteen CS in Rosh Pinah, Karas Region

Learners of the Aussenkehr Primary School

Dedicated staff of the Aussenkehr Primary School

Victory for the NPH Teams at the 2013 Bank Windhoek Corporate Challenge Relay

Time to chill while waiting for the first relay walkers
to finish their lap

On Saturday, 7 September 2013, brave NPH staff members faced the corporate world of Windhoek at Trustco United Sports Club in Olympia in a 5 km walking challenge. The results of that feat were two medals: 1 gold and 1 silver. Congratulations to the winning teams!

John Muyambango finishing the last leg of the relay

It was a fantastic experience. All teams showed great spirit! Just look how fit they all are.

One thing to add is that next year we are entering as runners!

NPH winners: Cecilia Blom, Renate van Wyk, Anetta, Mannetti, Dency Tjiroze, Norma Brand,
Foibe Amutenya, Laimi Gideon and John Muyambango

NPH School Visits in Third Term

John with with Ms Mbuende and Mr !Nowaseb
from Faith Primary School

Our Senior Sales Representative, John Muyambango, made a courtesy call on two primary schools in Katutura, Windhoek, in Khomas Region this morning.

Thank you to the Faith Primary School and Namibia PS for the warm welcome!

Mr !Nowaseb from Faith Primary School said,"It's good to have positive and regular interactions with the publishers."

John with the teachers of Namibia PS: Ms Francis,
Ms April and Ms Louw

"Well-organised publishing company, excellent service, friendly and forthcoming," was what Ms Francis, HOD of Namibia PS, had to say about NPH.

Gracious thank you to that!

First Day of School

To all the hard-working teachers in all the corners of Namibia, NPH wishes you a successful Third Term and great results for the end of the School Year 2013! We will be visiting your schools with new materials soon.
Check out this blog for photos of our school visits! In the mean time, if you need to contact our Sales Representative for your region, click here to check their details.

Namibia Publishing House Sales Team wishing you a productive Third Term

NPH Official Company Launch

A big "Thank You!" to all who made time to join us on a Monday night, 19 August, at Hotel Thulé as we officially launched Namibia Publishing House. 

Minister Mutorwa launching
Farming in Namibia

Amongst the invited guests there was Ambassador of People's Republic of China with the Chancellor and Secretary. Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, John Mutorwa, made a special appearance and officially launched a book entitled Farming in Namibia Agricultural Development and Practical Technology in Africa by Jeanne Zheng.

The book, written by a Chinese student researching agricultural practices in Namibia, inspired the Chinese Government to donate 2 million Namibia Dollars for the country's drought relief, with the promise of drilling 170 boreholes throughout Namibia.

Ambassador of China , Minister Mutorwa and 
NPH Management Team

Some of the esteemed guests who were present at the launch:

Gisela Siririka with husband

Pedro Vorster and Wilma de Waal

Marietjie Burger and Amanda Hornimann

Freddy Nafuka, Mutaleni Nadimi, Jo Auala and Marietjie Burger

Laimi Gideon taking a photo with Minister Mutorwa

New Literature Titles from NPH

Having in mind instilling a reading culture in the Namibian youth and understanding that "Education is a shared responsibility", NPH presents to you a few of our recent publications that will hopefully capture the attention of the young readers.

1. STARE AT DAGGERS is the debut novel by Mary M. Manyando, a young Namibian Nurse/Midwife. It is a fantasy based on African soil, hinting at Namibia through the use of nature.

As a nine-year-old girl, Stare at Daggers witnesses the brutal killing of her parents and the River clan people by the ruthless King Brutus. He burned her entire village in search for a special dagger that has been entrusted to her. She then sets out on a journey to avenge her parents and restore what has been taken away from her clan. Little does she know that she herself is special.

Themes of revenge, sacrifice, personal happiness and responsibility towards your people make STARE AT DAGGERS not only a good read, but also a great basis for intriguing class discussions on personal growth and difficult choices so relevant to the Namibian youth.

"A captivating, magical story coming from a young Namibian author. It's intriguing and fresh."                                                                                                                      - Nerina Strijdom, EO, NIED 

STARE AT DAGGERS was approved by NIED at the beginning of this year for use in English Second Language class at Grade 10 level and is placed on NIED Textbook Catalogue.

Mary M. Manyando is one of NPH's latest discoveries. This exciting new author delivers an irresistible combination of romance and suspense in a fantasy setting. Her debut novel evolved effortlessly into a trilogy with FACES OF MAN, HEARTS OF ANIMALS and RISE, CHOSEN ONE completing the series. The whole trilogy is available at NPH bookshop.



2. ON THE PATH TO FREEDOM: THE FORGOTTEN YEARS AND HEROES by Helmut Lauschke is a soul-stirring story, based on experiences about courage and caring for helpless, neglected, injured and disabled people. The story presents the lives and devotion of a few doctors at a neglected hospital in the far north  of Namibia, where they cared for the sick and injured people during the turmoil and dangers of war. Despite risking their own lives, these doctors did the hard work under extreme conditions, often having to improvise due to lack of basic equipment. 

The story challenges the reader to value the character of people and to reassess the honesty in regards to their social commitments. It has a great historical value and is recommended to English First Language class at Grade 12 level. 

ON THE PATH TO FREEDOM is available at NPH bookshop.

Minister Launches the New Era Reading Campaign

The Minister of Education has launched the New Era Reading Campaign together with The Dogg’s Autobiography on Friday, 2 August 2013, in Windhoek.  In his speech, the Minister praised the initiative by New Era and the Mshasho for sharing the responsibility in educating the nation..

Dr Namwandi emphasised that this initiative will encourage the growth of the reading culture in  Namibia, stressing that it is only through reading that a country like Namibia can produce the knowledge and ideas necessary for the development of the country. 

The Dogg, who was accompanied by Kristian Hamutenya – the co-writer of the book, gave a brief background and an overview of the book. He admitted that the Autobiography was aimed at inspiring young people through his life experiences and encouraging them to work hard to achieve their goals in life.

The Dogg: Untold Story is available at Edumeds in Windhoek and selected bookshops countrywide.

Kristian Hamutenya, Minister of Education
Dr Namwandi and The Dogg at the launch
of The Dogg's Autobiography
Photo courtesy of New Era

Introducing: A True Me in Words: An Anthology of Poems by Anneli Nghikembua

Macmillan Education Namibia Publishers, now Namibia Publishing House, have a long history of cooperating with the National Arts Council and supporting young Namibian authors.

It is reassuring to know that poetry, as a genre, is no longer read by just a few “chosen” who are able to understand it. It is also practised on many levels by young and old in Namibia, especially now that Ministry of Education holds regular writing competitions in which poetry takes central stage, and National Arts Council sponsors poetry publications of poets such as Thaniseb, Kahengua and Nghikembua.

In her recently launched poetry anthology, Anneli Nghikembua speaks of life as it is. The poem “Pride of an African Woman” or “Cry not” touches us deeply with images of hardships women go through every day.

In the light of gender violence, inequality and all other social illnesses, it is hard to be a woman in Africa. In her poems, Anneli bears her soul. She gives us a glimpse into her complex nature. Her dreams, fears, disappointments and wishes for simple things like love, safety and stability could be any woman’s dreams and fears. They are all laid out before us so effortlessly and every woman is able to find something there for herself. 

But it’s not all negative.

In “My Grandmother’s Hat”, she honours the elderly woman with all her wisdom and quirkiness; in “Ain’t I”, she gives praise to those who courageously “stand for their future”, “ leave the bad behind and stay focused”, just as she did.  She speaks with confidence and courage, qualities she pleads all women must have.

Although very personal and sad at times, these poems celebrate women. They may be young students, or single mothers, or victims of abuse, but they are women who, despite being vulnerable, are proud of who they are today.

I would recommend this anthology to all women who need encouragement in their lives and to all men who would benefit from understanding the struggles women go through in today’s world.

A True Me in Words is available at Book Den in Windhoek. 

Anneli with Mike Mukete of the Bank of Namibia and another guest
at the launch of her book at the National Archives on 5 July 2013