North Somerset's Namibia link

12 March 2010

Namibia’s Sanet Steenkamp (second from left) is welcomed to Weston by North Somerset Council chairman Liz Wells, Cllr Jan Barber, chief executive Graham Turner, and assistant education director Paul Jacobs.

AN EDUCATION expert from Namibia has been visiting schools in Weston on a fact-finding trip this week.

Sanet Steenkamp is based in Ohangwena, one of the central African countries 13 regions, and visited Priory and Walliscote schools on Tuesday.

She said: "When I go home I will be sharing my experience of my visit here. My message will be that there are a lot of similarities in the challenges we face.

"In the end it comes down to effective leadership and teaching. I have witnessed wonderful commitment here and a stimulating learning experience. These are things we are developing.

"My visit is not about charity - it's about sharing knowledge and skills and to broaden perspectives."

The visit was arranged by GLEAN, the Global Learning Network, and could pave the way for future links between North Somerset and Namibia.