Ongwediva, Oshana Region, Namibia

🇳🇦 Ongwediva is a town in the Oshana Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Ongwediva electoral constituency. it covers 4,102 hectares of land. Ongwediva has seven churches, two private schools and 13 government-run schools. Most of the inhabitants speak Oshiwambo.

History Ongwediwa started out as a Finnish mission station in 1926. A school for male students was built there at the time, focusing on practical skills. It is talked about as an agricultural and industrial school, although the agricultural emphasis soon faded away. The school started in February 1927, and it was a secondary school, which one could attend after completing primary school. Towards the end of the 1920s, the school started to receive subsidies from the South African government, although this was only a modest £100 per year.

The male teacher training seminary was transferred from Oniipa to Ongwediva at the end of 1954. It continues today as part of the Faculty of Education of the University of Namibia.

The civilian settlement of Ongwediva was established in the 1960s while Namibia was under South African occupation, in the area of headman Mr Nandjebo Mengela. Its purpose was to serve as a residential area for people employed by businesses and government in Oshakati and Ondangwa.

Economy and development Ongwediva hosts an annual trade fair, the Ongwediva Annual Trade Fair (OATF) since 2000, after one initial trade fair, the Northern Namibia Trade Fair, was held in 1995. Opposite of the open market, there is a shopping mall (Maroela Mall, Mandume Ndemufayo St.).

Ongwediva is an urban area that experiences rapid growth. It had less than 11,000 inhabitants in 2001.

Ongwediva is the second largest entertainment town in Namibia just behind the capital Windhoek. Ongwediva is a fast-growing town in terms of development and status as a second most livable town in Namibia. It also features one of the few private hospitals in Namibia.

Politics Ongwediva is governed by a town council that has seven seats.

Education There are currently only two high schools in Ongwediva, Mweshipandeka High School and Gabriel Taapopi SSS. There are also five primary schools. The newly created Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology of the University of Namibia is based in Ongwediva, and started its first official academic year in 2009. The José Eduardo dos Santos Campus is by far the largest physical development in Ongwediva. The Campus has already been described by the Namibian press as a Star in the North. There was also an educational college for teachers. The University of Namibia (Unam) Ongwediva Campus has been named after President Hifikepunye Pohamba. The campus was formally known as Ongwediva College of Education (OCE), and also got to be known as the Unam Ongwediva Campus when all colleges of education merged with Unam in 2010.