Written by Patience Nyangove
Thursday, 17 September 2009
TWO hundred and sixty struggle kids camped at the Swapo party headquarters in Katutura for a year now have no toilets and are using the bush to relieve themselves.
Informanté established last week that the “struggle kids” have turned the surrounding bushes into ‘ablution facilities’ because they only have access to one toilet in the guard room.
They bath in plastic shelters with little privacy while less than three metres away, others cook in the open next to heaps of garbage where flies have made a permanent home.
They also cook in dirty tins because they do not have decent pots and pans.
A strong stench of human waste from the bush coupled with dirty stagnant water from laundry, bathing and washing of utensils now greets visitors to the party headquarters.
“We bath in the open save for the plastics we use for privacy. For toilets, we use the bush mostly,” said Emily Sam (26) who has a nine-month old daughter, Monica.
Sam says because of extreme poverty and deplorable living conditions, she is contemplating giving away her daughter for adoption.
“I don’t have any food to give her. I am starving. It’s now five months since I came here. When Swapo brings food once a month, it’s won’t even last a week. Those who are weak like us won’t even get it. Besides using the bush as toilets and bathing in the open, we also sleep in crowded tents. We can be between 10 and 20 in a single tent.”
Twenty-eight year old Shilongo Ndeshihafela said the health situation at the campsite was so terrible that if action is not taken quickly there could be a major disease outbreak.
“We are suffering my dear. We are camping here but there is no toilet and bathroom. There are about 268 of us here. I have resorted to selling some food stuff to raise money to buy food. There is just no food. Swapo doesn’t give us any food,” she said.
She further declared that despite the inhuman conditions they are living under, they are going to stay put at the offices until their demands are met.
“We are going to stay put even after the elections. We do not have Namibian identification papers so we can’t look for employment and the Government has to help us.”
Another 28 year-old, Shimakeleni Wilika feels that because of the terrible living conditions she was not going to vote.
“I am not going to vote. How can I vote for a Government that has made promises after promises but never deliver?” She asked.
Chairperson of the “struggle kids” Salomon Shinedima said the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Richard Kamwi, once inspected the health situation at the campsite but never did anything to ease their dire situation.
“We should be provided with pails at least, mobile toilets and bathrooms. We have been patient for long. However, God is with us. We have lived under extreme difficult situations before. It was much worse at the farm. It was exactly like (this) when we were in exile.
“We have been asking for better conditions but no progress has been made but rather they keep on promising us not to worry. We can’t go back to where we came from. It’s too painful. All we want is employment,” he said.
Shinedima said although Swapo gives them food handouts, it would not last a whole month leaving them to survive on the mercy of well-wishers.
“Swapo gives us food only when they want and in most cases it only lasts us two weeks and once it’s finished, we have to struggle to survive,” he said.
A World Health Organisation official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services has not approached them for humanitarian assistance for the “struggle kids”.
Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Petrina Haingura also said management at the Swapo headquarters had not approached them for assistance.
“We just can’t go as the Ministry of Health and Social Services to the Swapo headquarters because that building belongs to somebody. If a need is identified, we will take action and if discussion is initiated, we will take it up as the health ministry,” said Haingura who is also secretary of the Swapo Women’s Council.
Swapo Youth League Secretary Elijah Ngurare said the health situation at his party headquarters was very serious and everyone within the Swapo leadership was concerned.
“The living conditions are not the best but what can we do these kids are insisting on staying here. We can’t call the Ministry of Health because the other struggle kids will accuse us of favouring this group, they will ask us why these youth should be more entitled to special treatment.
“It’s a sad situation maybe the police should move them out, I just don’t know, maybe we should get nurses here, they are children being born here. It’s a distressing situation and for us that work here it’s very difficult we are stuck here. If they are people with better solutions they should help out,” Ngurare said.
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