Reagan Malumo
29 September 2008
Katima Mulilo — An escalating HIV/AIDS pandemic with its resultant deaths has placed Caprivi Region in an unenviable position as many children orphaned by this disease are being forced onto the streets of Katima Mulilo, for sheer survival.
Life has become a living hell for many of these unfortunate children as they are forced to drop out of school from a very tender age.
Some of them are highly traumatized due to lack of parental care and love, shelter, food and clothing as a result of losing their parents at such an early age.
Statistics from UNICEF show that the Caprivi Region has the highest number of orphans and vulnerable children country-wide totalling about 35 000.
About 17 525 of these orphans are registered with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, while about 17 475 are still languishing without support and assistance of any kind. They find it tough to survive at home and decided to find a better dwelling elsewhere on dumping sites and on the streets of Katima Mulilo where they have become street beggars. This is a new phenomenon regarded as foreign to Caprivi but which is assuming complex proportions and becoming very difficult to resolve.
According to a social worker in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare at Katima Mulilo, Brenda Mwiya, the number of orphans and vulnerable children is on the increase due to poverty and a high death rate in the region.
She said street kids are becoming a fast growing concern in the region and many children are going onto the street every day mainly because of HIV/AIDS and parental poverty.
Mwiya noted some children are on the street because they are total orphans with both parents dead, whereas others are half orphans with either one of their parents still alive but not able to cope with the high cost of living.
Caprivi has the highest prevalence rate of 39 percent in HIV/AIDS cases in the country, with families losing the traditional breadwinner.
This has therefore weakened the social backing of most families in the region, while children are normally left behind in the hands of old grandparents who depend on their monthly pension payout.
Mwiya said some children are suffering because family members embezzle pension money of children when their parents die.
She said some family members have the tendency to conceal documents of deceased male parents, making it difficult for the remaining parent to acquire pension benefits which are set out to cater for the needs of children remaining behind.
She said some family members also could not assist their relatives' children without benefiting something.
"If no money is involved then no one would like to get responsibilities for the children even if they are related to them," said Mwiya.
A group of local women at Katima Mulilo have set up a non-profit organization called Caprivi Women's Concern for Development, with one of their objectives being to rescue these children from sinking. They are struggling to set up an orphanage, which shall include an orphanage hostel to cater for a growing number of street kids in Katima Mulilo.
The group's chairperson Clarina Dias told New Era that her group has decided to take up the issue after a brief meeting it held with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, where the issue was raised as a matter of concern.
"We thought as women in the region let's stand up and do something because if we can't do it no one will do it for us," said Dias. She appealed to all donors and good Samaritans to assist her organization with funds, transport and other necessities.
The group has started with the registration of more than 300 orphans and vulnerable children mainly in Katima Mulilo, but Dias stressed that they do not have transport to travel to other constituencies.
"So far we depend mainly on our membership donation of N$50 per month which is not even enough to assist us to carry out all our operations and cater for our travel expenses. The group intends to start cooking and providing food to these children," she said.
Dias further said the Katima Mulilo Town Council has donated an office space next to KM Electronics and that the next stage is to start with the construction of an orphanage to house these children and cater for their health and educational needs.
According to Katima Mulilo Town Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sazita, the town council has set aside land at the former Hainyeko School for such a structure.
Dias said her organization has discovered that about 75 percent of the children wondering around are boys, whereas the girls are being taken into people's homes as domestic servants. She said child labour is not allowed in Namibia and that her organization needs to take these children and put them back to school again. These children are between the ages of five and 15 years old.
She also expressed concern over business people investing in Katima Mulilo who are failing to show interest in helping out and called on them to change their attitudes. She also called on all residents of the region to avoid tribal issues and to pump in more support for the sake of progress.
Dias revealed that her organization was also concerned about the reluctance of some national leaders who are from Caprivi in identifying and getting involved in developmental and social issues affecting their region.
She said her organization in conjunction with the Caprivi Regional Council and Katima Mulilo Town Council plans to hold a conference with all national leaders from the Caprivi Region to debate the way forward.
Caprivi Women's Concern for Development also aims at mobilizing women in the region to help participate in developmental issues such as the construction of a Medi-Clinic, as well as spearhead regional platforms which lead to developments such as upgrading of old infrastructure in the region.
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