Onamhinda — The residents of Onamhinda village on the outskirts of Helao Nafidi town near Oshikango Border Post are struggling to feed themselves as a result of the prolonged drought and a lack of access to government's various relief programmes.
"We have not eaten for a week, and this is the 10th house I am visiting today, begging for food to feed my children and my mother - with no luck."
These were the words of Anna Hamunyela, a woman from the San community in the village of Onamhinda.
Together with hundreds of her fellow villagers, Hamunyela is facing a dire food shortage.
New Era reporters encountered Hamunyela while visiting the family of Ndamonoghenda Angolo, who was identified among the struggling households in that village.
These reporters were about to conclude the interview with Angolo when Hamunyela, who looked frail, walked in carrying a bucket wrapped in black plastic, hopeful to get some maize or mahangu.
Unfortunately, Angolo could not help her.
"If I were living alone, I could just eat eenyandi (jackalberry), add water, and sleep, but now I must swallow my pride and beg for food," she said with a shaky voice.
Hamunyela said a committee responsible for selecting vulnerable homes in their village denied their house access to the programme because their mother receives the government's old-age grant.
"This is not fair because all nine of us depend on that pension. Once I travel to Eenhana to pay for our water bills and then buy groceries, which are basically mahangu or maize meal and relish, the money is gone. It never lasts us weeks, let alone a month," she said.
Hamunyela claimed that village committees often record 'vulnerable' homesteads based on favouritism and nepotism, and people like herself from the San community and other vulnerable members are often overlooked.
Angolo lives with her sister, two children, and a puppy. They are solely dependent on the relief programme.
Over the years, her family survived on their mahangu field, which she managed to plough fully. She had high hopes that they would receive good rain this year, but to her disappointment, the harvest was largely a flop.
"I will eat some and store the remaining as seeds for next year's planting season. I must follow tradition, and do the right thing. It shows that I am grateful for what the Lord and my ancestors have given me," she said.
Angolo said the last time her family received some form of drought relief package comprising a 20kg bag of maize meal, four cans of fish, and one 750ml bottle of cooking oil was in April. She said if they do not get anything immediately, they will starve.
According to Onamhinda headman George Ngololo, said his village has over 500 households, and over 300 of them are facing severe food shortages. Some are entirely dependent on the drought relief programme, while others do not benefit at all, despite the need.
"Almost every day, I expect someone to come to my house seeking food. It saddens me because I cannot feed everyone. Sometimes I send them back empty-handed," said Ngololo as he took these reporters through his village. He said several homes in Onamhinda are at risk of malnutrition.
This is the third year Onamhinda and its neighbouring villages are not harvesting grain, following severe floods in 2022 when they had to be relocated from their homes and put in tent structures.
Evidently, there are fields that were cultivated with little to no harvest.
Theft
Villagers have resorted to stealing food.
A pensioner, Natalia Kamati, became emotional while narrating to New Era how thieves broke into her storeroom and stole a 20-litre bucket containing fish for her family.
"One morning, I woke up and wanted to cook for my grandchildren, but when I went to the storeroom, the relish bucket was gone. I struggle a lot to feed my grandchildren with my pension money, and now they are also stealing our food," narrated Kamati.
Another resident of Onamhinda village, Linea Moshana, shared her experience of thieves stealing her food.
"I had just bought 20kg of mahangu for N$130 at Oshikango. I was supposed to send half of it to my sister, who lives in Lüderitz, but when I went into the storeroom the following day, I found nothing; they stole the bucket of our mahangu flour. Now it's the middle of the month, and we don't have any money to buy food," Moshana said.
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Malnutrition
Last week, the Office of the Prime Minister said in a report that 1.4 million Namibians will be food-insecure between July and September, 33 105 marginalised community members are receiving drought-relief food, and 1 835 malnutrition cases have been recorded recently.
Ohangwena governor Sebastian Ndeitunga said about 40 000 people are experiencing high levels of poverty and hunger in the region, especially vulnerable groups like women and children.
Last week, New Era reported that the Omaheke region recorded 300 cases of malnutrition from January to June 2024, which led to 263 hospitalisations, 26 deaths and nine readmissions.
Malnutrition claimed the lives of 45 children last year, with 132 cases reported.
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