Flood Victims Homesick

Toivo Ndjebela

4 April 2011

Oshakati — Hundreds of families have been living in a makeshift camp on the outskirts of Osha­kati since February 28 when their homes were flooded.

Heavy floods from Angola swamped their homes. The situation has not been particularly easy for them, having to mingle, and sometimes they have to share accommodation with strangers.

A visit to the temporary Oshoopala Center by New Era unearthed varying emotions by the affected families, some of whom appear homesick while others are struggling to make ends meet to feed their families.

Visible is the scene of children playing because some of their schools have been closed due to flooding, while their mothers are either doing laundry or preparing meals for their families.

And speaking of meals, each family has to sort itself out food-wise because what has been provided for by the authorities is only accommodation, toilets and water. Mosquito nets have also been provided mainly to children and pregnant women, but the provision of food is a prerogative of each family.

Hunger continues unabated for the families of the poor and the unemployed, with one woman telling New Era that she has never seen her husband since February, although he is around Oshakati.

“He did not come to the camp with us and his absence as head of the house is impacting on me and the children,” the woman, who refused to give her name for fear of facing her husband’s wrath, said.

One of the victims, Eusebio Haufiku, narrated how his family lost several valuable items such as furniture as he could only grab a few items when his house was flooded while the family was asleep.

“I don’t have a car so I could not carry anything heavy. The sad part is that I’m still paying for my bed and cupboard and I’ll have to continue paying although my items are damaged beyond repair,” Haufiku said.

The municipality of Oshakati, in cooperation with some NGOs, has helped families move to the camp and provided some of the basic necessities, such as water and toilets.

There is no electricity in the camp so to cook, families have to travel long distances to fetch firewood, while those who can afford it have been buying paraffin or gas to prepare meals. “Thank God there is fish in the oshanas,” said Hafeni Shimutwikeni, in reference to how several families have been living.

Overcrowding is another challenge facing many families, some of whom now fear the possibility of catching contagious diseases that one of them might be suffering from.

Seven families, each with its own bed and catering space, in particular share one tent and inhabitants of this tent have complained that their situation is inhumane. “Sometimes you want to change clothes but you cannot undress in front of strangers.

It is quite embarrassing,” Gabriel Nanyala of Sky informal settlement said. Some female residents at the camp are selling their kapana and fritters, as the struggle to provide for their own families continues.

What is sad though is that even when the floods have relatively eased, some families whose shacks are allocated in flood-prone areas foresee themselves living in the camp for the remainder of April.

“Many of our houses are still under water and this is likely to continue until early next month,” said another victim, Petrus Nambuli.

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