Hope in a desolate place

Despite seeing his peers turn to crime as a means of survival in Rundu’s Kaisosi informal settlement, Kulete Domingos (22) has chosen a different path - he decided to start his own business.

A grade 10 learner at Sarusungu Combined School, Domingos was born in 2002 at the Osire Refugee Camp 200 kilometres north of Windhoek, which was established in 1992 to accommodate refugees from Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Rwanda.

With his mother and two brothers, he moved from Osire to Rundu in 2013 in search of a better life. The journey has, however, not been an easy one.

Juggling school and the demands of his business – which sees him selling chips, sweets, biscuits, firewood and fat cakes to make ends meet – Domingos remains optimistic and determined to create a better future for himself and his family.

High crime rate

“We are facing a lot of challenges in our community such as a lack of water and hunger, which are driving the high crime rate amongst the youth. They are turning to crime because most of them come from households with parents or guardians who cannot provide for them,” he said, adding that the most common crimes committed are theft, assault and housebreaking.

“The hunger around here is driving people, especially the youth, into doing things without thinking about the consequences. If someone who hasn’t eaten for days sees you storing bread that you bought and ate a bit from, it might stir up serious problems.

“That person might break into your to room just to get their hands on that bread and if you refuse to give it to them, they might resort to violence – or worse, end up killing you - because of a small piece of bread,” he said.

“We are living in a community where we have some people fortunate enough to help others, but they choose not to. Because of this, children as young as 10 have turned to crime, forcefully taking people’s belongings to go sell just to get themselves something to eat. Some of the kids have also dropped out of school because there is no money for school fees,” Domingos said.

In Kaisosi, children have also turned to alcohol and drugs because they see it as a remedy for life's problems, he said.

Peer pressure

According to Domingos, before he started his business, there were a few times – especially when he had nothing to eat – when he almost turned to crime.

“The peer pressure from my friends was real. At times, they would tell me things like ‘let’s go grab a phone so that we can at least get a N$200 to buy food on our way to school’, but I would always think of the consequences such as ending up in jail, which discouraged me from committing theft,” he said.

“Before I started my business, I had to find a way to get money to buy stock, so I decided to just collect empty bottles - which I later sold and managed to raise enough capital to start my business,” he said.

“Sometimes business is really slow, but I guess that’s just how life is.”

Become contributing citizens

Despite community members’ concerns about the high crime rate in Kaisosi, according to Namibian Police acting regional commander Eino Nambahu, the Kavango East Region has seen a decrease in crime compared to the previous year.

“Since the launch of the festive operations last year, we have seen a decrease in crime,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nambahu believes hunger should not be the reason the youth turn to crime.

“Those caught stealing or assaulting others for what they have will be arrested, and I assure you that life in custody is not a life anyone wants,” he warned.

“The governor’s office is open to the public to address issues such as hunger. I do not want to see the youth engaging themselves in crime. We would like to see the youth gathering themselves in groups and coming up with project ideas because there are funds available for youth projects that can enable them to become contributing citizens instead of turning to crime,” Nambahu advised.

- [email protected]