Scavenging for survival
• Residents sift through rubbish to make ends meet
With poverty levels soaring in the country, residents of Windhoek's informal settlements have it the hardest.
Jemimah NdebeleWINDHOEK
With limited resources and few opportunities for income, residents of the Mukwanangombe settlement, near Babylon in Windhoek, have resorted to scavenging through the nearby landfill in search of anything they can sell for money.
Maria Hailonga (26) said their daily routine includes crushing and burning cans found in landfill before selling them recycling companies.
“Sometimes we find old clothes and shoes that we wash and resell to locals as well,” she added.
“It’s tough, because if you don’t find anything to sell, you go to bed hungry and this results in many feeling like they have no choice but to steal and break into people’s houses,” she said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Despite the threats posed to their health and safety, Hailonga and her two younger siblings are but a small fraction of the number of people who spend their days sifting through garbage delivered by the municipality to the landfill located in the Moses //Garoeb constituency.
“Our health is at risk, but what can we do? Sometimes we even find baby corpses, but just move it to the side and continue searching for what can actually be useful to us.”
Have faith
The lack of basic amenities such as water and electricity has left many residents of Mukwanangombe struggling to survive, and sees them elated at the sight of new rubbish being dumped at the landfill. Frans Petrus (30) joins the group for the daily rubbish sifting after he drops off copies of his CV at various companies during the early hours of the morning.
“It is just a matter of having faith and hoping that things will one day change for the better,” the skilled and qualified fitter and turner said.
As dire as it is, the situation at Mukwanangombe is not unique. Many other residents of settlements on the outskirts of Windhoek face similar challenges, which act as a stark reminder of the economic disparities in the country’s capital.
Efforts to reach constituency councillor Stefanus Ndengu proved futile.
With limited resources and few opportunities for income, residents of the Mukwanangombe settlement, near Babylon in Windhoek, have resorted to scavenging through the nearby landfill in search of anything they can sell for money.
Maria Hailonga (26) said their daily routine includes crushing and burning cans found in landfill before selling them recycling companies.
“Sometimes we find old clothes and shoes that we wash and resell to locals as well,” she added.
“It’s tough, because if you don’t find anything to sell, you go to bed hungry and this results in many feeling like they have no choice but to steal and break into people’s houses,” she said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Despite the threats posed to their health and safety, Hailonga and her two younger siblings are but a small fraction of the number of people who spend their days sifting through garbage delivered by the municipality to the landfill located in the Moses //Garoeb constituency.
“Our health is at risk, but what can we do? Sometimes we even find baby corpses, but just move it to the side and continue searching for what can actually be useful to us.”
Have faith
The lack of basic amenities such as water and electricity has left many residents of Mukwanangombe struggling to survive, and sees them elated at the sight of new rubbish being dumped at the landfill. Frans Petrus (30) joins the group for the daily rubbish sifting after he drops off copies of his CV at various companies during the early hours of the morning.
“It is just a matter of having faith and hoping that things will one day change for the better,” the skilled and qualified fitter and turner said.
As dire as it is, the situation at Mukwanangombe is not unique. Many other residents of settlements on the outskirts of Windhoek face similar challenges, which act as a stark reminder of the economic disparities in the country’s capital.
Efforts to reach constituency councillor Stefanus Ndengu proved futile.
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