Namibia creates stories of hope for Angolan refugees

TUYEIMO HAIDULA ETUNDA A white health ministry vehicle is parked at the entrance of the camp. Angolan immigrants are seated in a semi-circle facing a nurse, who speaks loudly. She is giving health education. Children hush, lining up to be counted.It’s Friday, 13 August. The sun is slowly rising. The morning breeze chills me, despite the fact that I am wearing jeans. I move into the sunshine to warm up.Etunda Elcin Centre in the Omusati Region is home to 2 352 Angolan nationals who fled hunger in their country in March.Of this number, 1 524 are children, 88 are pregnant women and 169 are breastfeeding.The group is made up of people from three tribes - Hakaona, Zemba and Gambue - and most of them from the Cunene province in Angola.Namibian Sun is here for the fourth time. The nurse speaks to the men and women, their chatter buzzing. She is informing them on diseases like Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, which could affect them while living under the harsh conditions. She tells the group that she will be back on Monday with medication and test kits to collect samples to test for TB. She speaks in a language they understand, to loud applause. No school for little onesDust rises. The children have dispersed from their queue and run around the camp. They are missing out on formal education.A photographer called Stephanus Hinamulyange Erasmus is here to celebrate his birthday with the group. He travelled from the Oshana Region and brought 21 bags of mahangu and two soccer balls for the children. Whoever scores a goal gets rewarded with sweets. Erasmus tells the group that photography is his life and when he saw pictures of their plight, he knew he had to do something while attempting to combine storytelling with pictures.Joseph Shiininge explains that the children have no way to access education as the camp is informal, temporarily housing them and is not a permanent solution. Shiininge is part of the Elcin committee which plays a role in looking after the immigrants. Treated skin conditionsOn a day-to-day basis, a group of community healthcare workers visit the campsite and educate the refugees on health-related matters and how they can protect themselves from virus or diseases. The nurse visits twice a week.Some children are recovering from a skin condition called onghana. They are unable to join the others playing. Instead, they lie in the compounds made from sticks, boxes and worn out blankets being nursed by their mothers. This disease is caused by dirt.A woman hushes her crying toddler. She is screaming in agony. The child scratches her legs and the mother tries to stop her.Shiininge explains that they use water with salt and mahangu to bath the children for a quicker recovery. Restoring hopePeople have numbers for identification to get food assistance, Lovisa Matheus, who is the woman in charge, said.What warms her heart is the transformation they have achieved in these people’s lives. After living in the face of food insecurity, it takes time to shift from survival mode, even with Namibia’s assistance giving certainty of the next meal. Matheus said they also spend time teaching the group etiquette and grounding principles to save, to not complain, and to live hopeful for a better future for their children.Mwandjolele Vinima was the first woman to give birth at the camp to a baby boy, Pendukeni, on 19 March. She talks about how settling in wasn’t easy. She arrived at the camp pregnant.“When I arrived here, it was difficult,” she said. “I couldn’t live a normal life any more and everything just seemed bleak. They checked up on us pregnant women and made sure that we deliver healthy babies. Namibia has truly been a blessing. I am not going back home unless it rains in Angola,” she added.Another woman, Mwambelatji Kalola, also gave birth here. Twenty-eight children have been delivered at the camp. Kalola said they are at peace knowing that they are safe and continue to receive help from the Namibian government and its people.“Now, our situation is better and I can choose what my family and I eat,” she said with a smile.“Thanks to the food and cash we receive, we have a more varied diet which includes vegetables, and meat on some days as well.” NamesakesRuacana constituency councillor Andreas Shintama said the refugees received more than 2 000 food packages - consisting of maize meal, oil and fish - from Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).He jokes that they even have namesakes born at the camp.“The health education has done wonders and now they know what to do to sometimes help themselves. All the children are fine now and recovering. At some point, we even thought their parents would die here,” Shintama said.At the edge of the camp, the meeting is adjourned. The women move to their makeshift homes to prepare lunch as they dream of a better future for their children.

Namibia creates stories of hope for Angolan refugees

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Namibian Sun 2025-12-26

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Namibia creates stories of hope for Angolan refugees

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Namibian Sun 2025-12-26

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