Life in a remote Kavango West village

With limited access to the outside world and no employment opportunities in sight, Rudolf Musisi (40), a father of six, says life in the remote Naingopo village is not easy.Most villagers rely on small-scale and subsistence farming to make ends meet, he said. Musisi, a resident of Naingopo village in the Kavango West Region for about 20 years, spoke frankly about his situation. He said he and his neighbours feel neglected by government in terms of lack of access to basic needs such as water and electricity.Musisi has to walk long distances to fetch water from Naingopo 2, or when he or his family members have to visit a clinic.Speaking on behalf of the village, Musisi said they have high hopes that government will build a closer water source and provide electricity to the village.Basic necessity difficult to accessMusisi said he dreads the daily 20-kilometre walk to collect water.“I used to have a donkey cart, which made it a bit easier for us to collect water. However, due to circumstances, my son and I now have to travel about 20 km every day in order to collect enough water for the family for cooking and bathing, as my [youngest kids] have to bathe every day before leaving for school,” he said.During the interview, Musisi urged government to hear their plight and to offer assistance."Be it with a closer water source or job opportunities for us to be able to improve our living conditions around these parts,” he said.“These will truly go a long way, as life around here is not easy and everything is far – starting from water to groceries. The only place we can get groceries is from Rundu, which costs about N$200 to go and come back.”Accessing healthcareMusisi said the nearest clinic is situated around 10 km from the village, and without money, villagers are left with no choice but to walk when they need healthcare."In most cases, I do not have money to pay for transport, and even when I do, the only vehicle that normally takes us from here to anywhere near the clinic only drives during the morning hours, which makes it very difficult because if you get sick during any other time of the day, you will have to wait for the next day. Alternatively, you could walk, and in our case, if the person is too ill and there is no donkey cart available, we normally carry them on our backs and walk them to the hospital,” he said.He said there are no ambulances or vehicles at the clinic."The only ambulance in these parts is the one that has to drive all the way from Rundu, about 130 km away and takes about five hours to arrive – which is very risky because in cases where you get bitten by a snake in these woods, you definitely won’t make it to the hospital or clinic in time,” he added.Home after darkMusisi explained that dusk is usually falling when his children, as little as five years old, arrive home from school after walking for almost two hours."Because of my financial situation, my oldest born (17) was forced to drop out of school to assist me around the house, but after much consideration, I&#039;ve decided to get him back into school next year so he&#039;s able to secure a better place in society and a better future," he said.Slim earning opportunities Moreover, Musisi is currently unemployed and has been struggling to find work.He provides for his family through subsistence farming by growing enough crops to meet their needs, which can also be difficult at times as the rain is not always favourable."The only money I get is from tenders around the village – fencing farm yards – which enables me an income of N$1 000 at most," he said, adding that employment opportunities rarely present themselves around his village."The most recent job opportunity that we got around here was the construction of the gravel road that runs right in front of my house, which only benefitted about four people from my village, and the rest were outsiders from different villages. Not that I am discriminating, but it would have been nice if more of us could’ve also benefitted from this opportunity, which rarely presents itself in these parts," he said.- nikanor@erongo.com.na

Life in a remote Kavango West village

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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Life in a remote Kavango West village

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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