OYO new issue of its magazine ‘OYO, young, latest and cool’ is now out. This issue deals with the theme ‘OVC, street kids and child-headed household’.
It is a well-known fact that there are many children in Namibia who have lost one or both parents. Such children are called orphans. It is difficult to know the exact number of orphans in Namibia. We can only know the number of orphans who have registered with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Child Welfare. At the beginning of 2009, over 82 000 orphans were registered. However, many believe this number is an under-estimation. Furthermore, projections show that by 2021 there will be over 250 000 orphans in Namibia (‘Rights-Namibia: orphans to benefit from new tax’ – Rosemary Nalisa, accessed at http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=15333, 1 November 2009). Some people have started talking about an ‘orphan crisis’.
The orphaned child will often have to leave his or her home in order to go and live with a relative (often a grandparent, an uncle or an auntie). The child will have to adjust to the rules of the new household and, often, to a new school, while mourning the death of his or her parents. This is a lot for a child to deal with. Such a child therefore needs extra care and attention. This is often overlooked, and nobody addresses the emotional needs of such a child.
Adding to these difficulties, the orphaned child might not be welcomed in the new environment. It is a fact that many people in Namibia are poor. They have problems feeding themselves and their children. Having to feed one more child is not always easy. The orphaned child might be perceived as a source of problems. There are many examples when orphaned children feel discriminated against by their own families. There are also many examples where families take advantage of such children: they abuse them, ask them to do all sort of chores, and do not treat them fairly.
The orphan child might therefore end up in the streets and become a street-kid or may have no option but start or remain in a household on his own or with his/her siblings (child-headed household). It was therefore considered important to find out what young Namibians had to say about orphans and other vulnerable children, as well as street kids and the so-called zula life.
The magazine is currently being distributed in schools in the Kunene, Erongo and Khomas regions. For more information on the magazine, you can contact us at info@ombetja.org
