It takes serious passion and innate selflessness for one to commit almost 24 hours a day to their employers. But for Magdalena Maggy Katimba, being the chief children’s home superintendent in the Directorate of Child Welfare Services of the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication, and Social Welfare is more than merely having a job in the government.
It is a personal call to service, borne out of a personal pledge to serve the communities at the grassroots level – against all odds.
The professed single mother of one biological son and over 300 other children, whom she works with on a daily basis, is a holder of a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Higher Paralegal Certificate.
She was at ease in her office at the afterschool centre in Katutura when New Era visited her.
“I love community work and working with people, especially with children. Ideally, I am a passionate and committed person – but surprisingly though, I am an introvert,” she remarked, and notably, it is that quality that makes her an obvious good listener.
“I believe that even the smallest thing, such as giving someone a listening ear, can help change someone’s life,” the September-born spring baby added.
Joining the civil service
Katimba joined the public service in 2006, fresh from the University of Namibia.
She has been recruited into the same ministry as a community liaison officer, an opportunity she says she cherishes to this day.
“It was a dream job because, for me, it wasn’t about who was going to employ me – just as long as I was going to serve the community. Interestingly, I started my work in Mariental in the Hardap region, which is a close-knit community, and I was able to get down to the grassroots level,” she said.
Sixteen years later, she went from being a community liaison officer in the directorate of community and early childhood development to serving as a gender liaison officer under the directorate of gender equality before being promoted to her current position, where she has been for the past seven years.
In her current position, she is, among other duties, responsible for the afterschool centre.
“It is a national program under the ministry, which deals with children on the streets. We have a prevention program to keep them off the streets, which entails them coming to the centre and being given access to computers, a library, afternoon classes, a meal, psycho-social support and the opportunity to participate in sports activities,” she said.
According to her, the centre uses sports to get children actively engaged in the program.
“As such, we have sports for fun and sports for professional development. In this regard, we have advanced to such an extent that our netball team is part of the national league, and the wrestling team is affiliated with the national wrestling federation, whereby 90% of the national team is comprised of our beneficiaries.
Also, one of the boys from our boxing club recently went professional, while our wrestlers just returned from Morocco, where they participated in the African Wrestling Championship,” she revealed.
She further said the directorate has two houses at the centre that are used as shelters.
“Here, we house children who are found on the streets while further investigations on the whereabouts of their kinsfolk are underway. We offer family reconstructive services through which we reintegrate these children with their families or place them in boarding schools across the country – with all costs covered,” Katimba said, adding that once the children are reintegrated into their families, the parents are given basic poverty eradication skills, such as backyard gardening, after which they are encouraged to cultivate food for domestic use.
“Primarily, I am in charge of the planning, development and implementation of programmes for street children at the national level. I train stakeholders on the strategies and supervise staff members, using the government’s performance management program,” Katimba further explained.
But her job is not without a set of challenges; she places wanting to help a child or family who does not want to be helped on top of that list.
“Trying to help someone who does not want to be helped is difficult because that person then starts to work against you. There are so many children on the streets right now with whom we have tried some form of intervention, but they keep running away mainly because they are either addicted to substances that they use on the streets or they do not want to be subdued by the rules of the school hostels or their households,” Katimba stressed.
“Secondly, the fact that we do not have an alcohol and drugs rehabilitation centre for children in Namibia is a limiting factor to our progress. Until we get to that point, we will have kids who come through the process but then fall through the cracks because they are not fully rehabilitated,” she further added.
The third issue is that of parents begging with their children because already they are raising a generation of street kids, who are exposed to that kind of money.
Rewards
Professedly, the rewards from the job far outweigh the challenges because being able to change one life at a time can be rewarding.
“We have children who are currently in school and others who are great achievers in sports, primarily because of our programmes – and that is satisfying. One of our prime examples is Romeo Goliath, a second-year law student at Unam, who recently participated in the African Championship in Morocco as a wrestler. We have a lot of such testimonies. It is satisfying to know that one can take a child, transform that life and give hope,” Katimba enthused.
Queried as to how her expertise is beneficial to the public service, especially her ministry, Katimba does not mince her words.
Said Katimba: “Professional ethics are very important to me. In this kind of job, it is important to build trust and rapport because we work with people who are broken. Ours is to instil values and reignite their zest for life. With a qualification in psychology, I can inspire confidence through counselling and guidance. My educational background and work experience further inform my leadership approach, which leans heavily on the ability to give other opportunities for change and development. The paralegal side of my training sharpens my ability to interpret laws and policies, as they relate to the different family dynamics and scenarios.”
Additionally, she is fond of the beneficial stakeholder engagement, job security and the certain measure of influence that comes with working for the government.
The perception that government employees are inefficient, according to her, is unfair.
“I think it depends on which section of government one works. Personally, I do not even have time for anything else, apart from my work. I do not take lunch; on weekends, I am on standby – and I take work home all the time. So, while you might find a loafer here and there, just like in the private sector, one cannot use a blanket approach when looking at the commitment and work ethic in government,” she stated.
Having started in the government, she revealed that she is not planning to go anywhere any time soon.
“I see what the government is doing, and I have an idea of where it is going. My plan is to grow further within the public service and make an impact to the best of my abilities,” she said.
“My wish is to see the government having a fully-fledged rehabilitation centre for young people, and I want to be part of the implementing team to that effect,” she concluded.