ONGWEDIVA – An unemployed 29-year-old single mother and her 11-month-old daughter are between a rock and a hard place, with barely anything to eat. This is the reality confronting Ndamononghenda Mika, who is raising her baby alone in Eenhana.
The single mother said the child’s father vanished without a trace, and has done nothing to provide for them.
Mika was at pains, and did not want to talk much about her relationship and her estranged partner.
She said without the help of the father’s child, a bleak future stares them dead in the eye.
Mika has been an orphan since the age of 10 and was raised by her grandparents, who have now also passed on.
“My baby is growing. But unfortunately, she has no birth certificate because I do not know where her father is. I have lost contact with him long before the baby was born. I am in contact with his parents, but they also do not know where he is, and do not help me out in any way to raise their grandchild,” she said sadly.
She was raised at Ohandiba village in the Ohangwena region, and is currently based in Eenhana, where she has been struggling to also honour her rental obligations.
At the time of the interview, Mika’s three-month rent was still outstanding, placing her and the infant daughter on the verge of eviction.
She highlighted that even though she has no formal employment, she runs a small business which sells traditional food and clothes.
However, her business was brought to its knees due to a lack of funds to procure stock, which has made it impossible to keep it afloat.
“I make a lot of sacrifices for my child. If I happen to sell anything that day, I will go and buy diapers or milk, and I will go to bed hungry. I have no one to ask for help, but am really trying,” she added. Mika said going back to the village is not even an option, as she has no one to turn to for help there. “My aunt lives at the village house, and she too is unemployed. We cannot help each other out in any way; we cannot even afford to cultivate the field. So, staying here in Eenhana while struggling with my expenses is the better option between two bad options,” she said.