In a country characterised by the scourge of income disparity, the level of learning, reasoning and understanding of life can be significantly different especially among the school going children.
At Okahandja Park, one of the many informal settlements on the outskirts of Windhoek, primary school children are dreaming of obtaining good education one day and move out of the poverty stricken situation they live in. However they feel that the non availability of basic needs such as water and sanitations are the result of corruption. But in many spheres of the society, corruption can be difficult to define, let alone to understand and children is this impoverished settlements have their own version and understanding to it.
Thirteen- year-old Kaveto Ndjamba, a Grade 7 Learner at Dr Frans Indongo Primary School, says corruption is when a mother beats another women’s child. His playmate, Nelenge Ndemuwenda, a Grade 8 learner at Agustinium Secondary School, feels that corruption is when resources are not distributed equally among all citizens. He also feels that the old colonial practices where by blacks were not afforded access to basic facilities and opportunities, should as well be described as corruption.
The informal settlement of Okahandja Park is one of the densely populated communities in Windhoek, where inhabitants here live under about N$10 (US$1) a day or less. However Children like the 15-year-old Nelenge Ndemuwenda are determined to focus on their education and change their lives for the better.
At the moment Ndemuwenda lives with his mother and three cousins, he walks a distance of up to ten kilometres to and from school every day. They have no electricity or running water, and Ndemuwenda wants to pursue a career in engineering, build a brick house for his mother and move on with his future.
Namibia boost a record of being among the top six countries on the African continent that have demonstrated a great effort in the management and the control of corruption according to some international studies. A study conducted by Danniel Kaufman to determine the level of corruption in the world, rated countries on a scale from 0 to 100 of which Namibia scored 50.
The 50 to 70 percent score demonstrate a manageable situation or an indication that the country is able to control corruption. The score is based on the quality of the Rule of Law, the level of Good governance, voice and accountability as well as political stability. However, the World Bank listed Namibia among the countries of the world that are affected by the income disparity, causing absolute poverty and the highest percentage of people living with less than US$2 (about N$20) a day.