WINDHOEK – Fifty-nine-year old Jacob Kaluvi takes each day as it comes. With little to survive on, the father of five says life in the poverty-stricken informal settlement of Babylon is difficult.
“A day can go by without a meal,” he tells New Era from his deplorable shack where he lives with two of his children.
Kaluvi who is separated from his children depends on his 21-year old child who “struggles” relying on odd jobs. Kaluvi says he collects discarded material which he recycles as he sees fit .
Kaluvi who hails from Odibo in the Ohangwena Region says he sometimes irks a living from collecting firewood and selling it to people in his immediate surrounding.
“I sell one piece of wood for N$5,” he adds. In addition, he also repairs shoes for people in the community to make a living. Unfortunately, clients are hard to come by, “especially in this hard economic times,” he laments. To make matters worse, he has not received food from the food bank programme for the last three months.
“I used to get Harambee food but not anymore. I was told I am not eligible to receive the food. I am only waiting for my 60th birthday so that I can receive my social grant,” he added.
Namibia is one of just nine countries in Africa categorised by the World Bank as upper middle income. Poverty in Namibia, however, is still prevalent, and the country is rife with extreme wealth imbalances.
Kaluvi says he did not take the initiative to present his case at the Tobias Hainyeko Constituency office of which Babylon is a part of.
Christopher Likuwa, the councillor for Tobias Hainyeko Constituency said people who are not eligible to benefit from the food bank are those who are employed and have some sort of income.
“The food bank belongs to those who are not employed,” said Likuwa, adding that Kaluvi should go to his office in order to be assisted.