Shantytowns are a familiar sight across the picturesque city of Windhoek, where thousands of residents live in makeshift and dilapidated structures with limited access to basic services such as water, electricity and toilets.
The quest for housing and a dignified life remains one of the biggest challenges many Namibians face every day.
According to a study done two years ago by the Namibia Housing Action Group and Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia, about one million Namibians live in shacks.
This is about half of the entire Namibian population.
In 2019, President Hage Geingob said the government should declare the situation in all informal settlements a human settlement disaster.
In 2020, the City of Windhoek started formalising informal settlements and allocated thousands of plots to informal settlement dwellers. But progress is slow, mainly because of a lack of funds and a protracted land development value chain.
Josefina Ingashipwa-Nelenge (42), a resident of Eehambo dhaNehale informal settlement in Hakahana, has for many years been driving community projects to improve the livelihoods of her fellow residents.
One of her projects includes the overhaul of shacks in her area.
Ingashipwa-Nelenge has embarked on this project to ensure people in her area have decent shelter.
“We understand development is a lengthy process – and if people cannot have brick houses, then at least they should live in a decent shack,” she stated.
Although she is not formally employed herself, she managed to secure sponsorships from a group of volunteers from South Korea, who got the project off the ground.
The project involves a process called ‘re-blocking’, where they demolish the existing shack and rebuilt new ones with new durable materials.
“We do not just build your average tin shack. We erect new shacks for them in a standard size – put in the finer details, windows, concrete on the floor and rebuild them with quality zinc,” she said, adding they also made beds and cupboards for those who did not have.
The re-designing and infrastructure also allow for basic services of water, sanitation and electricity.
“No human being should live in substandard housing conditions. People, especially in my area, live in such a dire situation – and it saddens me to know it will take ages for their conditions to be bettered, or sometimes not at all,” she said.
This project is not her first attempt at improving housing for her neighbours. A few years ago, she also embarked on the same project, where she revamped about four shacks in the same area.
This year, she plans to revamp five shacks that are in a dilapidated state.
“At the moment, we cannot take a big number because of the limited resources – but as time goes, I hope to see more families helped,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries, Veronika Shitana (19), who could not contain her excitement, said her newly-built shack would ensure the safety and security of her household.
Shitana used to live in an extremely tiny shed that their mother left for her and her little sister before migrating to Angola.
Ingashipwa-Nelenge described the teenage sisters as “poverty-stricken”, and said they have been living in dire conditions since their mother left them.
Speaking to this reporter, Shitana said, “I finally have a decent shelter, and I am so thankful to Miss Josefine and her team for this good gesture,” she said.
Asked about her stance on the lack of housing in the country, Shitana said: “Like we have always been saying, we want those in power to do something about our living conditions – but at the moment, we just want to be comfortable while we wait. We don’t want luxury. We just want decent places to call home.”
In February, with the sponsorship of Motovac Namibia, Ingashipwa-Nelenge also donated food items to 16 less privileged families from informal settlements in Windhoek.
“Basic services are scarce, and unemployment is sky-high. With these little projects, we are just assisting where we can and with the little that we can get,” said Ingashipwa-Nelenge, who also owns a kindergarten in her area.