KARIBIB – A Karibib mother, who looks after her nine-year-old son with a brain condition, says the N$250 monthly grant is not enough to care for him. 

Johanna George (59) lives in the Usab informal settlement, an impoverished area at the Erongo town. 
The torment of the unemployed single mother of three started nine years ago when her last born Paulus Kanyanga was born with hydrocephalus. 

Hydrocephalus is a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in the hollow places inside the brain. 
Often referred to “water on the brain” in layman’s terms, hydrocephalus can cause babies and young children’s heads to swell to make room for excess cerebrospinal fluid.  

“The doctor told me he has water on the brain, and he has a small head. So, they can’t operate, as it is risky,” she indicated to New Era. When New Era visited their home last weekend, the young boy, Kanyanga was lying idle on the floor, starring at any object around him. 
The mother lifted him and started telling her ordeal. She said she is in urgent need of a wheelchair, nappies, clothing, blankets, and food because the monthly grant of N$250 is not enough to sustain them. 

“The child was born like that. They were born twins, but one didn’t survive at birth. He was born disabled. The father ran away when the child was two years old. I struggle to raise my kids. He doesn’t get up or sit down; he doesn’t speak – and he can’t eat on his own. He can hear, although he can’t respond. I am suffering to raise him because he needs nappies daily and I am unemployed. I can’t afford diapers,” explained the mother, who lives in a shack with her kids and grandchildren. 

According to her, the boy also needs decent shelter; therefore, she is pleading to any good Samaritan to come to her rescue with zinc for an appropriate structure. 

George said she cannot seek job opportunities because she has to watch over his son all the time. 
The family also appeals for clean water nearby.  “We need a tap nearby because I can’t leave him unattended for a long time. We also need a toilet and a dustbin,” she pleaded. – anakale@nepc.com.na