By Anna Shilongo
WINDHOEK
Refugees from the Osire Camp near Otjiwarongo recently responded to the plight of others in similar conditions by donating vegetables and other necessities to orphans and vulnerable children from Windhoek’s informal settlements.
With the assistance of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, (UNHCR) the group from Osire donated bags of vegetables, shoes, blankets and utilities.
The vegetables came from the Osire Green Project, an income-generating project that is aimed at promoting self-reliance amongst refugees.
Officially handing over the donation, chairperson of the Green Project Committee, Mark Ngongo, said their committee had looked at a number of possible beneficiaries that needed support and identified orphans and vulnerable children as their number one priority.
“I hope this small gesture will make a difference and encourage other organisations and individuals to value the importance of giving and sharing.”
The group called on other organisations in the country to follow suit. The donation, which was given as a token of appreciation to the Government of Namibia, will benefit 60 children that are under the care of 42-year-old Lina Johannes.
Receiving the donation, Johannes and the children could not hide their joy.
“Thank you very much, my children will never forget you, they will forever remember your generosity, may the Lord bless you all,” said the grateful mother.
Johannes has been taking care of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) since 2000. She started with two children who were dumped by her little shack with no food or clothes. She decided to raise the children with the little she had and later located their parents after two years.
“When I took in those two children, people made it a habit to dump their children on my door, and others would come by themselves,” she stressed.
Johannes says children were dropped for months and years without being collected.
“What can I do? I have nowhere to drop them. I was left with no choice but to raise them as my own. I don’t even know who are their parents,” said Johannes.
Prior to that, she decided to open a little kindergarten where she taught her children under a tree next to her shack. Other children in the neighbourhood were also welcome. As a result, parents would register their children with false contact details knowing that they were running away from them.
Despite all that, the 42-year-old never lost hope. She took in the children and raised them as her own, although she had no means of supporting them.
“I never had a problem raising my children, although I am not financially stable. I believe in my God as he will provide. The children will never sleep on a hungry stomach – I give them love and we share the little I have,” she stressed.
Like any other, she also faces numerous challenges including lack of food, transport, accommodation and money to settle children’s school fees. Water and electricity are another challenge.
She has to walk some distance to collect water and to date her children’s schools fees are still not paid.
She also complained of her dwelling being too small to accommodate all children.
Meme Johannes and her 35 children live in a little shack with no water, electricity or a bathroom and when nature calls, these people are forced to help themselves in the bush.
Sometimes they receive donations of food but they have nowhere to keep the food.