WINDHOEK – Thirty-five-year-old Merania Emmanuel who lives in the Havana informal settlement says the N$200 disability grant for her nine-year-old disabled son is not enough to care for him.
The ordeal of the single mother of three started nine years ago when her last born, Fidelis Mutumbulwa, was born with hydrocephalus, a condition in which the head grows big. He was born with a swelling on the forehead. Hydrocephalus is caused by an imbalance between how much cerebrospinal fluid is produced and how much is absorbed in the bloodstream. “The swelling on the forehead had water in it and so doctors operated on him when he was four months old. At the age of five, doctors operated on him again,” explains the mother.
Unlike many normal children, Fidelis heavily depends on his mother to care for him. This is because the nine-year-old boy’s condition left him physically and mentally challenged. “Two hundred dollars is little. I have to feed him, I have to care for him, I have to buy him nappies so I sell kapana to supplement the disability grant,” Emmanuel says. The money she earns from selling kapana is sometimes also not enough to last them the whole month.
“Do you think I even make a profit? Immediately when I get money I have to buy his (Fidelis) milk or food for us and some basic needs for the house,” she says, adding that her boy only eats soft food. Emmanuel sells kapana from four in the afternoon and has to leave Fidelis all alone in their shack, because the place where she sells is too dusty for him. In the morning she cares for him if she is not out collecting firewood which she sells and also uses for cooking.
“All I do is ask the neighbours to check on him once in a while. I can’t afford a nanny neither can I afford to take him to school, because it is costly and I barely earn enough to survive. I still have to save taxi money to take him to hospital at least twice a month for physiotherapy,” she explains, while picking him up to cuddle. The mother-son bond is evident as she whispers to him that there are visitors in their neat box sized home. Fidelis moves his somewhat stiff body and grins. “Did he understand what you said?” this reporter curiously asks. “Yes he does,” she responds, “he loves attention.” Emmanuel adds quickly. “He wears disposable nappies. I used to get them from the hospital for free, but that is no longer the case. I have to buy nappies now, life is expensive in Windhoek.”
Asked why she decided to settle in Windhoek, far from her family and support system, she explains that she once missed a doctor’s appointment simply because she did not have money to travel from the north. “I moved to Windhoek so that I can stay closer to the hospital, because he has to see a specialist every month. When you miss such appointments the doctors don’t take it lightly, they even conclude that you don’t care for your child without looking at the underlying factors. So, to avoid that I just decided to settle here,” she says.
Emmanuel who does not have a Grade 12 certificate says she hopes to find a fulltime job and hopefully that would assist her to take better care of her son. Anybody who wishes to assist her may contact her on 081 213 9870.
The public relations officer in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Rosa Nikanor, yesterday confirmed that the ministry has received complaints and demands from the public to increase the disability grant. “The process to increase the N$200 grant has started. Our minister has been advocating for it. The ball is rolling and probably next year or the year thereafter there will be an increase,” said Nikanor.
By Alvine Kapitako