By Frederick Philander HOACHANAS The present church split and division in the community of Hoachanas has a very negative effect on the youth in the village and could cause still further damage to all other efforts to reconcile young people. So said community activist and HIV/AIDS volunteer, 25-year-old Pineas Kandjii, who has been working in the community for the past five years. “The parents on both sides of the present divide discourage their children from taking part in any youth or social activity that is being organized, so deep-rooted are the differences caused by the church split. We have started some sort of entertainment centre to cater for the sporting needs of young people, but we do not really get the support from either of the two sides, making things very difficult for the young people,” said Kandjii. The village is home to about 2ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000 inhabitants, primarily of Nama origin. “As far as the youth are concerned, everything has come to a standstill since the break-up of the AME church, now operating as the New AME Church. We live a profounlyd divided life with antagonism on both sides, something that does not augur well for the community, or for the country. We cannot properly reach the youth due to this unnatural situation,” a frustrated Kandjii said. He says the spread of HIV/AIDS is one of the negative factors detrimentally influencing the community. “We have about 200 persons of all age groups infected with HIV/AIDS, and the number continues to grow. Presently, we have five HIV/AIDS victims who are being medically treated. Most of the others do not want to make use of the available medicinal help because of stigmatization. They just point-blankly refuse to be medically treated – a big problem for us,” he said. According to Kandjii, the community faces a bleak future with rampant and massive unemployment increasing daily. “There is basically nothing for the young people to do. That is why most of them indulge in sex, spreading the HIV/AIDS virus at an alarming rate. Most of the young people indulge in alcohol abuse and sexual activities. We probably cannot blame them for it because no development is currently taking place in the village,” Kandjii said.