A 12-yr- old boy who by no means saw the inside of a classroom was finally enrolled at the Oniipa Primary school in the Oshikoto region to start grade one. Johannes Risto has been taking care of one of his relatives an old-aged woman. According to a Samaritan Jesaya Nambundunga, who spotted him and took him to school, Risto has never attended school.“ He started looking after the grandmother who is above ninety years old, where he was being raised, cooking and bathing her became his daily duty,” he said.
He further noted that one day when he walked past their house, he saw a younger boy with wounds on his head, with a horrible smell that he could not stand . Nambundunga stated that whilst he heard the whole story from one of the family members, he could not permit this situation to prevail. Risto was then admitted to the school and is doing great, despite the fact that he never knew how to touch a pen. Risto said he’s satisfied that he is going to school, however, he doesn’t have a full uniform ‘’I don’t have a jersey and shoes,” he stated with a shivering voice. Even though the issue of school is sorted, Risto is certainly one of 14 grandchildren who rely on the ninety-seven-year-old grandmother’s pension furnish, Nambundunga said. In addition out of the 14 children are youngsters, and all stay in one zinc shack. The family cannot withstand the onslaught of the weather during the winter season.
“The family does not have beds or mattresses, and enough blankets either, they use two pots, in which they cook up to six times before sufficient porridge is ready to feed the 14 of them. The school-going youngsters haven’t had any uniforms, neither do they have got footwear,” Nambundunga added. The children and grandchildren all stay with the old female, the older children left for the city in search of employment, however, they return some months later heavily pregnant. Eight of the children do not have birth certificates because their mothers could not find their fathers.
They don’t have national citizen documents, so they’re unable to enjoy the social programs and grants offered by the state. Oniipa councilor Tuuli Nuunyango said he’s aware of the situation in this household, and his office has attempted in all ways possible to assist the family .“I visited that residence three times this year and I donated maize meal, cooking oil, and cans of fish,” he said. Nuunyango further added that for the children who don’t have documents, their mothers are to blame.“About 49% of residents in my constituency don’t have national documents, in some instances, residents search for citizenship documents when they are about to turn 60 years old, for pension purposes,” Nuunyango stressed.