ONE Family

Upon entering Divundu, Namibia you will see a petrol station on your left, Divundu Combined School set amongst the bushes on your left, and a location straight ahead (a location is an impoverished area where people are usually refugees or lack the money to buy a plot of land, hence it looks like a shanty town). After the location, there is the majestic Kavango River and the start of the Caprivi Strip, gateway to Angola, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. On all sides of this tiny town, lie hundreds of huts, homesteads, mud houses, and of course goats, chickens, pigs, and cows everywhere.

The area in which I live is hot, dry, and vast. I have currently been here for four months, and it has NOT rained once since I have been here. Yup that’s right, I have not seen rain in four months. Besides the lack of rain, the people face such issues as unsafe drinking water, unemployment at over 60%, illnesses (HIV, malaria, and TB are ravaging sub-Saharan Africa), technology shortage, and the sheer distance it takes from place to place (Namibia is huge- and everything is very spread out). Despite these daunting obstacles, the Mbukusku people (the tribe with whom I live with) still manage to go to school, look for food, walk dozens of kilometers for water, and travel great distances by hitch hiking. They know that the road may be steep, the weather may be hot, the food may be little, and the education may not be the best- but they do it to live.

What I have noticed here is that it does not matter where you came from, who you are, or how old you are, they all care for one another. They are all ONE family. Aunts, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, and cousins all live in the same homestead because the thought of leaving someone to fend for themselves is unheard of. If someone doesn’t have food, you share the bread, if someone is sick, you go to church to pray and scrounge any money for a doctors visit, if you need to go the city over 200km, you hitchhike with someone going in that direction. Last week, my roommate and fellow teacher began shivering and throwing up during school. It turned out he had malaria. As I was flipping out and unsure what to do, one teacher with a car rushed him 50km to the hospital, 5 learners used their little money to buy him bread, one teacher prepared a light meal for him, one learner sent his mp3 player in a car to the hospital for him to borrow, and 3 learners boiled water so he would have clean water upon his return. As his temperature rose over 104 degrees, I watched with a glazed stare as members of the community did whatever they could do to help. Luckily, over the past week he has recovered to full health. This type of assistance and support for those who are ill, happens everyday as someone new is diagnosed with malaria, TB, Bilharzia, or the countless other diseases that exist here.

On Tuesday, Divundu had one of its daily blackouts, however this time it was longer than usual. When the power goes off, unfortunately the cell network, the lights, and the water are also disabled. As I tried to help the learners go to bed with my mini-flashlight that can barely illuminate 4 feet in front of you, a car pulled out in front of the learner’s hostel. Surprised and startled by any movement this late at night, I walked outside to see 20 little children with a pillow and blanket in hand. The truck was an OVC (orphaned and vulnerable children) vehicle sponsored by UNICEF. Being the only teacher on duty that night watching the learners, I approached the truck and spoke with the driver. The 20 children were OVCs on a field trip with UNICEF and had no where to sleep that night. With no electricity, a packed hostel, and no water, you could imagine what my face looked like. In a matter of only 10 minutes, my learners started giving up their beds so these young, new children could have a place to sleep. Without any hassling from me, the girls and boys at my school had created a mini- hostel for these OVC children without complaining, or fussing over it. Some even agreed to sleep on the floor, so these other kids could have a proper bed. This moment is truly a telling moment to the type of kids they are.

Everyone in Divundu understands the enormity of the task that lies in front of them, however they do not give up. If any of you are worried of how far I am from home, you can be comforted that I live amongst people who really care about each other with myself included.

Hope all is well

Peace,

Scott