Lost kids zula for survivalReluctant to return to abusive homes which they say are in Gobabis, this group of street kids have chosen to go it alone, together. Say they are content where they are A dusty children’s park in the midst of one of Windhoek’s wealthiest suburbs has become home to a group of approximately 12 homeless children, who survive on begging, hand-outs and a strong fellowship of ‘us versus them’. “We came here so that we can ‘zula’, we need the money,” the children said last week, claiming they use the money given to them by strangers at a nearby intersection and strip mall to buy food and other necessities.
Many of the children claimed they prefer their current situation, among friends, fighting for survival on the streets, after they had run away from abusive homes. Some say they were simply abandoned by their families.
“We have no boss. We look after each other,” one of the boys, who asked that their names not be published, said.
Most of the children are boys, claiming ages of between 8 and 16. Two are girls. They say some of them have lived in the play park for as long as three months, others joining them over time.
The children asked that the location of the park where they live not be named, although their presence continues to attract the attention of authorities, responding to complaints from the public.
On Friday, City Police was called after some of the children were seen begging at a nearby busy intersection.
Photos showed that a few of the children, including two girls, were only half-dressed.
City Police was called and informed that the children had been sniffing glue. On Sunday, they were back at the park.
The brother of one of the girls claims he wants to return to Gobabis, where many of these children say they are originally from, but his sister “doesn’t want to go back”.
The boys claimed they look after the girls “and make sure they are not naughty”.
When the children are not begging at one of Windhoek’s busiest intersections during their routine peak traffic morning and evening sessions, or harassing shoppers at a nearby grocery store, they can be found playing in the park. A trolley and coin games are favourites to pass the time.
The park is littered with garbage, including discarded plastic and carton food and drink containers, medicine bottles, liquor bottles, and other types of waste.
Nearby, a single mattress laid on top of flattened carton boxes is covered with dirty and torn blankets, and the children demonstrate how they squeeze together to sleep on this crude bed.
A small fireplace and an old tin can serve as a kitchen.
Many of the children, who spoke to Namibian Sun last week, hesitated to go into the details of what had driven them from their parental homes into a life dependent on begging, petty theft and frequent clashes with the police and other authority figures.
One of the boys, who claimed he is 14, but looked much younger, said his swollen eye was a result of a recent fall. His face was covered in several scars and bruises.
“My step-dad, whenever he drank, he hit me. I decided to run away,” another said.
“I don’t know where my real father is,” he added. Another boy said he was forced onto the streets after his mother “took another man. She left me.” He was taken in by an aunt, who he says lives in Katutura, but says he doesn’t want to live there.
“I don’t want to live there. There is a lot of hunger there. Sometime I go back to her, then we wash our clothes, and I give her money.”
Two of the youngest children claim they were taken to a government children’s centre a few months ago, in an effort to get them off the streets. They allege they left after a while due to a number of reasons.
Many agreed that they “don’t want to live here” and they claim there is no alternative.
JANA-MARI SMITH