Small village burdened by significant problems

Groot Aub faces a number of significant challenges, particularly gender-based violence, which is on the rise, children who fail to attend school, and hunger.

"When you walk past someone, you hear that a woman has been assaulted or that people have been fighting throughout the night. People go to the police station, but nothing happens," said Elzabe Gordon of Hope Initiatives Southern Africa - Namibia (HISA).

Gordon grew up in Groot Aub. She attended school in Windhoek, and after school, she completed counselling courses and psychosocial support training and worked with children at organisations such as the Philippi Trust Namibia. She also worked with The Kings Daughters, an organisation that works with sex workers, and at Orange Babies in Okahandja.

It was during her time at Orange Babies that she met Patricia Solar, the founder of HISA. "We were based at Orange Babies, and Patricia asked me if I would like to start and manage the HISA office in Groot Aub. Of course, I said yes because it gave me the opportunity to return home after 12 years of absence."

Addressing an urgent need

Initially, the office aimed to educate the community about gender-based violence and provide support to women affected by it.

"We quickly realised that this was not enough and that we needed to teach people about their rights. We worked with the community and community leaders to educate people. We involved the entire community and found that many do not have the opportunity to say, 'I want to leave this place.' They have to return to the place where the violence occurs due to circumstances. They can't just complain; they need counselling, and that's what we are currently doing. We provide counselling to anyone who needs it."

However, it's not only victims of domestic and gender-based violence who need counselling. Schools call her about a child who has been raped; the clinic calls about neglected children; and residents call about the elderly whose children are taking their pensions and not caring for them or using their pensions to run the entire household.

"The need is very great, and people here are struggling. There is a lot of unemployment in Aub, which leads to a lot of frustration. The fact that there is no income exacerbates tensions in the family. Who will take care of us? Who will feed the children? This leads to depression and thoughts of suicide because there is simply no solution in sight. It also leads to substance abuse and alcoholism, and then to domestic violence."

Skipping school

According to Gordon, many children do not attend school.

"They do not go to school because there is no food at home. An 11-year-old boy told me the other day, 'Auntie Elzabe, I use drugs because then I don't feel hungry.' The number of children on the streets is increasing. The schools are also too small, and if you are late in enrolling your child, there is simply no space. These children are too young, and the transportation costs are too high to go to school in Windhoek, so they stay at home and on the streets."

The funding that HISA received for raising awareness about gender-based violence has dried up. "However, we are still continuing because we cannot close the doors now and say that the violence has stopped because the money has stopped. It continues, and in some cases, it is getting worse."

HISA plans to create a backyard garden project soon. "There is no reason why people here in Aub cannot create a small garden in their backyards. With a little work, each and every one of them can put fresh vegetables on their dinner table."