The Unconventional and Unorthodox Thoughts

I have said among my friends that if politicians are going to heaven, then kaMkwaanyoka surely has a place in heaven. I say this every time I go deep into Havana. That place and every ghetto, excluding Hakahana, is a living hell, especially for kids.

And yes, I am blaming the political leadership of Windhoek from Independence to now, plus the City of Windhoek management.

Usually, I just look at housing as a human right issue, but this time my focus is on the ghetto child.

During lunch hours last Friday, I promised my friend, taxi guy,a N$100 and a six-pack of draught if he can drive me around deep in Havana. He agreed even though he nagged the whole hour about his car being damaged due to the bad gravel there.

This time the view was different. In all the small streets are kids playing, mostly boys playing their soccer. So, they put their goalposts of stones in the road, and every time a car passes by, they have to abandon their game for a while.

That is the norm; meaning for them they do not have the normal half-time break  because their stadium is a gravel road they share with cars.

Deep in the ghetto, you will not even see a brick house. The kids have to normalise or rationalise the ghetto structure as the best housing structure that exists.

Only their school is made out of bricks. There are no open areas or any sort of recreational platforms for the young, which is why they use the narrow rocky roads that separate their ghettos or the ghetto narrow paths where people walk. The only adventure they get is when they go run to school or to fetch water or perhaps to go further to the fourway or the far Usave shop.

Many ghettos have chords stretching with dry meat as not all of them have electricity. If you see a good well-structured ghetto there, there is an alcohol outlet. And it is the only place you will find  a parked nice double cab or the latest Toyota; anything else will be a taxi. That is all those kids are exposed to, that is where they draw their inspiration from.

 

WILL THEY BE EQUALLY COMPETITIVE – ECONOMICALLY AND SOCIALLY?

The most important question to ask is: Will these kids make it in this cruel economy that demands so much from an individual? I know we throw around statements like,”your past does not determine your future”. Wait until you speak your village accent among the Windhoekers in a presentation- they will use it as a sign of less-intellectual ability. As you have observed how they grill us the Ohangwena folks based on our pronunciation.

So, the point I want to raise here is that the circumstances the ghetto child faces have a detrimental effect on her/his future endeavours. The current economic structure rewards based on your agility and connection, as well as the social and economic circumstances matter in this current economy of innovation and agility.

The ghetto kids are not exposed beyond their teachers at school and warm corrugated iron huts, rocky streets, and the absence of proper toilets.

The current and future economy requires early exposure and moulding of the future participants to be equipped with certain basicpsychological, social, and academic skills.

From my observation, the ghetto child is not receiving all the required basics given the circumstances they live in. Moreover, their limited access to basic information about the way the economy works, innovation, latest products, and everything make it worse. There is little that happens in the ghetto.

Even TV is not readily available, only a few people have TV sets – meaning less exposure again to tickle the kids’ curiosity.

Those who make it out of the ghetto and go to university barely diversify away from teaching, nursing, or some other conventional science degrees. Isn’t this a sign of less exposure? Because the current and future economy needs different expertise beyond the conventional degree that our elders and leaders preach about.

If now the majority of the future economic participants are staying in the ghetto living on the bare minimum and with less exposure to the basic stimulating social and economic information- are we going to be competitive in this ever-changing world?

The situation of housing is not just about a decent place to live but the social and economic impact it has on the mind of the child. The ghetto impact has to be factored in as one of the critical issues that will emerge later in the life of the kid. Going forward, addressing the housing issue in the country should not only be prioritised on the basis of a decent living but to reduce the number of ghetto kids that are deprived of a better environment to grow up and develop.

All the social ills and economic incompetency that the economy faces can be attributed to the environment in which your current economic participants grew up, and what they had available as kids.

Providing housing and a decent living environment to avoid more ghetto children will ensure the country’s future economy will be in good hands. Competitiveness, creativity, better leadership, and innovations are not taught in a workplace alone; they have to emanate from one economic and social circumstance. The environment you grow up in moulds you to be the type of worker, entrepreneur, leader, and innovator you will be tomorrow.

The ghetto child has no voice but that shouldnot mean we should be silent about their circumstances either, because they will be in charge of the economy tomorrow. And are we going to be comfortable with them in charge?

Email: gerastus16@gmail.com