Material collected by a researcher who recently visited Namibia illustrates the extreme poverty in which many black families live. Single parents, or grandparents looking after several children, may receive only a minimal income consisting of state benefits or food parcels provided by the churches. In many instances, those looking after children are not entitled to child benefit because they are not the natural parents. The rules governing benefit entitlement appear to be strict and were apparently being tightened up in 1984. Thus, a mother can only claim child benefit if the father is dead, disabled or out of the country.
The amount given per child differs according to race. African parents receive R12 per child per month, Coloured parents R30. They receive benefit for children of school age only if the child is actually at school. As from 1984, the child's achievement at school was also to be taken into account in assessing benefit due, according to one social worker interviewed by the researcher. Grandparents may have difficulties getting benefit for any children they are looking after. In several cases investigated by the researcher they were providing for the children as well as other relatives out of their R50 monthly state pension.
The cost of living in Windhoek and the townships of Katutura and Khomasdal is higher than in any urban centre in South Africa itself. According to the latest available survey of household subsistence levels (HSL) in the major urban centres in South Africa, together with Windhoek, the level required for minimal survival for an African family of six was calculated at R301.48 per month in Windhoek compared to R264.91 for Pretoria and R279.91 for Kimberley. The same position was noted for Coloured families where the HSL for a five member household in Pretoria was R303.50 — the most expensive South African urban centre surveyed, and R360.66 in Windhoek.
The cost of living is considerably higher in northern Namibia, due to inflated prices in shops and stores. An earlier survey on income carried out by an academic researcher found that 86 per cent of wage-earners in Windhoek lived below the HSL, while in the north this applied to 99 per cent of wage earners. The employed and under-employed, estimated at between 25 and 30 per cent of the total labour force, had to live off those already in dire poverty. Clearly for a person existing solely on state benefits, survival becomes extremely difficult.
Several examples cited by the researcher, who was able to be present at interviews with persons trying to claim benefit or collecting food parcels, and who travelled extensively through Namibia investigating conditions, gives an idea of the extent of deprivation in which children grow up. The following is a selection of case studies collected in Namibia: A grandmother looking after eight children from her two daughters, both of whom were dead, was providing for them on her R50 state pension. She had no other income. She could not claim child benefit because she was not the mother. Efforts to claim as a foster parent had met with no success. The children's only food was what they got at school, and some mealie meal handed out by the tribal administration. The woman lived in Otjimbingwe, north-west of Windhoek, which is without water. The local river has been dammed to provide water for Onrangwa, which has a military base. Water is delivered once a week in barrels by the tribal administration. There is a mission seminary at Otjimbingwe. People live in shacks in the surrounding area. Local children go to the seminary at mealtimes to eat leftovers from the student dining hall. Those who attend the two state schools get a meal of beans, mealie meal and some vegetables. The Catholic church occasionally sends some milk powder and soup. A woman living in Katutura who usually collected a weekly food parcel from the Catholic church arrived there with her nine-month-old baby. She had six children. Her husband was injured in an industrial accident but had not claimed the compensation he was entitled to because he did not know his rights. She explained that she had not been able to come the previous week because one of her children, aged two, had died. The doctor had told her that the child had died of malnutrition. She had no income and relied entirely on food parcels from the church. She said that even if she could get a job she would be unable to work because she had no-one to look after the children. Food parcels handed out by the Catholic church contain a minimum for subsistence for one week: mealie meal, one tin of fish, margarine, tea, sugar and soap. People apply to the church if they have no other income. The church appears to be virtually the only agency offering such support. While there are state-employed social workers in Katutura, their impression gained was that they are not very active. A woman in Katutura, who was separated from her husband, looked after five children. Her husband was blind and received a disability pension. She got no benefit for her children because her name was written incorrectly on her identity document. She lived entirely on food parcels from the Catholic church. There are apparently a fairly large number of children in Katutura and other urban centres who have been sent by their parents from the 'homelands' or from outlying farms to attend school. According to a teacher in Katutura, they come to stay with other relations, but it often remains unclear who is responsible for them. Frequently they go without food. The teacher described one family with three boys who had almost no food in the house, yet they were still determined to study.
