Sure Swakopmund might see like all cake, coffee and shopping but of course the reality for more than 50% of the population is just simply hard core poverty. That 50% of the population of Swakop lives in Mondessa and DRC whilst the rest of Swakop wallows in deserted streets and empty houses.
We went on a Cultural Tour and it was incredible. Since then money,
food and clothing have been flying out of my hands as I try somehow to
make up for having so much when people down the road have so little.
Sure we can fool ourselves into thinking we aren't wealthy by our middle
class white standards but we are kings in comparison. One thing is
certain we may have more food, clothes, and money but happiness, family
and community are thriving and strong in Mondessa.
Mondessa was built during apartheid which was part of life under South African rule. The "black" suburb was further broken down into tribes and has pretty much stayed that way. At some point in recent times the houses were given to the families who resided in them and they are now passed down through the families. Recently the government has embarked on a "Build Together" campaign where the locals apply for their own mortgage and with the government build a one or two bedroom house (all identical) with the view that you may add on to it in the future.
All the homes in Mondessa have electricity, sewerage and running water. Once you own your home you are allowed to do whatever you want with it as long as its legal. So in many front yards you can find shops, hairdressing salons or bars. In the backyard you will often find many makeshift humpy type dwellings attached. These shacks pay rent to the owner of the home and are built by the occupants and are dismantled and taken with them when they leave. Many of the residents (many men) of Mondessa and DRC have come to Swakop to find work mostly in the uranium mines. They live in these shacks and send money home to their families in the villages and once a year save up all their holidays and return to the village, apparently Mondessa can seem deserted come December.
And then there is the DRC or Democratic Resettlement Community which is just beyond Mondessa. Started as a temporary resettlement community the inhabitants are not allowed to build any permanent structures, however after 10 years there is a degree of unrest as the community campaigns for the government to finally "formalise" the settlement and provide basic infrasturcture. The shacks in the DRC do not have running water, toilets or sewerage. There is a tap at the end of every 2nd street and toilets similarly located. I recently found out our lovely cleaner Katrina live in DRC, so sad! What more can I say about DRC, the photos (whilst very average) speak for themselves, it is sad, wrong and a fact of life in Africa.
We were taken on our tour by a young 23 year old guy Michael who was confident, articulate and knowledgeable. He took us to his home in Mondessa which he inherited from his grandmother. He had about six shacks in his back yard and lots of dried fish heads hanging in the back yard. Many of the men here from the villages buy huge bags of fish heads, dry them and send them home to their families. We also visited an orphanage that has benefited a lot from the work of a couple of crew mums. We learnt about the traditional dress of the Herero women, the family structure of the tribes, visited a primary school, had a traditional meal with Coke and enjoyed a performance from Vocal Galore. It was educational, real, upsetting and fantastic.
Do I wish I could have done more? Do I wish I had learnt more? Damn right but we did what we could with two rugrats, giving Katrina & Violet food and clothes, feeding the window cleaner out of the third floor window each month, giving Vitto & Janis a generous sum for the weekly car wash & feeding them when I could. There is not much more I can say, life for so many in Africa is just bloody tough but one thing that struck us all was when Michael told us that many of the people that do well and earn enough money to live in the "white" part of Swakop DON'T. Instead they build their dream homes in Mondessa and continue to be part of a real community!
xxx
PS - I just realised this post had been half published, I hope you get to read it all cos it might the only "real" post of this whole blog. And please excuse the average photography as it felt a little wrong snapping away.
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| There was a set of one year old twins living in the back shack. You can see him peeking out. |
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| Michael's backyard |
