von Sibylle
Liebe Blogleserinnen und -leser
Wir veröffentlichen hier einen Zeitungsbericht, der das Aufwachsen von Jugendlichen im Zeitalter von HIV und AIDS thematisiert. Die junge Autorin (15 jährig) zeigt auf, dass der Unterschied zwischen dem Heranwachsen als Waisenkind (orphan) und Aufwachsen ohne elterliche Fürsorge im Endeffekt eine ähnliche Problematik beinhaltet.
Swakop pupil wins essay competition
Rukee Kaakunga
Rukee Kaakunga
Across Africa, thousands of children are robbed of their right to grow up with the love of
their parents and are orphaned at a young age. According to the United Nations in 2012,
there were over 132 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the
Caribbean in 2005.
This large figure represents not only children who have lost both parents, but also those who have
lost a father but have a surviving mother or have lost their mother but have a surviving father.
With this background, the Institute of Sociology, University of Giessen in Germany undertook a
research project entitled ‘AIDS-orphans in Southern Africa (Namibia): Social Crises and Social
Powers’. The project was funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, (2012-2015) and in
partnership with The Namibian ran a competition titled ‘Who takes care of you? Growing up in
times of AIDS’.
A number of learners from across the country took part in the competition, showing their writing
skills and creativity. Amongst all the entries received, Justina Vatilange Matatias’ stood out and
she was the ultimate winner, walking away with a N$ 2000 prize money. Speaking to The
YouthPaper when she recently came to Windhoek, Justina relates how she grew up as an
orphan. She says writing has always been a hobby for her but winning the essay competition had
never crossed her mind.
“This is the first time I’m winning such a competition. I am good at writing but I didn’t expect to
win, all I wanted was to share my story”, says a clearly humble Justina.
Her story is not only touching, it is inspiring and makes one realise that life is truly what you make
of it. That despite her hardships, Justina still remained positive and never gave up. Michaela Fink,
the research assistant for the AIDS-orphans in Southern Africa (Namibia): “Social Crises and Social Powers” project was clearly pleased with the winner. “ Out of all the essays we received,
Justina’s was a clear winner. Hers was an open-hearted story and she had a nice way of
explaining her story. It is also interesting that she explains that it is not only orphans who are
going through hardships but many other children face the same challenges”, she says.
Her positive mentality and determination are truly inspiring and it is clearly evident why she won
this competition.
Below is Justina’s heartwarming story of struggle, hope and perseverance ...
Justina Vatilange Matatias, Swakopmund
In life, I realised something. I realised that care is very important for everyone. Let me share my
true story with the youth of Namibia. I’m a 15-year-old girl doing Grade 8 in Swakopmund in the
Erongo Region.
I grew up with my aunt. I learnt a lot in life. I came with her to Swakop in 2004, starting school in
2005 Grade 1 at Festus Gonteb Junior Primary School. Living with her, I went through thick and
thin, but I’m still strong and standing. I grew up far away from my biological parent and didn’t
receive any care or love from them, I grew up like an orphan. My aunt treated me so badly that I
even wanted to take my own life. She promised my parents to take care of me and treat me as if I
was her daughter, but she didn’t fulfill her promise. However, she secured a place in a school for
me, which I’m very grateful for. My mother is an Angolan, while my father is from Namibia.
When they separated from each other, my mother went back to her country in 2007 and that was
the last time I saw her. I only came to meet her in August this year, when I went the extra mile to
go look for her in Angola. I never visited her while she was in Namibia, because I was treated like
a slave. My aunt didn’t like it when I visited my mother. I cried day and night. I always prayed, but
God, it seems that God did not hear my prayers. Finally God answered my prayers. I moved out
of my aunt’s house and I am now living with good Samaritans.
At the moment these good Samaritans are taking care of me with assistance from my father. They
treat me like their biological child, maybe because God didn’t bless them with kids. I’m like their
only biological kid now. I believe that whether your parents are alive or not, it won’t make any
difference unless you are living with them. All you need to do as an individual is be self-confident
and have high self-esteem. I believed that with God everything is possible.
Talking from my own experience, I suffered like an orphan, but my parents are still alive. I used to
do all the chores and go to school with an empty stomach. I was like a nanny, but still that didn’t
affect my school work, I’m just as smart as a star. It’s very hard to grow up far away from your
parents, especially if they are alive. We know in our country people are dying of HIV/AIDS. The
number of orphans everyday is just skyrocketing. It’s very painful, when you lost your parents,
because of HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about that, we just need to take
care of the orphans and of course let’s not forget to educate the nation about the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
As a result of people dying of HIV/AIDS leaving their innocent children behind, there will be no
one to take care of them. These children might drop out of school, became criminals, start
sleeping around with sugar daddies/mummies to get money, end up being pregnant and infected
with the deadly disease. These are things that are happening around us, in communities and we
are doing nothing about these.
I urge the government to take care of orphans and street kids, to make sure that they are protected and safe. Despite all this, my message to the youth is for them to be strong and follow
their dreams. We all can do it, we are the future leaders.
Let’s keep that in mind and let’s not forget that with our almighty God nothing is impossible,
everything is possible. Together we as the youth can do it.
The Namibian - Sat 28 Sep 2013
http://www.namibian.com.na/index_print.php?id=3977 Seite 3 von 3
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