31.03.2008
FEATURE: Money for School Fees, Food and Medication
Lutheran Bishop-Led Initiative Brings Hope to Impoverished Namibian CommunityOTJIVERO-OMITARA, Eastern Namibia/GENEVA, 31 March 2008 (LWI) - Mid-February 2008 marked the second month of the implementation of a pilot project for a basic income grant (BIG) in Namibia. This is only the beginning of a two-year trial phase, but many residents of the Otjivero-Omitara community, who will receive the 24-month payout, are already counting the positive benefits of the BIG at family level, and its potential for collective development projects to improve the community's living standards.
Martha Kristian and Melca Ourum, teachers at the Otjivero Primary School said the BIG payout secures not only basic education needs for many children from poor families, it also provides opportunities for further training. "It is really a good thing as many students' school fees have been paid and the children can wear proper school uniform. They can also attend sports' meetings at other schools as there will be money in the bank," explained Kristian.
Until the pilot project's implementation, the school depended mainly on irregular donations from sponsors in this community where unemployment is very high. Only those who worked on farms could afford to pay some of the schooling costs. "But now one can really see the parents have paid the school fees," remarked Ourum. Both teachers are optimistic their school will gradually manage its financial obligations without having to rely on donors' support.
USD 13 Monthly
Kristian and Ourum are among 900 Otjivero-Omitara community residents who will receive a monthly income of 100 Namibian dollars (approximately USD 13) each from January 2008 until December 2009 in the country's first BIG pilot project. The grant is aimed at fighting poverty, reducing inequality and fostering economic development.
Poverty is prevalent throughout Namibian society, and is manifested in different forms among the country's 1.8 million people. According to the National Planning Commission, 75 percent of the population lives below the poverty line-on less than USD 1.50 per day-in an economy dependent on abundant mineral resources, yet known to have one of the highest income inequality rates in the world. More than 62 percent of the population lives in the rural areas, relying on subsistence agriculture. Unemployment among 20-24-year-olds was estimated at 57.4 percent in 2004, and could be as high as 60 percent today in this age group.
It is against this background that a broad-based civil society coalition including churches was formed in April 2005 to advocate the implementation of a basic income grant for all Namibians below pensionable age. The money for people who are not in need would be recuperated through tax adjustments. The proposal for such a grant stems from a government-appointed tax commission in 2002. At the end of 2006, the coalition decided to start a pilot project to concretely show that such a grant can work, and showcase its positive effects on poverty alleviation and economic development.
Redistributive Justice, Education
Led by Bishop Dr Zephania Kameeta of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), the coalition argues that while it is the ultimate goal to lobby government responsibility to implement such a grant, the coalition should lead by example. Its members are raising funds to facilitate the grant payout in one community, thereby setting an example of redistributive justice. They also document the implications of income security for poverty reduction and economic development.
Kameeta is the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Vice-President for the African region.
Poverty is a daily reality in Otjivero, an informal settlement which only developed in the last 10 years or so, and neighbors Omitara village. A nurse at the Omitara health clinic agreed the monthly income grant "makes the people's lives more comfortable, as they can now educate their children and feed their families." She was upbeat about the implications for people living with HIV. "They came to me and said they will now use the money to receive treatment from Gobabis town [in the east], while some even come to ask me for a lift to town to buy their food," she said.
But the nurse, who chose anonymity, also stressed the need to educate the community's residents about their long-term socio-economic security. Citing some cases, she underscored the need to understand the risks related to such income. "They [beneficiaries] must stay away from alcohol," she cautioned. She spoke also of cases of malnutrition and underweight children, stressing education on family nutrition.
She readily offered her assistance to facilitate a positive impact for the BIG. "I will in the future be available and investigate how the money is used. I am also busy with a program where I weigh children on given periods. With this money, the people can now pay for their clinic visits and we can have funds to obtain more medicine and take weaker patients to Gobabis more frequently." There would be added benefits for the community health center: "People will visit the clinic more often and the [health] ministry will see the need for a second nurse," she added.
Critics
Kameeta took issue with community members who argued the grant's beneficiaries had wasted the January money on alcohol rather than using it to improve their living conditions. "I know that there are people who do not want to let go of the past and try to justify their vested interests by all means. These are not new people, nor is their rhetoric new," he remarked in his speech presented by ELCRN Deputy Bishop Paul Kisting at the 15 February BIG payout.
Kameeta said he was "not downplaying the problem of alcohol abuse across all race lines and all income groupings in our society, but it is not a problem confined to poor people." He mentioned two new businesses started by village residents since January that "deliberately do not sell any alcohol."
The ELCRN bishop expressed optimism that these new businesses would finally allow the residents of Otjivero - Omitara to make real consumer choices instead of being forced to buy at inflated prices from a monopoly. He noted the principal of the village's primary school had confirmed that more than double the number of parents who usually paid school fees did so in January.
Kameeta called on critics of the BIG pilot project to be patient and allow for the necessary academic research and assessment before forming their opinions. "Because we know how easily old stereotypes are repeated, we aim to be specific and academically sound and use the research results in the assessment of the project's success."
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko commended the Namibian coalition for the poverty eradication initiative. "Through the Basic Income Grant, the churches and people of Namibia demonstrate that poverty can be tackled, and there is hope that the way forward is bright as long as there is political will," he said in a message to the coalition on the occasion of the February payout.
Noko described the initiative as an invitation to other churches and communities to explore programs that will enable those who experienced the pain of poverty to turn their situations around. "It is about how our God-endowed resources can be justly managed and resources are redistributed," he added. (1,203 words)
(A contribution from the ELCRN desk for Social Development)
More information on the BIG coalition in Namibia at: www.bignam.org/index.html
"So the poor may have hope and injustice shuts its mouth" - an LWF publication on Poverty and the Mission of the Church in Africa can be ordered at: uli@lutheranworld.org
Also available, a special issue of Lutheran World Information on Stewardship of Wealth - Overcoming Poverty at: www.lutheranworld.org/What_We_Do/OCS/LWI-2007-PDF/LWI-200708-EN-low.pdf or write to info@lutheranworld.org
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