A flagrant violation of the Child Care and Protection Act of 2015 has been reported from Nzinze village, situated in the Musese constituency of the Kavango West Region, where four minor girls have been abandoned by both their parents.
The father left in 2015 when the youngest was just a few months old and never returned, while the mother disappeared in 2020.
In their parents' absence, a 14-year-old sibling has taken on the role of caregiver for her younger sisters.
Their eldest sister, who has a hearing impairment, resides in a hostel.
An anonymous resident, fighting back tears, shared the hardships the girls face. The community occasionally extends a helping hand.
"It is an uncomfortable situation where a 14-year-old child is responsible for a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old. And it is very tough. They can even stay without food or go around asking for help in exchange for food. So the school councillor and a principal agreed that we should give them a bag of food each and every week. We give them a sack of soft porridge, which they carry home. And then with that, it was helping a bit, but then yet, the child is occupied; sometimes they go for labour, just to get something to buy soap because the sack won't assist with washing powders and other things."
A social worker for the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication, and Social Welfare, Ndapunikwa Mathias, confirmed the situation.
"So as a ministry, we have recognised this as a child-headed household according to the Child Care Protection Act, Section 225, Subsection 1, paragraphs A to D. So, we have identified that this is a child headed household, and we are in the process of registering them with the grant. We have also identified that one of them has a disability, and we are also in the process of taking that one to the doctor so that they can assess it, we can get a medical report, and then we can register for a disability grant."
In collaboration with the police, the ministry is making every effort to locate the parents.
"We are going to trace them through the police officers and other social workers from the other regions. As long as we do find them and they are brought to book or they are brought in so that they can explain to us why they have abandoned these minors."
Both parents, when they were traced, promised to visit the children this month.
The Ministry of Gender is concerned about the sisters' safety, especially at night.
"One of the concerns when these children are left alone during the night is that men do come and disturb them, and they are prone to sexual abuse and rape. So we found a suitable caregiver that is currently taking care of them while we are making arrangements to also transfer the kids to a school hostel and then also just to try what is best for the children because, at the end of the day, the best interest of the child takes priority."