A 25-year-old disabled young woman from the Okombahe Settlement, Erongo Region, is appealing for assistance in securing a dignified ablution facility.
 
Mercia ||Guruse was born and raised in the Okombahe settlement, situated in east central Namibia.

Born without limbs, ||Guruse recounts a tough upbringing, having to crawl on her knees and navigate rocky terrain often filled with thorns and broken glass.

She has never allowed her condition to discourage her from going into business and running her own ice supply operation.

She takes pride in her love for housework, from cleaning to cooking to doing the laundry.

She lives with her mother, who she says does everything in her power to make life easier for her.

"If I become sick, my mother is the one taking me to the clinic. I need a toilet as I am staying in a place built out of corrugated iron. If I can get help, I want to go to the toilet myself; I want to sit on a toilet pot; now my mother has to take my waste and pour it in the toilet pot for me."

The Okombahe Resettlement Office says they are aware of the young woman's situation and have sought assistance from donors and sponsors to help not only her but other people with disabilities as well.

Another resident of the settlement with a disability is 39-year-old Helmuth ||Hoeb, whose house was destroyed by a recent rainstorm.

What once was his home now lies in a heap of rubble.

"While I was asleep, the roof of the house collapsed, and when I woke up, I got up and jumped out of the window, and I ran; I don't have the ability to fix this house. I am calling on anyone that can help me, but the problem here is that there is no one to help me; I am disabled and jobless."

The unemployed ||Hoeb cannot fix his house on his own and is appealing for help.