Amalia

Here is Amalia outside her friend’s ‘okubashu’ (the name given to these small zinc constructions). As Amalia had nowhere to live when she left her village and came to Ongwediva to look for work, her friend is sharing her home with Amalia. The two girls live in this tiny place. It has no windows. You can see the ‘kitchen’ area in the other photo. The rest of the building is taken up with the bed. Nearby is the communal cold water tap where the people in the vicinity draw their water for washing and cooking.
Jobs are scarce and there is no government assistance so it is hard for Amalia to build her own ‘okubashu’. She does not want to take the money we pay her for teaching us Oshiwambo, we just make a record of it and she sees it as saving towards her own place. She also braids hair well and any money she gets from braiding for people buys her food.