Child dies after falling into well

A six-year-old boy died at the weekend after falling seven metres down a well at Amarika in the Omusati Region.
Community members are suspecting that the boy drowned while trying to collect water from the well – situated just five metres from a non-functioning desalination plant donated by Germany.
The boy has been identified as Martin Andiyatuye Iipinge, a learner at the Amarika Primary School.
The incident was confirmed by the Omusati police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Linekela Shikongo, who said an inquest was opened at the Okahao police station.
Iipinge went missing on Saturday evening and was only discovered by people who went to collect water from the well the next morning.
People at the village claimed that the boy had not been attending school regularly for the past few weeks, since the school feeding programme was suspended.
The lack of food has forced pupils to pick wild fruit at a local conservancy and they usually visit the well upon their return.
The councillor of the Otamanzi Constituency, Johannes Iyambo, in which Amarika falls, also confirmed the boy’s death.
“We are suspecting that the boy was trying to drink water from the well. I am waiting for the family to prepare a death certificate and see if we can bury him through the marginalised people funeral scheme.
“Deceased members of these communities are still buried wrapped in blankets on the same day, without death certificates issued or the use of their funeral schemes,” Iyambo said.


Water woes


Namibian Sun has reported several times on the plight of the people of Amarika in recent months. Despite the presence of a N$200 million desalination plant, community leaders have called on the government to supply them with drinking water because the plant isn’t working and well water in the area is saline.
Last month, Namibian Sun visited this area followed a response from the German embassy to a previous report which stated that the community was drinking water laced with nitrates because the government failed to maintain the desalination plant donated by Germany six years ago. The embassy downplayed this report, saying it was incorrect.
Namibian Sun earlier reported that in 2006, the German/Namibia research project CuveWaters, through Integrated Water Resources Management with funds from the German education and research ministry (BMBF), installed two solar-powered desalination plants at Amarika and Akutsima for N$200 million.
The system was capable of producing 3.3 cubic metres of clean drinking water daily, but came to a halt immediately after it was handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry in 2010, and hasn’t been operational since then.
Since there is no other water source at Amarika, people are using water from wells and boreholes. They say this water is making them ill.
The Omusati Regional Council fills the water tank at the desalination plant once a month, but the people say it lasts them only about three days. The region has only one tanker truck.


ILENI NANDJATO