Hi!

My name is Ndahafa Ruth Shilengifa. I’m a 34 year old Namibian lady from Windhoek, currently studying „Enrolled Nursing“ at Welwitschia University, to become a nurse.

And I’m totally running out of money for all and everything due to different circumstances.

I am in need of 18.000 NAD (about 950 EUR) school fees for this semester, which ends in June. This fees need to be paid until to mid of May. Otherwise I am not allowed to take part at the exams in June and go on with my studies.

I was born in the Namibian town called Otjiwarongo and grew up mostly in Windhoek. I had the chance to go to school and finish at grad 12 with Senior Secondary Certificate. After school, I needed to earn money as soon as possible, so I started to work for Namib Poultry, Namibias biggest chicken meat company. I was responsible for packing the meat and filling fridges with it in different supermarkets every day.

My parents are already pensioners in the Namibian north, seasonally growing their own crops and vegetables. I have five siblings, living in different towns.

I do have two lovely children: Abigail with 8 years and Julia with 4 years. Their fathers are also suffering from poverty, so it is hard to get financial support from them.

Abigail and other family children are living with their grandparents, my parents, in the north. She is able to go to school and currently in grade two. She was the best in her grade last year, so she is doing very well.

Julia is currently with me in Windhoek and she is in preschool.

The costs of living are very high in Namibia, compared to a regular income.

The monthly costs which need to be spend are about 7500 NAD.

For example:

2800 for rent

130 for drinking water

100 for other water from the tap, 2 minutes away

500 for power

800 for gas for cooking

1500 for food

(example prices: 95 NAD for 2 l cooking oil, 70 NAD for 5 kg maize meal, 60 NAD for 2,5 kg bread flower, 90 NAD for 35 eggs, 130 NAD for cheap polony/salami, 80 NAD for 3 kg noudles, 130 NAD for 5 kg rice, 120 NAD for 7 kg potatoes, 230 NAD for 4 kg chicken meat, 200 NAD for 4 kg cheap fish, 80 NAD for 2 kg washing powder)

300 for toiletries

800 for taxi to go to work/school (There are no regular buses in Windhoek. The public transport is made by shared taxis.)

300 (private) preschool fee for Julia

125 (public) school fee for Abigail (currently 1500 NAD annual school fees for Abigail (for example for school uniforms, pens, erasers, papers, but also toilet paper to bring to school))

By the way, there are always some unexpected expenses, for example because of no/poor harvest (caused by no / not enough / too much rain), contributions for funerals or weddings, support of a family member who is currently suffering more again.

My income at Namib Poultry, full-time with overtime and weekends, was about 5500 NAD.

Resulting too high costs and too low income, I found myself getting deeper and deeper into debts and troubles. It was serious that I needed to change something.

So I made a good plan and decided to go to University to become a nurse. The expected income after this 2 years of qualification will be starting with 15.000 NAD – wow!

Leaving my job and starting university last September, there is no more income and additionally to the costs of daily life, now, my monthly school fee is 3200 NAD.

But, due to my plan, I would have had enough money to „survive“ this two years of university: I was planning to get a Governmental Student Fund. When I applied, unfortunately, I didn’t qualify because I missed with just one point.

So me and my current boyfriend made another plan: I had some savings from my pension fund. We used it to buy a second hand car which we made to run as a taxi. This income should cover some of our daily needs. But unfortunately this car is more broken than running. We mostly need to invest again in this car by fixing it than profit from it. The salary of my boyfriend is more than used up regularly.

To cover some of the urgent expenses, I am preparing and selling some food on the weekends, which brings maybe around 300 NAD.

But in the end, it is just not enough money. Every day. And every hour.

I feed my child and stay hungry myself. The fridge is mostly empty. The power is switched off sometimes, when not paid.

I work very hard, I don’t get enough sleep, study in the evening and morning, take care of my child and do all the household chores. I would love to finish this education as a nurse. I want my children to grow up safely and provide a better education for them to ensure a better life for me and my family.

I would be more than grateful if you can assist me with your donation. Even if it’s just some Euros. Every Euro will help. I hope it will be possible to reach the goal of 950,-€ till mid of May and I can go on with my studies. I will go on working really hard to succeed.

Thank you very much for your support! I sincerely appreciate it. It will really make a big difference in my life! May god bless you and your family.

My German good friend since almost 20 years, Gudi, brought the idea of this fundraising and is helping me to organize all this. We will create a Whatsapp group, to share news about my studies and life. Let Gudi or me know if your are interested in joining the group.

Thank you!

Ruth