WINDHOEK NEMENE HELMICH
“If everyone sat around feeling sorry for themselves and expecting the government to provide for them, then we will just be a nation of beggars and would go nowhere as a country”.
These are the words of 23-year-old Ndara Willem from Okahandja Park in Katutura, who decided last year that he will not sit around waiting for handouts from family members or government, but will rather strive and work hard to make something of himself.
He did just that and today he is a jack of all trades, as he runs his own barber shop and a bicycle repair business during the day while working as a security guard at night, so that he can make enough money to send himself back to school.
Willem's story is one of perseverance and hard work, especially for a young man who could easily be busy with criminal activities or demanding that government gives him a job, as so many of the country's youth are doing.
After he finished Grade 12 with poor marks in 2011, he decided to leave his poverty-stricken family in Rundu and join an aunt and uncle in Windhoek so that he could try and do something to improve his marks or even just get a job to support himself.
He said it was hard decision to come to Windhoek and times were tough when he had to live with his uncle, aunt and their children. But there is nothing bitter or angry about Willem, in fact he talks in such a friendly and easygoing manner it is hard to believe that he lived a life of poverty.
''I came last year and my uncle helped me get a job in a security company were I worked at night and then I decided to go to school during the day so I enrolled at Triumphant College, where I started a course in electrical engineering. I was always fascinated by electrical gadgets and I decided that is what I want to do for a living,'' said Willem.
He said he was happy because with his salary from the security job, he could afford to pay for his course and still have a bit left to feed himself.
However, he was also sad because he did not have enough money to send home to his parents in Rundu.
'”But this just made me more determined to work hard at school so that I can do something better than security work and be able to help my family,” said the soft but well-spoken young man
Unfortunately for Willem, as it also happens with many people doing contract work, the security company did not keep him on for long and he and other workers were let go due to financial constraints the company faced.
Willem found himself out of work and of course unable to afford paying his college fees.
His luck changed, however, and a few months ago he got another job with a different security company, but since it was too late for him to at that stage go back to school and pick up from where he left off, he decided to set up a barbershop and also use his knowledge of repair work to fix bicycles and other electrical equipment such as radios to make extra money.
“I thought to myself since I work the night shift at the security company, I should do something with my time during the day that can also make me some extra money, because I did not want to be faced with the same situation where I could not afford to pay for and complete my studies,” he said.
Willem added that completing his certificate is his top priority when he goes back to school next year, but that he will also continue to run his business during his spare time.
He is also happy that he can send a little money every month to his elderly parents in Rundu, but his dream is to have a proper job or thriving business one day and really take good care of them and his other family members in the village.
Willem makes about N$50 to N$60 on a good day, charging N$10 for cutting or shaving hair and he also charges for fixing electronic devices but the cost depends on the damage he has to repair.
Meanwhile, Willem is also very clued-up about solar energy and this source of power in his barber shop, saying he likes it as it is cheaper and easier for him.
In the end, his is a story of hope - knowing that there are still young men and women out there who are happy to do the hard work to better their lives and make their country a better place.
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