Nghiyalwa

Okongo village

Okongo is a large ,sandy, and forested so much that most of the time it is difficult to reach key areas as there is a gravel road that is not good and sometimes lead to car accidents due to dust. It’s situated 120 KM east of Eenhana, in Ohangwena region .Its Geographical location is Ohangwena, Namibia, Africa.The geographical coordinates is 17 34'0" South and 17 13'0" East.Okongo is about 140 KM in length and 50 KM in breadth. Its population density is approximately 25000.

Very few people who knew this place in the jungle of Ohangwena Region which one day will become one of the focal point of development. The first people to stay there were the san people. The san community knew this palace as their hunting place hence the name Okongo, which come from "onhele youkongo" (in oshiwambo) which means a place or forest for hunting. The son people who depend on hunting of wildlife and the gathering of wild fruit for survival stay in Okongo because there was a lot of wildlife and different types of fruits .The most commonly spoken language at home is oshiwambo.Most people who stay there are famers, who depend mainly on growing their crops and keepings animals for foods.

Educational sector

The educational sector in okongo areas has about 35 primary schools, like okongo primary school, teacher accommodations and one secondary school that’s Oshela senior secondary school. Due to a lack of technology most of the students especially at the secondary level end up not performing well because they do not get access to technology like computers, and others. Most people who stays there are not educated because they did not get that access to education.

Health services

Concerning the provision of health service and facilities, Okongo hospital is having a 62-bed hospital equipped with a mortuary and nurses homes was constructed and is run by a Namibian principal medical officer.Its so small that it can not accommodate that huge population that is staying der.

Development

There is a reasonable gravel road from Eenhana to Okongo that’s being constructed .The Trans-Caprive Highway, which will come from Rundu to Eenhana as part of effort to connect roads. Okongo is still developing. TheOkongo hospital is being extended due to a lot of population. Because it can not accommodate so many peoples who are living in and near by .The community has formed project forest project which protect the forest and Quarantine for cattle breeders. There is a quarantine near omauni which control the spread of disease from cattle’s that are coming from Rundu to Enhana and okongo respectively .They are also planning to build two silos with a capacity of 500 tones to reach its goal of self-sufficiency in food production. They also created a project for san community .As you know that san people were mainly depending on gathering fruits and hunting of wildlife soon food became scares .The government have come up with a project that distribute them with foods and clothes. Furthermore, they are also sponsored with houses .The okongo also introduce a training courses for which is conducted by Women's Action for Development (WAD).This project gives community members the skills in order for them to get job and depend on themselves. A total of about 120 unemployed women recently received certificate after successfully completing such courses.

political issues in okongo

Political issues in okongo are one of the things that have brought about fights and hatred amongst community members. Most of them have lost their lives and injured themselves due to different political parties that they are supporting. The Presidential election that was held last year causes many people from okongo with a lot of hatred against each other as people from different parties could not communicate.

References

By:[ NGHIYALWA JUSTINA POMBILI]