Left to survive: Angolan children endure hunger, cold on city streets
The little girl cannot be older than three. Standing barefoot beside a busy Windhoek intersection, she clutches a small plastic container almost as big as her hands. Cars slow, some drivers roll down their windows, others look away. When the traffic light turns green, she retreats to the roadside where several other children wait under the winter sun.
A baby lies limp in the arms of an older child nearby. The infant’s eyes drift shut repeatedly, struggling to stay awake in the cold. Another toddler sits silently on the pavement. For many motorists, the children have become a familiar part of the city’s streetscape. For those who stop and speak to them, a more troubling reality emerges. Over recent months, growing numbers of Angolan children have appeared at intersections, shopping centres and busy roads across Windhoek and other urban areas, surviving on coins and food given by strangers.
Some are barely old enough to speak. Others speak in hushed tones, often glancing over their shoulders before answering. Several children interviewed described travelling from Angola to Namibia by bus. One boy said he paid N$50 for the journey. “We came with a bus,” he said quietly.
Another group of boys, estimated to be between four and nine years old, said they travelled without parents and described themselves as orphans. These accounts could not be independently verified. Fear was a recurring feature in many conversations. One boy, believed to be around nine years old, broke down in tears when asked whether he felt afraid of someone, before falling silent and walking away.
Their hesitation raises difficult questions about who is responsible for their care and whether all children on the streets are truly unaccompanied. Some children said the money they collect is used to buy food for themselves and those they live with. One said that without daily earnings, there is often nothing to eat.
Their accounts paint a picture of survival shaped by poverty, migration, and uncertainty. The children said that what they earn in Namibia, however little, is more than what they could receive in their communities back home. For them, coins handed through car windows represent not just charity, but survival.
A crisis years in the making
The presence of Angolan children on Namibia’s streets is not new, but authorities have acknowledged that the situation has intensified.
In 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security confirmed it was intensifying intervention measures following growing concern over the increasing number of Angolan children in Windhoek and other towns. At the time, ministry executive director Etienne Daniel Nghidinua said Namibian authorities were working with Angolan counterparts to address the situation. He confirmed that 74 Angolan children and several adults had previously been repatriated and reunited with families. “This collaborative action ensured a safe and dignified repatriation,” he said.
However, many of those children reportedly returned to Namibia and were again seen on the streets. “It is noted with concern that the same group or number of children and adults are again visible in streets and other places in various urban centres,” Nghidinua said.
Earlier operations also saw immigration officials rounding up about 200 Angolan children across several regions, with some placed in a facility in northern Namibia. Of those, 120 were repatriated, while others remained. Cabinet later approved N$2.8 million to improve the facility, but tensions reportedly led to the collapse of reintegration efforts, with many children returning to street life.
Hunger, cold, and survival
Angolan nationals, including children as young as five, say they are battling hunger, cold weather and harsh living conditions as they attempt to survive on the streets of Windhoek. During interviews conducted by Network Media Hub (NMH), children aged between five and 12 described going days without proper meals and sleeping without blankets during winter. “We find it hard to eat every day. In most cases, we get leftovers from the people we encounter on the road, whether they are driving or walking,” one child said.
The children said they often survive on one meal a day, if they are lucky. “We usually eat once a day or nothing at all. Mostly bread is the go-to meal every day. We do not bathe because we do not have water for that,” another said.
They described overcrowded living conditions in Okuryangava, where they said dozens of Angolan nationals reside in makeshift shelters. “We all come from Okuryangava. That is where we live. It is very full, and nobody cooks because the money we get is used to buy something cheap to feed the stomach,” one child said.
The children said many arrived in Namibia without parents. “Most of us here, especially the boys, came by ourselves and left our parents in Angola. We are struggling to adjust to the cold. We have no blankets,” one said. They also claimed younger children are often sent to busier areas because they are more likely to receive help. “If you are young, you are most likely to go to town since we are deemed energetic, whereas the older ones stay closer,” a child explained.
The group said they travel in clusters across Windhoek, working different areas to beg for food and money. Some also alleged fear of adults around transport loading points, claiming they are told not to speak freely without payment. “We are scared of the guys by the side of the road who assist with loading people. They tell us not to speak for free,” one child alleged. The children said they arrived in Namibia by bus, paying about N$50 each.
Life at the margins
NMH also spoke to Nene Kalende (26), who is raising three children while surviving through begging. “I have about three children here with me. I am not the only lady here with kids; there are a few of us,” she said.
Kalende said more than 60 people live in makeshift conditions near a bridge in Okuryangava. “We live in Okuryangava close to a bridge. There are over 60 of us there, and it is not nice, but it is the only suitable place for us at the moment,” she said. She said survival depends entirely on daily begging.“There are days when we share one slice of bread among five people and it’s really difficult,” she said. Kalende confirmed that children are often sent out because they are more likely to receive assistance. “We mostly allow the kids to roam the streets to get something because they are more approachable and energetic,” she said.
She added that winter has worsened already difficult conditions. “We do not have blankets and cannot make a fire to keep ourselves warm at night,” she said. Kalende appealed for assistance. “We would like the government to assist us with getting a warm shelter. We are just trying to survive and guide the little ones,” she said. During its visit, NMH observed children appearing visibly frail and exhausted, with some struggling to remain alert in the cold. In one instance, a woman immediately consumed a bread roll brought by a child without sharing it. Fighting through hunger, herself.
