Settlement covered in colour
Okahandja Park, with its thousands of corrugated shacks, is undergoing a transformation, or at least for now a small part on the outskirts.The 22 houses that have already been painted are located along Hereford Street (the old Brakwater Road).
The man behind the transformation is local artist Ndako Nghipandulwa.
"Two years ago I drove past here . I stopped at the top of the mountain and took a picture. There were children playing. They rolled down tires from up here on the mountain and I used the children in the artwork I was doing," he said.
After he finished his artwork, he realised that the people in the painting would not benefit from his work and he went back to Okahandja Park
"I showed them the children's photos and traced their parents. I told them that should I sell the artwork, I will donate the money to them."
He sold the artwork three months later and bought food and school shoes with the money, among other things.
"When I went back to distribute the items, I saw a house where the owner had written on the door 'Slaaf. Poor man'. It encouraged me to paint and beautify the shacks. I thought this is how the man sees himself and if I can beautify his surroundings, he may begin to see himself in a different light."
Ndako met Lukas Dinyando, an electrician who lives in the Okahandja Park area, when he started painting.
"The people who live here are very excited about their painted houses. We teach the community to paint and at the same time to keep their environment clean.
"Everyone wants their house painted, but we don't have enough paint. So we paint as we get hold of paint. The residents are happy and they now like their neighbourhood," Lukas said.
Ndako says they painted 22 houses in 15 days with about 100 more households in the area waiting for painting.
"I want to involve other artists in the project next year. We would like to keep painting and spreading the positivity; we just need paint. The project started with a grant I received from the National Arts Council. In the meantime, I have already received N$8 200 from the public to buy more paint. Many people also contact me and offer their help to paint.
"If people have paint lying around and they no longer use it, they can contact me. I'll use it here, as long as it's just water-based paint. Any colour or quantity is welcome. We just need paint; we have manpower and willpower in abundance." – [email protected]