Ondangwa – As flood waters in northern Namibia subside after nearly four months, residents are slowly repairing their homesteads, harvesting the few remaining crops and sending children back to school.
"At first it was nice not having to go to school, because the floods prevented classes," 12-year-old Tangeni Shivute said. "But I missed my teachers and being with the other children."
He lives in a small village tucked behind newly woven grass walls and in the shade of tall palm trees characteristic of the flat, white-sanded plains around Ondangwa, just
Schools are supposed to be on holiday now, but after floods forced closures across the region, thousands of students now sit in class to catch up during the break.
More than 200 schools were closed because they were surrounded by water or because young children were too small to walk across the huge flat pans – locally known as oshanas – filled with water one metre deep.
Source: AHU – David A-O