Litembu's ordeal

Iitembu Teophilia is a determined young girl whose dreams are torn between two worlds.
Teophilia comes from a humble background of seven children, two boys and five girls. She is the second born in her family.
She has struggled to complete her high school education in the North at Iishanaputa Combined School in 2007 under very strenuous circumstances as she did not have adequate financial support.
However, despite the financial hurdles that Teophilia encountered, she managed to obtain 25 points in her Grade 12 examinations.
‘’I tried to work hard in my school work despite the financial constraints that I was faced with,’’said Teophilia.
Her parents are peasant farmers in the North of Namibia who could barely afford to meet her needs to ensure she completes her high school education as well as fend for the entire family.
Narrating her ordeal, Teophilia disclosed that her parents sent her to school through selling agriculture produce such as finger-millet and sorghum.
‘’My parents could hardly afford to meet all my school fees and expenses because they were only able to sell sorghum and finger-millet which they cultivated on a small scale on a piece of land they acquired a few years ago,’’said Teophilia.
Despite all these struggles, she worked very hard to complete her high school education with the intention of pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Economics but her dreams are yet to become a reality.
She said last year, she opted to leave her parents in the North and went to live with her aunty in Katutura in Windhoek with a view of getting formal employment so that she could raise funds in order to continue with her tertiary education.
However, as time dragged on, Teophilia became apprehensive as no employment opportunities were forthcoming. It was at this point that Teophilia’s aunty opened up a store at Single Quarters which stocks assorted goods and requested her services as she looked around for something to lay her hands on.
She said, ‘’I did not realise that my aunty would be so passionate to offer me a job to help sort out my financial needs’’.
Teophilia’s aunty realised the predicament her niece was in and offered her a monthly take home pay of 400namibian dollars on condition that she strives to make at least over 3,000namibian dollars a month.
She was also offered this job on the basis that she could raise funds for her further training that she intended to pursue.
Teophilia further revealed that, a day she makes between 150-200namibian dollars and described the business as quite profitable.
She is now at pains which route to take because on the one hand she feels the urge of assisting her young brothers to also complete high school while on the other hand she has a career to pursue which would make her better placed to support the family.
‘’I do not know what to do now because I know I need to get educated but I also do not want to neglect my brothers because only my elder sister works for the Namibian Defence Force and tries to support our family single handedily,’’she said.
Teophilia feels the responsibility burden is too heavy on her elder sister being the only one working and wants to complement her sister’s efforts.
She is in a valley of decision because both sides of the coin are important aspects of her life and it is up to her to decide which route to take in order to excel in her future endeavours.