Against the odds: Boy (5) found under ‘cave-like rock’ after week alone

Alone under a rock with nothing but a bottle of tombo and dirty water.

This is how a boy (5) from Nalitungwe in Windhoek’s Moses !Garoëb constituency survived for seven days before being found on Saturday.

The boy, whose identity is being protected, was starving, covered in mosquito bites, and full of scrapes and cuts from thorns.
He left home with his mother on 25 January to fetch firewood in the veld.

His mom left him at what is called a ‘parking rock’ to tie up a pile of branches she had left behind.

Constituency councillor Stephanus Ndengu, who helped search for the child, this week confirmed that the boy was carrying a bottle of tombo when he ran from the rock to escape a herd of cattle.

His father yesterday said the bottle of tombo belonged to his mother, who usually leaves it with the boy when she moves away while collecting wood. It was not intended for the boy’s use.

The parents said he had never seen cattle before and was frightened by the animals.

Subsequently, the boy’s mother could not find him.

“When I came back, my son was gone. I called for him, but there was no answer. I went home hoping I would find him there, but no,” she said yesterday.

The police appealed to the public for assistance in tracing the boy’s whereabouts on 30 January.

Ndengu said a search party, including the police and neighbours, used speakers to try and call out to the boy.

He was finally found at Okondjima Lodge farm near Havana on Saturday.

Wanaheda police inspector Genus Neliwa this week confirmed that the boy was missing for seven days and that a search party had been deployed to look for him, starting at the point where his mother had left him.

The boy’s father yesterday said he was found under a huge, cave-like rock where he slept while he was missing.
“He had been drinking dirty water.

The people who found him said they found dirty water in his bottle,” he said.

He said the boy had not been harmed or injured by animals, and expressed deep gratitude to the search party.

The Namibian visited the boy at Katutura hospital on Wednesday, where he has been admitted.

He is in a stable condition, with wounds on his feet caused by thorns.

CHILD NEGLECT CONCERNS

Counsellor and social behaviour analyst Mike Haidula says such incidents do not necessarily point to neglect.
Parents at informal settlements often try their best to provide their children with food and shelter, which could mean taking a child along to fetch firewood.

“This is a painful symptom of a much larger problem,” Haidula says.

“In informal settlements, parents face impossible choices every day.”

“While it might look like neglect, I see it as a failure of the system to provide families with the support they desperately need.”

He says the experience could be deeply traumatic for the child, as being lost for days could shatter his sense of safety.

Possible long-term effects could include anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, Haidula says.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.