7 people. 7 stories of hope, change and opportunity. 

Since May 2021, 39-year-old Azerica and her eight children have been living in an informal camp in Etunda, Omsati region, Namibia.

Originally from Angola, Azerica and her community were accustomed to surviving on wheat. However, continued lack of rain caused the wheat to wither and dry, denying them a harvest for the past three consecutive years. After slaughtering all the animals that had survived the drought, there was no choice but to migrate to Namibia.

March 2021 saw an influx of climate migrants from Angola into Namibia as borderland communities fled the devastating effects of the prolonged drought on their crops and livestock. By December, the number of migrants living in the camp had increased to over 3,400 (including more than 1,000 children, some born in the camp).

In response, UNDP Namibia implemented the Rapid Response COVID-19 and Climate Shock Initiative with funding from the UNDP Africa Borderlands Centre. This quick-impact response provided the migrants with livelihood products including tents, clothes, food, shoes, blankets and sanitary products.

When asked if she would return to Angola, Azerica, holding her three-month old son who was born in the camp, defiantly said, “If the rains come, we will go back. However, it will be hard for me to cultivate the land because my two brothers have left to find work in Namibia. I will make it though. It’s my home.”

The initiative in Namibia ran from October to December 2021, with the aim to support livelihoods, food security and climate resilience for borderland communities in the Omusati, Kunene and Zambezi regions. Similar rapid response initiatives were implemented in Kenya, Sierra Leone and Niger over the same period.

Update: In January 2022, the Namibian government began repatriating the migrants to Angola as reported by the Namibian Sun.

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