As a driver and owner of a vehicle, safety is the priority, especially when you park it at a specific place.
One is always worried about break-ins, especially when there are valuables in the car. This is because even if the vehicle is armed with an alarm, thieves will still break in by smashing the windows.
This safety is most of the time provided by the people that might be overlooked or underestimated.
The volunteer car guards are everywhere in Windhoek and almost every town in Namibia.
The guys who will approach you as soon as you park and ask if they can watch your car and ensure your belongings are safe while you are either shopping or having coffee with a friend/ business meeting.
There is not much that car owners can offer, but the little financial contribution to these individuals usually goes a long way in helping them buy bread and provide for their family back home.
At Game Shopping Centre in the capital, a 26-year-old car guard says N$50 a day is what stands between him and nothing.
Before the first shoppers arrive and long after the last trolley rolls back, Kambinda Moses is on his feet in the parking lot at Game Shopping Centre in Southern Industrial. He watches over people’s cars, and in return he hopes for whatever they are willing to give.
On a typical day, that is about N$50. Out of that small amount, the 26-year-old pays his rent, buys his groceries and, when there is something left, buys clothes. There is little room for anything else.
“The little I make here is what I use to pay for my rental room in the location where I am renting. Also, I buy groceries and support some family members who aren’t making anything in their lives. The little I make is what I share with my beloved people,” he said.
Moses did not plan to spend his youth in a parking lot. Seven years ago, he left his home village in Kavango and came to Windhoek, carrying only the hope of finding a “greener pasture.” He says the struggles he faced at home pushed him to leave, and that he came to the capital to look for a better life.
The city did not open its doors the way he had imagined. Without a college qualification, or any qualification for that matter, he says the options narrowed quickly, and he found himself with no choice but to guard cars. Seven years later, he is still there.
For a man his age, it is a hard thing to say out loud: that the future he came to chase has shrunk to a patch of tarmac, and that the daily N$50 is what keeps him going while he waits for something better.
Every day brings a gamble. Some drivers greet him with a smile, a kind word and a coin. Others walk past as if he is invisible, or worse, speak to him with rudeness.
“It all depends on the people we deal with at the time,” Moses said. “Sometimes you come across people who are rude to you, and as a car guard, you have to learn how to deal with them.” He has learned to swallow the sting and keep working, because he cannot afford to let it show.
Then he pauses on the other side of the story, the one that keeps him standing there.
“But a lot of times we get positive responses from them,” he said, “as we are called saviours and heroes for keeping their goods safe.”
For a young man who left home with little and has found even less, being called a hero, even briefly and even by a stranger heading to their car with shopping bags, carries weight. It is a reminder that the work he does matters to someone.
Moses’s story is not unusual. Across Windhoek, many young people arrive home with the same hope and discover that the city rewards qualifications they do not have. They take whatever work they can find and stay. Through the media, such as this publication, they have a voice, and Moses used the opportunity to appeal to those with the means to be kind and supportive towards all car guards and give them better tips, as such money is needed to feed families.
For as long as the sun rises and sets, the parking lot heroes at Game Centre say they will keep showing up and do what they do best, protecting property and providing comfort and safety. – mkambukwe@nepc.com.na
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