Parents are strongly encouraged to accompany their children to school to guarantee their safety in light of roaming elephants, and they should refrain from attempting to interact with these animals when they come across them during their journey to or from school.

This appeal was made by the principal of Nangula Junior Primary School, Amon Simon, which is located in the Tsandi constituency, where the issue of human-wildlife conflict is increasingly a concern. 

Livestock farmers and residents of the Omusati region, too, have been urged to refrain from provoking elephants that have been spotted in parts of the Omusati region where they are destroying crops in search of food.

"We heard such stories that elephants have been seen in the area in Okumunkushi and Omongothitu, and what we are trying to do and caution is just to educate our learners at least to stay away or go and get help when they see the wild animals. We are also cautioning them to escort the learners to school in case this situation of wild animals is still seen, as the elephants that are seen have not yet been removed by nature conservation. On our side, we always educate our learners that whenever they see a wild animal, they must not try to provoke it or play around with it, else it will pose danger to them," stresses Simon.

16 elephants caused damage to five mahangu fields at Omongothitu village in the Tsandi constituency when they were sighted in the village on Friday, where they consumed mahangu, sorghum and melons.

They returned again on Saturday, causing further destruction to crops.

One of the affected residents, Shalongo Isak, described the situation as devastating, as they have invested both time and money into food production, only for it to be destroyed by wild animals.

"We are really disappointed by the elephants that come here; we were having a lot of mahangu here and watermelons, and unfortunately for now we are not feeling well because of our food. We don't have any more food, and we depend on mahangu. It is the first time we are now here five years; for the first time we get it, and we are not happy. There were 16 elephants here for the first day, and the second day, only four."

He is now calling on the government to assist them with food items. 

Officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) visited the affected homesteads, assessed the damage and assured residents that they would follow up with them next week.