Anniken Wiik (34) and daughter Ada (10) face an uncertain winter. They are not alone in that. New figures show that 19,000 children in Oslo live in households with a low income.
“Does it help if I give you this, Mom?”
The 10-year-old found a 20 kroner on the ground this morning. Then she hurried into her mother’s house.
That might help a little. Unless something unforeseen happens. Like getting a fine of NOK 1,800 because you couldn’t afford a bus ticket.
Or when your health fails, and you have to drop the vitamins you really need, to avoid deficiency diseases.
These scenarios have been the reality for Anniken Wiik (34) daughter Ada (10) this autumn. But the struggle to make ends meet has been going on for a long time. When other expenses are paid, Wiik states that they have NOK 2,000 for food each month.
– It is tough to hand over your life in this way. You feel naked and undressed, says Wiik about appearing in Aftenposten.
But hiding the crisis they live in is not an option.
And she knows where to go to talk openly with others about it.
A little hope
The Wiik family is far from the only family in Norway that lives below the poverty line.
A new report from Statistics Norway and the Red Cross summarizes it as follows:
- 19,000 children in Oslo live in low-income households.
- In the district of Stovner, where the Wiik family lives, this applies to as many as a third of the children.
- In the sub-district of Fossum, more than half of the families live in poverty.
Figures from Oslo municipality also show that the need for social assistance is increasing. The proportion who received social assistance in November this year has increased by eight per cent since last year.
Facebook and Finn.no are overflowing with people asking for help for Christmas.
But the cries for help are usually signed anonymously.
Janne Olise Raanes is department director for the Education and Volunteering Department in the Church’s City Mission in Oslo. She says that poverty is perhaps one of the last taboos we have left in society. Many do everything they can to hide it, she says.
– I would probably have gone crazy if I had to keep it a secret, says Anniken Wiik.
In a building with pink, green and yellow walls, there is a small light. It gives the Wiik family a little hope in everyday life and a break from reality.
It’s called the Red Cross Family Centre. During the day, there is a kindergarten here. Three afternoons a week it is filled with local residents from Stovner. Wiik and his daughter are regular guests.
This afternoon is the “winter party”. The 50 participants receive both a free dinner and Christmas presents.
Ada will spend the afternoon well: playing games, painting and drawing. Get an outlet for the artistic creativity bubbling in her. One fine day, the dream of playing volleyball or violin might come true too. But the mother hasn’t dared to check what it costs.
The Wiik family is dependent on alternative solutions:
Food centres, vegetarian food and free dinners. The meals at the family center will of course come in handy. But the meeting place also gives them something more.
– A lovely measure
The family center opened in September. It is intended as a meeting place for Stovner’s residents. Especially for those who, for various reasons, do not have access to leisure activities, says Aina Scheller. She is head of the child and family unit at the Oslo Red Cross.
– Several of the participants live in a vulnerable life situation. Some both socially and financially. Then it helps to have a meeting place, where you can feel community and belonging, she says.
The offer has been a success. This is shown by the visitor numbers. Scheller believes that community can perhaps make up for being isolated or having a low income.
Wiik and his daughter have been there every day since opening day. It has meant a lot to eat with others and to be introduced to free activities in the local area.
– It is a lovely initiative. And it is so important for us to be able to come up with things that don’t cost money, she says.
The family center gives them three afternoons a week where they can forget the fears that haunt them all the time otherwise.
It helps to be open
It’s the fear of getting a Christmas present she can’t return. To be invited to a wedding where expensive gifts are expected. Or that the parents in Ada’s school class are going to do something together.
But there is one thing that helps: Being open about how things are.
Then Wiik doesn’t have to explain why she can’t always give something back.
Due to mental health challenges, Wiik is unable to work. She probably won’t be at first either. The employment verification money she receives monthly does not go far.
She doesn’t dare to hope for getting well enough to work anytime soon. She still dares to dream about it.
But the single mother knows she has to take it one day at a time. And soon she and her daughter have something to look forward to.
Christmas is approaching. They have been eating lentils and vegetables throughout October and November. Thus, they have saved some of the monthly food budget of NOK 2,000.
This means that they may be able to afford to eat good Christmas food when Christmas comes.
