Post #11: Big Solutions

My time in Bulenga continues to be filled with joy. My favorite memories from this week would be discussing celebrity crushes with my Primary 6 students at Faith, meeting, teaching the “Wobble” to some kids at Good Hope, and getting to meet my student Brian’s grandmother!

This week, I’d like to take some time to talk about some of the large scale problems in Bulenga and in the country of Uganda. 

Everyone over here is on the edge of their seats to find out who the next president of America will be!  It’s been quite the hot topic since I’ve been here.

I’ve had more conversations about American politics in my 2 months here than I’ve ever had in the U.S! Part of that is because of the proximity of the upcoming election.  People are also very intrigued by the election process and the candidates.

Uganda has had the same president for over 30 years. Everyone I’ve talked to dislikes him and his policies. Unfortunately, he holds all the power in the government. Whenever people have tried to run against him, they end up in prison/backing out as a result of threats.  This frustration with the president/government comes from a variety of problems.  

Economy

I remember not initially believing that most of the world lives on $1 a day. While I’m not sure what the percentage is like in other countries, I can confirm that many people in Uganda live on less than 1 US dollar per day. You may be wondering just how this works. For starters, food is much less expensive. The ground is very fertile in Uganda and many people work as farmers. Fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful and inexpensive. People spend their money on corn flour (used to make porridge and posho), beans, and rice if they can afford it. Other money is spent on things like cooking oil, charcoal, soap, and paraffin/kerosene/fuel. Electricity is very expensive and only those wealthy enough have it in there homes. If people want to be able to make calls, they have to buy minutes for their mobile phones. Then there’s rent and possibly money put aside for transportation.

The cost of living increases dramatically if someone has children. The need for food and clothes increases for starters. Then there are school fees. While most parents WANT their child to receive an education, the cost of tuition is unrealistic for many people.

While $1 a day seems like an extremely low cost for all of these things, for some people, it’s their only option. Salaries in Uganda are extremely low. For example, some teachers get paid as low as $30/month while school’s in session. During the holiday (1 month off after 3 months of school), they don’t get paid at all. Living with such limited money seems nearly impossible. People get creative, but I imagine budgeting with such limited funds can be stressful.

There is no minimum wage here in Uganda. Since jobs are hard to come by, people will work for low salaries. There are no food stamps or homeless shelters in Uganda. If someone can’t make ends meet, they suffer and look for help from family and friends. There are no child services to make sure children are in homes where they can be emotionally and financially supported.

There are a lot of issues in the Ugandan Economy. Unemployment is a huge problem.   Since so many people can only afford to purchase basic necessities, the market for consumer goods that aren’t necessities has very few consumers. Additionally, so many people are selling the same things. If you drive from Bulenga to Kampala (capital city), the main road is lined with the same 4 shops/stands- somewhere to buy chapats, somewhere to buy minutes for your phone, somewhere to buy sugar/rice/flour/oil, and somewhere to buy wash basins, sauce pans, and flip flops. The shops sometimes look identical. The intense competition causes prices to become very low. Why would you buy a wash basin for $2 when the guy 30 feet away is selling them for $1.50?

Education

As I mentioned earlier, education is not a public good in Uganda. If parents want their children to attend school, they need to pay school fees. These fees can be quite expensive! And school fees don’t include notebooks, pens, food, the school uniform, etc.

Schools in Uganda are very different from schools in America. For starters, the classes are HUGE. Many schools in Bulenga have class sizes of 50-100 students. One girl I was chatting with last week said her Primary 5 class has 118 students in it. And all those students learn in the same classroom with 1 teacher. The resources in many classrooms are extremely limited. Students learn what’s written on the chalkboard. They don’t have art or music class, nor do they have extracurricular activities.

If a student can afford to finish secondary school, usually the cost of college is unrealistic. For those who can afford it, it can be an excellent educational experience.  Unfortunately, it rarely results in a job. When employers are hiring someone, they’re more likely to hire a friend with zero credentials than a perfectly qualified candidate. I was chatting about this with some university students and they were very frustrated about it because they work so hard to earn a degree that they may end up never getting a chance to use.

Sanitation

In America, you throw even the smallest piece of waste in a trashbin lined with a trashbag where it will be taken away by a garbage truck to a designated place for trash. Or you recycle it! There is no system like this in Uganda. People burn their trash at the end of the day. There are some things that just don’t burn though. As a result, the streets and roads are encrusted with plastic bags, old shoes, and bottles. People have no problem throwing trash wherever.

In addition to harming the earth, this method of disposing trash is harmful to people! Everyday I see babies and young kids walking around with things in their mouths. Babies teeth on things like plastic bags, wires, and bottle caps. Aside from being major choking hazards, many of these things come from the ground where they’ve been coated in germs. The other day, I saw a little kid walking around with a circuit board in his mouth. When he walked up to me, I was so shocked and suggested he take it out. He took it out and put it on the ground. Then a few minutes later, I saw him playing with some friends, circuit board back in his mouth.

Health

Healthcare in Uganda is extremely limited. In Bulenga, there are various clinics sprinkled around so most people can access doctors within a walking distance.  Sometimes, a clinic is simply a room with a few beds and a fluid bag coming out of the wall that can attach to an IV. In more remote places, such as Gomba, 1 health clinic could serve as the only health facility for miles. It’s not uncommon for people to die from very preventable and treatable diseases such as the flu or malaria. For many people, the cost of going to a doctor is unrealistic. In addition, medicine can be very extremely costly.

Law Enforcement

There are police in Uganda but the work they’re usually not the ones to settle disputes. Theft is a huge problem in Bulenga (and many other parts of Uganda I imagine). A few weeks ago, George Mike was walking around and a man ran by him with a TV. Behind him was a large group of people chasing him. Once the group reached the man, they began throwing rocks at him until he was eventually stoned to dealth. This was a case of “mob justice”, the way most crimes are “settled” around here. Most issues are resolved before the police are even called. Getting a trial for a convicted crime is usually unheard of.

I’m not saying that these are problems that would be instantly solved if Uganda had better leadership. Many of these problems are complicated and would require large-scale reform in order to solve. Unfortunately, little is being done to solve any of these problems.

When I’m talking with people about life in Uganda, they usually describe these problems and others to me. They tell me about the president’s lack of action. I usually encourage them to run for president of Uganda! The reaction to this statement is typically a good, long laugh. When I tell them I’m serious, they reply be telling me they would be imprisoned if they ran for president and the next president of Uganda will be someone who’s already friends with the current president.

People are extremely discouraged with the way the government is being run in Uganda. Perhaps the saddest part is that I haven’t met a single on of them who believes he or she can change it. Nobody feels like they have a voice or a chance.

I know this post is a bit of a downer, but I want you to encourage you to vote on Tuesday! (If for no other reason but because YOU CAN!) Being part of a government where you have a say in how things go is truly a privilege.

As far as Uganda goes, I barely have solutions for the small problems, much less these big ones! While I’ve learned a lot about these issues, after 10 weeks here, I don’t feel like I’ve figured out a way to change things in this struggling country. But perhaps that’s not the way it’s supposed to be.

The kids I’m working with are so incredibly smart. They have amazing endurance and admirable optimism. Additionally, they know so much more about Uganda, lifestyles here, and the areas of need than I ever will. I truly believe that these kids have the ability to create life changing solutions to these big problems. If these kids can be convinced of that, then there is some serious hope for Bulenga and all of Uganda. In my remaining 2 weeks here, I will do everything in my ability to give these kids the encouragement & hope that their brilliant minds and creative ideas can do big things.

Thank you all for your continual encouragement and support! All the amazing love has given me so much to pass forward.

Love,

Hannah

Lydia and Lukia- two of my wonderful Primary 4 students at Faith- both of them are amazing at math! Whenever I give them speed addition time tests, they finish in a fraction of the time it takes others!

My lovely Promise from Primary 3! Among the "things kids here put in their mouths" list includes pens. Promise will not allow a pen to go to waste without making sure every last bit of ink is used. She has a method of blowing any leftover ink through the pen so it will go through the tip. This is a messy process and she sometimes spends the class covered in ink!

It's currently the rainy season in Uganda! Watching a big storm from the house the other day!

My wonderful friend Hannah! We share the same name and favorite color. 

Rainy Day + hill climbing

A shop selling basins and sauce pans. I'll have to get a photo of all 4 "typical shops" in a row

Trash on a rainy day. The ground has a beautiful color but all the waste makes it difficult to see.