Home |  Elder Rights |  Health |  Pension Watch |  Rural Aging |  Armed Conflict |  Aging Watch at the UN  

Mission  |  Contact Us  |  Internships  |  Donate Now!  

back

Traditionally, the African Social Structure was organized around the family. The African Extended Family Network knitted together a blood relationship with in-laws and close friends. This network acted as the insurance against all disabilities of old age and other short-comings.

Very sadly, several factors have interfered with the treasured network. They include the debt crisis, disease, civil wars, migrant employment, etc. Instead, there has emerged an elitist urban nucleus family (typical of the west).

Cause of Poverty:

I will highlight some causes which affect my area of operation, Mukono, and Uganda as a whole.

(i)Debt Crisis:
Uganda is basically an agricultural economy. It gets US$ 140-160 million. It has a total debt of US$ 5 billion. It services its debt annually at US$ 200 million. To date every Ugandan including new born have a debt of US $350.

(ii)Commodity Prices:
Uganda like other African countries depends on was materials e.g. Coffee, its major export. Unlike manufactured goods from developed countries, agricultural produce fetches declining prices on World Market. Therefore, Uganda can only buy few goods and services in exchange for her increased volume of coffee sales.

(iii) Civil Wars:
Africa has been established by wars for the past three centuries. Similarly, Uganda has gone through 30 difficult years since her independence. A lot of resources including one million human lives were destroyed. The majority dead were the able-bodied Youths: the supposed insurance of the elderly. They left many orphans with elderly grand parents.

(iv)Disease:
Uganda has been afflicted with many diseases which weaken old bodies e.g. Malaria. The new HIV/AIDS has affected the young generation. Thousands have so far died. It is an incurable and expensive disease to the victimized families. Many dead have left thousands of orphaned children into the care of the grand parents.

(v)Rural-Urban Migration
Education in Uganda and Africa still has European influence. It does not reflect social, economic, political and cultural needs and values of the grassroots. Employment is not tied to the traditional land. It is instead obtained in big towns and cities. Employment separates the youngsters from their aging parents in the rural areas. In the same way, brain drain of the cream of Uganda has migrated to Europe and America looking for greener pastures.

(vi)Global influences
While there has been much International concern about poverty in Africa, many resolutions drawn by International Conferences and Seminars, do not reflect what happens on the ground. Policies of the World Bank, e.g. structural Adjustment Programs, Poverty Alleviation Strategies and the current Economic Restructuring Programs known as Privatization Policyies have not directly benefitted the suffering rural people. The elderly the women who are the majority with big responsibility of raising orphaned children are becoming poorer and poorer. In my view, international policy makers do not consult the grassroots, who should have been planners of their own destiny and implementors for their well being.

Some policies have had adverse effects on society, e.g. Government and private sectors retrenchment scheme from work. Retrenches have let down hundreds of people who depended on them for school fees, health bills, etc. Most retrenchees have left work without savings, pensions, land, shelter or alternative employment.

(vii)Corruption:
This monster is created by greed by institutional bureaucracies. It is estimated that over 60% of funds and other resources do not reach their intended destinations (the grassroots).

(viii)Social Structure/Infrastructure:
In view of what has been summarized so far, African governments cannot develop capital projects and cannot either fund social programs e.g. roads, hospitals, electricity, water supply, schools, pension schemes, etc. Uganda Government does not have any program for the aged. It depends on the African Extended Family tradition.

The Marginalized in My Area
Mukono Diocese is part of the Anglican Church of Uganda. It stretches 200 km North/South and 100 km East/West. It has a total population of over 8.5 million people. The Diocese has over 500 congregations. The communities under the Diocese are affected by all factors listed before. Allow me to mention what the church has done so far.

Nakanyonyi Old Age Campaign Center
The Center was constructed with Germany funds, through United Nations Center for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, Vienna, Austria, together with the great contributions from the Christians of Mukono Diocese. The center was inaugurated in 1992. We are very grateful to all who participated in this project. The center has 9 resident elderly people. Another 48 elderly people are in the outreach program in the neighboring communities. The 48 elderly are widowed and live by themselves with grandchildren or they live with their families.

Young and Elderly in Society: (YES)
It was started in 1993 in Kawolo Industrial Town (central Mukono). The town has over 10,000 casual migrant laborers. They are employed as sugarcane cutter. They come from North West Uganda 600 Km away. They are poor. Most of them can not raise their transport pack home after retirement. Mukono Church donated 6 acres of land on which the Diocese assisted the elderly build their homes for the permanent living. We have supported them by starting commercial poultry keeping in addition to making baskets. A vocational school has been added for their orphaned grandchildren to train in carpentry, shoe-making and tailoring.

Christian Outreach:
Each congregation of Mukono manages a social outreach in its local community. They include care for the disabled, the elderly, physically handicapped, mentally retarded, the epileptic, widows, and orphans, AIDS victims, and people with special problems.