Wednesday 12 October 2011

BATTLES OF POVERTY - CYCLING THROUGH LIVES IN KAWEMPE....

Sometimes i used to think that i was the only person that has lived a life with a terrible beginning because it all began living by myself at only 5yrs, but growing up and taking my journey through the world and following my road through Uganda i've come to know there are people out there that are living a life  you would say no to if asked to choose but of course in this world you don't have a choice when it comes to choose between safety, health and or happiness.. you only buy this for a time being;



In life there are people that create situations for themselves and those that only receive  them without having had a hand in and for these suffer more, you see sorrow and tears running down their eyes and everyday it gets worse. Only my experience and 5yrs of living in Uganda, What have i seen and What is it exaclty like LIVING IN THE SLUMS OF UGANDA. Here's what i know;




Introduction to the Slum

Kawempe lies on the main highway between Kampala and Masindi. It began as a trading center in the 1950's but has mushroomed into a busy, albeit disorganized, metropolitan area with businesses, small industries, retail shops and a thriving farmers market. Many of the surrounding villages have been turned into low income housing. Kawempe has the lowest income per capital of all the city's five divisions.

Kawempe slum, in Uganda’s capital Kampala, is home to 300,000 people, many of whom have escaped the conflict in northern areas of the country. The slum is situated on poorly drained land, which in combination with poor sanitary conditions and overcrowding, make its inhabitants highly vulnerable to diseases such as malaria, cholera and diarrhoea.


The Cycle as it goes..................


Kawempe, with a population of over 300,000 , is located within slum dwellings that constitute the majority of the population's housing. Shelter and Settlements Alternatives, Living and working on HIV/AIDs program in Kawempe,i have identified the following problems associated with slum dwellings:  Most people in slum communities cannot afford adequate housing because their economic providers have died of AIDS-related causes. Some residents have inadequate incomes, and others are widows who lost their homes following the death of their husbands.


  Infected residents face substantial stigma and discrimination, especially those who sell food or perishables. "The community looks at them as dirty and cannot support them. They avoid buying anything from them," explained a community member in Bwaise, a Kampala slum. This stigma only increases the economic crisis for positive residents, who are left without enough money to secure their housing, medical bills, school fees and food.

Most infected slum dwellers, like all slum tenants, lack collateral security. They cannot borrow money from the bank or individual money lenders, and so their hopes of getting better housing are limited. Some cannot join saving cooperatives because they do not have the startup capital.


The Cycle as it Continues to Grow...............

Few people living in the slum have jobs with a decent salary. Women often resort to sex work to supplement their earnings. The result is a higher than national average rate of HIV and STI infection.

  
There are many children and youths or girls who have never got a chance to attend classes, children who are living in areas where their mothers sell themselves to make money and feed their children because no one has any idea of small business development or employment , so the girls grow with an option of doing what the mother did , which has increased HIV/Aids spread in the area.

Also on the other hand, every year schooling children have holidays where they spend months just sitting home and wait to attend next semesters without having atleast a Holiday coaching or place to find reading materials for practical skills they end up on the system trying to make money.

Most of the children after finishing primary level don't get a chance to join Secondary Schools because they are expensive and they end up being on streets , carrying lug-gages and stealing , using the money to start families at an early age. This increase the pregnancy rate in teens and children born could not be catered for because the parents don't have any job , this forces the mothers to go into prostitution and the cycle continues to grow , all this ending to high HIV/Aids spread in the community.  

                
Where hope lies for their future............

 Reading and getting to know how life is for most people here you do realise there are situations we may call Battles that never end only until our last breathe and the only way to try and make the most of them is fighting together, these people are in dire need and desparate for help with even just someone to give a word of advise or just a Penny to feed them anything you do for them is appreciated alot and the joy you see in them are the tears in their eyes.

Despite the bleak reality of the situation, there is hope for the future. When the world comes out and help by giving something, Kawempe can become a greater town in Kampala. We invite Coorperate Partnerhips and donors at Mzungu and if you want to help the Kawempe Community just write us : kennedy@mzunguvolunteers.org , thank you alot.

From the President, Kennedy
Mzungu Volunteers.

1 comment:

  1. Kenny, this is really touching and when I read through this, I really feel like I need to do more than what I am really doing now,let u all join hands and support those in need of our support1 Even if we change one life but atleast we are sure that that life is changed forever. Thanks for the work you do at MZUNGU VOLUNTEERS and for us at: HOPE DEVELOPMENT VOLUNTEERS and BEACON OF HOPE UGANDA, we are always behind you.

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