The current state of Northern Uganda

With the viral video on You Tube produced by 'Invisible Children' about Northern Uganda advocating for the capture of rebel Leader Joseph Kony having a great impact on the world, this is to bring us to speed with the current  state of that region . The sounds of guns, cries and screams which were the order of the day two decades ago,  are just but memories that will linger on forever on the minds of the victims. 

Joseph Kony

 

       Northern Uganda is currently  peaceful. Although the memories of Kony's war are hard to erase from  nearly every family in Northern Uganda, it has led to bitter tastes in the mouths of many. People hardly talk about the sad moments and as soon as they do talk about the war or Kony, tempers either flare or a very somber mood prevails which is understandable. 

  It is not unusual to see graveyards within homesteads.  Many are trying to shed the past behind literally reconstructing their lives by indulging in various activities like farming, building just to mention but a few however, that cannot be said of everyone.

During the war, many were displaced and resorted to living in camps for refuge which came with relief food as well as  other social amenities. Areas like Olwal are still highly concentrated with people still living in the displaced camp centers. Although most are trying to leave the camps and go back to reconstruct their homes others view it as trying to make a mountain out of an ant hill especially the old since they have lost hope and  camps provide them with food and access to medicine or other needs. Living out of the camp therefore is another story all together as starting life from scratch is not as easy for not only the old but also the young, so the dependence syndrome is very high. 

Camp in Gulu

International organisations are quite a number as well as local Non Governmental Organisations and they have provided for many children opportunities to study as well as psychologically motivate the child soldiers or women impregnated during the war period. To note is that they youth are really trying to come to terms with reality as most engage in sporting activities.




Night life booms  since many night clubs and social places are stemming up to cater for the high demand of not only residents in Northern Uganda but also travellers as well as employees from different areas of Uganda and worldwide. The prevalence of HIV is also another thing which has to be talked about, I may not have the correct statistics but can boldly state that it indeed has spread there like wild fire.

Infrastructure especially roads are really bad and this makes transportation a major setback.The needs of many people in Northern Uganda really stem from an individual's as well as communal perspective. I believe education is the solution to many problems as a high percentage of children are not in schools and this would eventually spring a generation of uneducated children implying that the vicious cycle of poverty would not come to an end soon if the trend goes on.
      As child Soldiers and other soldiers are returning home, settling them within the community is also another issue. Not everyone has a receptive heart needless to say forgiving and as much as chiefs and elders in communities are doing their best to use traditional practices to enable people forgive each other which work best compared to modern courts. Whatever the case, Northern Uganda is much more peaceful than ever but what is needed most is reconstruction.

African Wood

At the mention of Nollywood, Riverwood, Ugawood and many other WOODs, the film industry comes to mind. Nollywood takes the crown for producing more films annually than Hollywood and Bollywood combined.

However, given the so many movies, how many have been awarded and attained international fame? Besides that the quality of production is still wanting. Without being so critical, I must agree that the African film industry came at a time when we needed it most and it has become a source of entertainment to many given that we can relate to  ideas presented. With this slight notion in mind, one asked, how come African movies however good they are hardly receive international fame? An interesting answer was given.

An interesting answer was given..Who awards the film stars, producers, directors and the entire filming crew? It is the dominant nations and that is what they want to maintain, Dominancy! So however much we struggle so long as the star is not from one of the dominant nations chances of recieving an Oscar or Academy award hangs in the balance...

Health does not negotiate!

An expectant woman  had to walk six miles from her home to a district health center and ended up giving birth at a police station as health workers chased her away because she could not raise the required amount of money prompting her to report the case to the police. As a result, she delivered a pair of  male twins prematurely at the police station. Unfortunately, the twins died of coldness.

Another lucky expectant woman had to give birth in darkness because there was a black out at a general government hospital with no back up power  that prompted midwives to use  a mobile phone torch to assist the woman. when a minister’s driver is highly paid compared to a doctor,  it makes me question why our leaders do not consider that health is wealth and women are the mothers of our nation.  Given that we have very good medical training facilities why don’t we make good use of the few doctors we have and treat them as king and queens to avoid brain drain!

REALITY CHECK

Looking at a glass darkly, Northern Uganda befits this notion. Decades of terror that led to terrific brutality cannot be erased from the minds of many

but memories were refreshed when it was revealed that 100 American troops had been sent to Uganda to help capture the rebel leader Joseph Kony, the man behind  atrocities in Northern Uganda and neighboring countries like Congo, Chad and South Sudan who has ever since been at large. 

Society welcomed the news with mixed reactions several questioning  America’s intention saying that the help comes when the dust has settled  while some scholars claim that oil discovery, the black resource is of tremendous interest and this comes as a bargaining chip. 

At the end of the day, the nation’s fate lies in the hands of policy makers.  Many opinions were aired but the bottom line is that the rule of law shall always prevail and  our leaders actions determine the fate of the nation. We hope for the death of self interest and  corruption at the expense of even distribution of resources for the development of our country.

Sidelined Benefit

    Someone well known to me opted to quit school saying that there was no meaning in seeking formal education.  Unfortunately he is only 16 years old.   

My life span at the university sometimes makes me wonder whether what I pick in class adds value to my life yet majority of life’s lessons are in living life itself.  The education system has become wanting as students are trained to be job seekers rather than job creators.   Theory is hailed more than practical and experimental learning and the job market has been blamed to be biased especially when many competent people are competing for few resources.

With our curriculum designed ages ago dating back to colonial times, is it fitting for us to continue with this type of learning yet times are changing tremendously? Vocational education has been under-looked yet it proves promising and undoubtedly a major solution to the flooded formal white and blue collar occupations. How about a blend of both formal and vocational education? 

Surprisingly, many have the notion that vocational education is meant for book failures. This attitude has to change if we are to push for an industrialized Africa.

How you treat others is exactly how they will treat you!

A long time ago in China , a girl named Li-Li got married & went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.

Days passed, and weeks passed. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that,
according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing Li-Li's poor husband great distress. 

Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law's bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it. Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all.

Mr. Huang thought for awhile, and finally said, "Li-iL, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you."

Li-Li said,"Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do. "Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs. He told Li-Li, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspect you, when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. "Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen." Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.

Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother.

After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost
never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument with her mother-in-law in six months because she now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.

The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter.. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter. Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening.

One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again She said, "Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep off the poison from killing my mother-in-law. She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her." Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her."

Mapped future!

‘Radio show awards AK 47 guns and grenades as prizes to children at a quiz contest in Somalia,’ reported BBC Radio at 21:00hrs East African time on the 20^th of September 2011. Given that this country is suffering from drought, war, and the gun is obviously highly valued, the question arises, why children? Besides, where are the mothers, sisters, aunts and grandmothers voices in an environment where men run the show?

In another instance, Eunice suffered the shame of working at a funeral home. Nevertheless, the job ‘designed’ for men paid her bills. The life giver, made a living out of people’s death.  Seeing this woman hanging around morgues helping grieving relatives identify their victim’s dead bodies at an exorbitant fee, portrayed an unprecedented display of corporate conscience. Like a nest of cockroaches trying to survive, these two kinds of women face the challenge of society finding it hard to tolerate their views hence survive the hard way. 

  My challenge in creating change in the community lies in stereotypical tendencies based on cultural norms and the ideology that women are their own worst enemies. With all due respect, I believe that women deserve the best professions under conducive working conditions however by bringing out these two examples, I look at a silenced woman who cannot boldly speak in the presence of men and a professional woman whose job is esteemed to belong to men, others comparing it to feeding a dog’s tail expecting it to fatten. 

 Information is power so goes the old saying. The solution to rigid cultural norms, is buried in education. It is important to educate both men and women on how to respect each other. In the case of Female Genital Mutilation, the campaign worked as a result of community based practical education. Women should get economically dependent by taking on well paying jobs or opening up businesses that can meet their needs. Political Involvement is important as they say, everything rises and falls on leadership and this can arise from women voting women indiscriminately.

Currently, online communities are just cropping up in my continent. Urban centers have an advantage over rural areas and the main problem lies in the rural setting where literacy level is so poor and the aspect of translating some websites into languages understood by the locals is somehow problematic besides, affording broadband in a village which has epileptic power shortages is also one thing to consider. Anyway, I think there is still a long optimistic journey to go when it comes to using the digital age where it is mostly needed. 

On a personal note, I have used it to interact with both men women who share the same values as I do blogging and in due course will translate some websites for people in rural settings so that they may be encouraged to read and understand most views that favour women at the end of the day, he who opens a school, closes a prison.