Forced to sacrifice school to fend for the family
Some pupils in rural schools attend classes only thrice a week becasue they have to fend for their families.
Two boys wearing weary faces prepare their bamboo shoots for sale at Kamu Market, one of the biggest markets in Bulambuli District. Their exhaustion typifies the misery faced by many children in rural areas who have been neglected by their parents.
Alex Kiboma, 10, and Ivan Gimui, 12, say they were forced into child labour at the age of just seven in order to support their young brother and sister, Juliet Muzaki,
“After our mother learnt that daddy had sold everything at home, including the land we were even staying on, she divorced (him). Our father stayed away from us and took to alcohol. There was nobody to give us food,” says Giumu.
The school term started last month. Gimui and Kiboma will only attend about 40 percent of classes, spending the rest of their time providing labour for other people’s farms and travelling to Mt Elgon National Park.
They begin the journey every Thursday morning. “We rest a bit and then start the gathering of the vegetables, mushrooms and bamboo shoots,” says Giumi. They then rest in some caves before embarking on the return journey on early Friday morning. “We have had to do without food most times for both lunch and supper just because we can’t afford it and nobody seems willing to give (to us) unless we have worked for it by providing labour in the gardens,” said Gimui.
Last week, they took vegetables to Kamu Market but failed to sell anything. They had to do without food. It was hard to explain to their young sister, who was hungry. “A kilogramme of maize flour here is Shs1,300 in the village, and yet our total sales for the day stand around Shs2,000. This means that every time we go to the park we work for Shs2,000 which is the equivalent of a kilogramme of Maize flour,” says Giumi. “Because we supplement it by providing labour on people’s farms, gardens, homes and in the markets, we have been able to survive.”
Giumi’s situation typifies the misery faced by thousands of children in Uganda who have been abandoned by their parents at an early age and have had to become parents themselves, providing for the home. This is thought to be why standards of education are poor in rural areas.
A report by the standards tracking project Uwezo in Uganda Kenya and Tanzania revealed that 68 per cent of children who enroll in Primary One under the government’s free education program drop out before reaching primary seven, the lowest qualification awarding level. An earlier World Bank report had revealed high absenteeism levels both of teachers and learners, especially in rural areas.
Parents faulted
While families retaining children to help out with domestic chores including going to the market was highlighted as a major factor, increasing responsibility on child headed or generally neglected children contributes a significant portion.
According to Pastor Martin Nangoli, the director of Wake Up! Ministries, a local NGO, there are many cases of households run by children whose parents have deserted them for alcohol.
“There are many children living on their own without parents. Although this is irresponsible, biting poverty explains why many parents abandon their homes and seek solace in alcohol,” says Pastor Nangoli.
Wake ministry’s primary objective was to provide clothing for the needy, poverty stricken families in rural areas. Pastor Nangoli has also helped enroll many children back into school. “Besides providing food, school fees and clothing, we encourage them not to despair but to go back to school or begin income generating activities to earn a living,” says Pastor Nangoli.
“The ministry today provides shelter, clothing, school fees and other scholastic requirements for over 100 needy child headed families in rural areas and other needy children.”
Through counseling, young people who have lost their parents can also come together.
Research by Wake Up! Ministries found that many teenage girls in Bulambuli, Sironko, Mbale, Manafwa and Bududa have been defiled, impregnated or forced into early motherhood due to poverty and lack of parental upbringing.
“There is an increasing number of child mothers, reflecting irresponsibility of parents who have no time to give guidance to their own children,” says Pastor Nangoli.
Sadly, Giumi has come to terms with his and Kiboma’s fate.
“I have accepted the situation and today with determination I have mastered the art of hard work to help my brothers, but also encourage them to work on their own to forge their own future,” he says.
