Gessa enjoys farming, research

Pison Percy Gessa says in his youthful years, he drew his solid retirement plan. Gessa, a teacher of Mathematics and Physics got his first job at Bukedi College Kachonga (BCK) in Butaleja District when he was 19 years old. There, he used to earn Shs650 per month.

 Gessa, who was born on October 22, 1955, also taught at Kampala High School in 1978 and earned Shs1, 400 per month. He spent years as a secondary school teacher before he embarked on the university.  He started as a lecturer of Engineering Maths and Computer Science, in the faculty of Engineering (Civil department at Kyambogo University), a teaching assistant in the Maths department of Makerere University and retired at 59 years in 2014.

“If I had not taught at different universities, I would have missed out on different life skills which have turned out handy during my retirement,” he says.

Passionate about agriculture, Gessa wakes up at 6am to do research.  Then, at around 9am, he supervises his gardens.

 “Uganda is blest with great weather; fertile soil; surface and underground water; two rainy seasons. A professor of Agriculture at the University of Newcastle, UK, pointed this out to us; and wonders why Ugandans suffer famines,” he recounts.

 Gessa however, has regrets.

 “I never set up a Friesian cattle farm early enough and never educated some of my children beyond A-Level,”  he says.

Gessa currently supports various primary schools in the Butaleja district by providing them with past papers and tests for Primary Six and Seven classes with the aim of improving academic standards in the district.

 He advises people to plan 10 years early.

 “It is good to plan for your retirement when you are still energetic. Invest in projects which will keep you busy. Where possible, avoid building your retirement home after 60 years; avoid school fees stress and having many young children in retirement and unnecessary expenditure because you will never be 30 (years) again,” he emphasises.

 Gessa says happy retirement is when you can feed your family and do not stress to either paying school fees or rent.

 “It’s good to have some money for going out for a few drinks with colleagues and driving around. You need to have a fitness routine and keep your brain engaged. Otherwise, in less than two years, you die,”  he says.

  “Once you cross a “point of no return”(60 years); you are on your own. Your titles are buried in the  ‘grave’. Do not despise people; they will be of help when you need them most. Always value social capital at all levels,” he says.

The graduate of   Mathematics and Physics, says employees should know that work titles are temporary.

 “Your titles are only applicable when in office, once you retire your titles are useless,” he shares adding, “When you retire no one wants to associate with you, you seem valueless or a financial burden.”

He says retirement is great if you have no assignment deadlines and adds that one ought to invest in productive projects.

 He conducts research in education on why rural children are not performing well and look for interventions. He also does research on why and how old people have lived longer.

From 1982 to 1984, he was a tutor at the University of New South Wales, where he used to earn $30 per hour, six hours a week.  Gessa founded a retirement club (started with colleagues he was in Australia) to help them settle into the new man’s land; to reduce the mortality rate. This club also encourages senior citizens to share knowledge, skills and experiences with the younger generation. This model could be replicated for other groups.

When Gessa returned from Australia in May 1985, he found his village Kangalaba without clean water, and health services among other issues.

He has improved livelihoods in Himutu Sub-county, using the Kardeco model and educating people about modern farming. He educates rural citizens on how to improve yields with each crop in one acre.

"I developed 38 models/strategies, since 2018, to transform a peasant community into middle-income status,” he says.