For a child who was nurtured at
Namutamba, I cry tears when I get there. The place is so backward yet it would
be among the most progressive in Uganda. To me Namutamba was one of the 1st
places in Uganda to get civilization in the actual sense. The role played by
the Lea Wilson Family when they got to Namutamba and eventually evolved the
Namutamba Tea Estate and Dairy Farm as well as a primary school which later
came to be called Namutamba Demonstration School was very instrumental in the
initial fame which Namutamba enjoyed. It was real civilization; there was a lot
of togetherness more so with the Rwandese who came from Rwanda to work on the
estate. Today, Namutamba is a sad story. It is poverty, yet there are resources
which can see the area come up very fast, however, these have to be nurtured
and the community can easily be got to participate in their eventual welfare.
I would love to spearhead the
Namutamba Must Develop (NAMUDE) initiative. As a trained Rural Economist, an
innovator, a man who loves to see the welfare of others, it is my desired goal
to see the area which saw me in childhood develop given the current indicators
which are symptoms of poverty.
Namutamba a parish is found within
Bulera Sub – County in Mityana district.
The focal area is about 12 – 15 miles
from Mityana town along Bulera road via Kitemu. The development I wish to be
part of should see the following among others:
1. Easing of
transport to and fro Mityana. Currently, if one misses the very early vehicles
to Mityana, he/she has to hire a commercial motor cyclist for 12 or more miles
at the cost of shs 7,000. This means that there should be improved taxi
availability so that people are sure of getting a taxi to and fro Mityana at
anytime they wish to travel;
2. There is
need to use a better health facility as a magnet to attract people to be party
to the innovations that may eventually change them, this, to offer services at
highly discounted rates is in the right direction and also offer a number of
services including maternity, antenatal, laboratory, admissions and a full time
doctor and other specialized medical personnel. People to be encouraged to have
savings with the facility and also be allowed to get treatment on credit or
even pay in kind using what they produce in their gardens may all go a long way
in promoting the health facility;
3. Conducting a baseline survey to
bring out the people’s ills and endeavouring to cater for them can go along way
in easing the lives of the people at Namutamba. These may include:
i.
Availing a Filling station in close vicinity. Currently, those with vehicles
can only fill from Mityana!
ii. The
mobile money facility calls for going to Mityana to cash or even to send.
Getting these services to the people is critical and very time saving;
iii. There
are a variety of goods which people have to buy from Mityana yet they would buy
them from some big shop around in the area and save, this calls for opening up
such a shop with a hardware component;
iv. Setting up a collecting centre for merchandize which may be
taken to market in Mityana or beyond;
4. There
is need to set up an NGO arrangement to oversee most of the community
mobilization in the area this may undertake among other things:
a)
Encourage the formation of single sex Self Help Groups (SHGs) as a vehicle to
enhance the savings culture among the people and the working in group
arrangement for their betterment;
b) Help
with better innovations, for example the area has many cattle keepers who need
to move from quantity of animals kept to quality as well as undertake zero –
grazing;
c) The NGO
may be able to encourage innovations which may help farmers to grow in bigger
quantities and hence get means to process so as to get a bigger margin from
their products;
d) There
is poor agricultural undertaking. Better soil management as well as enterprise
management can help the poor people move away from the misery they are
currently in;
5. There is need to work on the roads. The road from Mityana gets
bad when one starts climbing Namutamba Hill after Bakijjulula. If there is away
this road can be worked on, chances are that greater economic activity will be
undertaken.
The above is my dream, it is my prayer that the Almighty God helps
me to get partners with whom we can see the development of Namutamba real.
VISION
A Namutamba Community uplifted from poverty of the majority to
better social and economic conditions as depicted by greatly improved living
standards.
MISSION
Awakening the intellectual and decision making potential of the
people of Namutamba so that they change their circumstances for the better
GOAL
To see development a reality among the community members in
Namutamba Parish and enjoyed sustainably.
THE PROJECT VALUES
1. Love, justice and compassion for all.
2. Encourage autonomy and self sufficiency.
3. Act professionally; with fairness, integrity and understanding.
4. Uphold Human Rights and challenge inequality and injustices.
5. Environmental protection.
6. Commitment and service to the poor.
THE PROBLEM
i. Majority of the people of Namutamba can be rightly taken to be
living in poverty circumstances. Poverty in Namutamba Parish can be described
as the absence of those ethical, social and material resources needed to
develop the moral, intellectual and social capacities of individuals within the
area;
ii.
High prevalence of illness among members of the Namutamba Parish Community,
which hinders productivity by reducing productive hours of work (in case of
Malaria, more than 1 working week is lost), eating in income that would be put
on better welfare alternatives and eventually reducing life expectancy, yet
there is lack of well facilitated health services in the area which calls for
high transport costs to Mityana and other medical facilities beyond Mityana
town;
iii. Many youth and professionals from the area have left for
economic opportunities elsewhere; this is so due to the prevailing poverty
which situation does not generate employment opportunities (Poverty is not just
material deprivation but a continuous process of “Dis-empowerment” that
includes denial of choices/rights/opportunities, discrimination, disparity,
domination, displacement, de-humanization)
iv. The road infrastructure is a problem; If the roads are made
passable, some of the strategies below when undertaken, slowly but steadily get
the Glory of Namutamba may be a reality;
The factory which was the pride of the area is no longer in production of Tea Leaves. The would be employees are not employed and the tea plantations are simply overgrowing.
The tea estate during the good times when the factory was in production
v. It is surprising that the cattle farmers at Namutamba are yet
to get modern. Through the 1970‟s to date one sees the cattle
keepers at Kyetume using traditional methods. The fencing using natural trees
which exploit the soil are the norm. The „Busitani‟ trees were there when we were
young and today one sees the same! Why are we not having trees which are food
for cattle? Why don’t we have fewer cattle and emphasize
quality vis a vis quantity? Why don’t we see farmers practice zero
grazing for their cattle?
vi. Namutamba Demonstration School is a pillar school in the area,
however, it is in appalling situation. The school has a number of
infrastructures in poor shape; the teachers‟ houses are in appalling
situation, many of the school facilities are in a poor shape hence cannot
enhance the excellence of the children, the school does not have a single a
computer, children don’t grow food yet there is land
that can be utilized to see them have food, the sports grounds are in a poor
shape and need to be worked on, sports equipment lacking, toilets need to be
worked on, water is fetched from the valley yet there can be water harvesting
from the school buildings, the welfare of teachers is poor, there is need to
boost it, a sick bay needs to be equipped and a school nurse in place, there is
need to increase on the non-teaching staff from a force of only two, there is
need to procure a machine to help in the production of children’s
periodical examinations, putting up a kitchen worth the status of the school
and improving boarding facilities and lighting at night for the children;
THE PROJECT WILL
1. Collect, analyze, interpret and disseminate information
relating to nutrition, food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries;
2. Serve as a clearing house, provide farmers, traders and other
interested public's information they need to make rational decisions on
planning, investment, marketing, research and training;
3. Enhance women empowerment using the Self Help Groups (SHGs)
initiative as a vehicle to see them get command over some income and in
decision making, the two foundation stones on which the SHG principle is based
are: Every human being has tremendous potential in her/himself. This hidden
potential in the poor can be unleashed if the right environment is provided
and, as an individual, the poor are voiceless, powerless and vulnerable. By
bringing them together as a homogenous collective, they have tremendous
strength. Poverty is not just material deprivation but a continuous process of
“Dis-empowerment” that includes denial of choices/rights/opportunities,
discrimination, disparity, domination, displacement, de-humanization (photos
below give the picture of what the community will go through);
THE NEED TO SEE MALNUTRITION AS HISTORY
A good number of people in Namutamba Parish suffer from some form
of malnutrition, hence cannot sustain healthy, active lives. The result is
devastating illness and death, as well as incurable loss human potential and
social development. Many suffer from diseases caused by unbalanced diets as
well as vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Malnutrition puts women at greater
risk of complications and death during pregnancy and child birth. Micronutrient
deficiencies have to be solved:
1)
Ensure that pregnant women don‟t get Iron Deficiency Anemia
(IDA) which causes:
a)
Poor school performance and less energy for play in children;
b)
Higher risk of death during child birth in pregnant women;
c)
Diminished work capacity and productivity in adults.
2)
Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) this takes its toll on children:
a)
It is the most common cause of preventable blindness;
b)
It carries a higher risk of illness and death;
3)
Reducing chances of goiter development as a result of lack of Iodine:
a)
This increases the risk that children will be born mentally handicapped;
b) Reduced growth and mental development in children.
Micronutrients availability to be increased through encouraging
the growing and eating a food rich in micronutrients such as fruits,
vegetables, fish and livestock products
FOCUS ON WOMEN PRODUCTIVITY
Women in Namutamba Parish on average work for about 15 hours a
day, however, their labour hour input is inversely proportional to the value of
the output, both that low yields are realized due to ill-advised practices.
Namutamba Must Develop (NAMUDE) will empower the women through Self Help Groups
(SHGs) of 15 – 20, where they will learn interventions that can help boost
productivity and also focus on market to earn income.
INTERVENTIONS TO COUNTER HIV/AIDS
While there is knowledge about HIV/AIDS countrywide, specific
interventions are needed in Namutamba Parish with objectives as:
1.
To see to reduced contraction of HIV;
2.
To see to counseling and care of those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS;
3.
To see to medication of those who are HIV positive and also have them active in
work to earn a living;
4.
To see to increased life span of those who are HIV positive;
5. To put in place interventions to care for the orphaned and
vulnerable children and ensure their education and social security catered for.
By
William Kituuka Kiwanuka.
Email: billkiwanuka@gmail.com
