By Opiyo Oloya

I am very angry. The story of six brothers abandoned by their parents in Kamuli should be the leading story in all Uganda’s dailies and media outlet for the next two weeks. All the focus should be brought to the question of child welfare in Uganda.

Yet there is dead silence. We are long overdue for a serious conversation on how we ensure that our children are not falling through the cracks. What do we do when children are abandoned, neglected, or badly mistreated by the adults in their young lives?

We can spend precious time dissecting the problem of child abandonment to find reasons, write white papers and so forth but that is an exercise in futility. Suffice to say there are many reasons that cause family breakups. High cost of living, lack of jobs, illnesses, deaths and so forth, are all part of the milieu that create chaos for families. There is no getting away from the simple reality of today’s life in Uganda—The family structure that sustains children through childhood are crumbling.

But for abandoned children, the impact is amplified ten times. One moment you have your parents and the next, you don’t. You have no one else to turn to. This was the case for 12-year-old Musa Mukidi and his five siblings, Ian Mpala 12, Allon Bankobera 10, Joseph Buteraba 8, Amos Kyabajenda 6 and Yobu Magaya 4. The plights of the six brothers were outlined in Saturday Vision, their innocent faces splashed across the page. Abandoned by parents angry at each other, Mukidi, himself just a child, is now the head of the family. It would be a big burden for any adult, let alone a child, to struggle daily to find food, to cook, to make sure the siblings are fed and cleaned.

But that’s what Mukidi does. When contacted by a reporter, Mukidi sounded like an old man talking, saying, “I peel some potatoes, fetch water in a 20-litre jerrycan from the borehole and also take our goat to graze. It is my pleasure for visitors to find a clean environment. Many come here to sympathise with our situation, but get shocked to find a clean compound. We must keep clean to ward off diseases because if any of us falls sick, where shall we get money for treatment?”

That those words are from the mouth of a 12-year-old child is enough to make one shed tears. Yet, according to the Police information, between January and October 2021, Kamuli alone recorded 232 cases of child neglect—and those are the documented cases. How many flew under the radar in Kamuli and elsewhere in Uganda is anyone’s guess. Yet the response from the Minister responsible for children’s welfare was unsatisfactory. The action she took to help the children will work for a few days or weeks, but what happens when the newspaper and tv camera have moved on to make other stories? Who will check on the children to see how they are doing, whether they have enough food to eat, whether they have soap to take bath, whether they are even alive? Who will follow up to see if they are attending school?

Even more urgent is the question: What we are we doing to safeguard the needs of children in crisis to make sure they have a fighting chance to grow into responsible adults? What are we doing for those who, like the six brothers, are abandoned by their parents? How much resources are we willing to put toward the welfare of children?

These questions cannot be answered by the usual reactive media soundbites, “We are doing something about it.” Instead, it must be settled well in advance by bringing all the resources of government and community to create a network of social support system for children, within each zone, under each LC1 system at the grassroots. Currently, for instance, LC1 chairpersons have the power to sign forms for national identity cards and passports because they know who is where and can attest for the people within their zones. In the new and urgent plan to respond to children in crisis, the same LC1 must be provided with resources and power to create a welfare system to respond to the needs of children within their zones. There must at least be two or three persons to support children in that zone. And when the problem is beyond their capabilities, they should escalate the matter further up the chain to LC3 or LC5 level, and if necessary to the regional level.

There is always going be a chorus of people who will say it cannot be done, it’s too expensive. My response—absolute nonsense! When it comes to the welfare of children no expense should be spared to ensure they have the resources to meet basic human rights—the right to food, shelter, clothing, education, and human dignity are non-negotiable. Whatever measure of progress you use—increased Gross Domestic Product, increased export, higher employment et cetera—none of it matters at the end if children of the nation are abandoned to care for themselves.

It is not good enough to pretend we don’t see the problem and hope that it will go away by itself. We already do that on Kampala streets where street dirty street kids beg for food and money from passerby. We pretend they are someone else’s problem, and it is none of our business. Not at all, you cannot claim your humanity and citizenship as a Ugandan while at the same time ignoring the plight of these children. Enough with all these running around with lead cars and sirens blaring yet we cannot sort out the issues of our abandoned children.

In the meantime, in collaboration with New Vision Newspaper, I am starting a fundraising drive for Musa and his brothers. I want it to be named the Musa and His Five Brothers Funds (M5BF). The goal is to raise 20 million shillings to provide them a decent place to live, food to eat and school fees for school. For a start, I give Shs3m. I challenge everyone, whoever can, however small, to put their hands in their pockets and purses for this worthy cause. I know a few skeptics will say, “Dr. Opiyo Oloya, there are thousands of these children all over Uganda, what difference will it make?” My answer is simple—It will make a difference for Musa Mukidi and his five little brothers.

Thank you for stepping forward to support the Musa and His Five Brothers Funds (M5BF).

Opiyo.oloya@gmail.com
Twitter: @Opiyooloya
The writer is the Inaugural Associate Vice President,