50,000 Ugandan children sold
Jun 18, 2011
OVER 50,000 children in Karamoja have been sold or hired out by their parents since 2001. Many of them such as Peter Lopiding, 62, have done it to get money for food to feed their families.
By Frederick Womakuyu
and Olandason Wanyama
OVER 50,000 children in Karamoja have been sold or hired out by their parents since 2001. Many of them such as Peter Lopiding, 62, have done it to get money for food to feed their families.
Only weeks after the transaction, the money runs out and they regret selling their children.
Mzee Peter Lopiding, 62, is glued to his stool, Eche Cholon, under a tree at the bus stop at Iriri trading centre in the newly-created Napak district.
A Gateway bus from Kampala arrives and the door opens. Lopiding carefully looks at every disembarking passenger, with the hope that his daughter will be one of them. She isn’t. And as usual, he is disappointed.
He cannot count how many times he has come to the bus stop with the hope that his daughter will be one of the passengers from Kampala.
Three years ago, an ‘aid worker’, gave Lopiding sh50,000 and took his 14-year-old daughter to Kampala. His family was starving and they needed to buy food. Besides, with the girl gone, Lopiding had fewer mouths to feed. He bought sorghum, the staple food in Karamoja, for his family of 10 but after a week, the money was gone.
But the ‘aid worker’ had not told him the truth. Lopiding thought he was only hiring out his daughter and she would come back after a while.
“He took my daughter to Kampala and promised to let her visit us often. It is now three years and she has not returned. Every day, I sit here with the hope of receiving her,†he says.
Like Lopiding, many poverty-stricken Karimojong parents have been duped into selling off their children. According to UNICEF, over 50,000 children from Karamoja have been sold or hired out since 2001.
In its 2008 global survey report entitled, “Challenges and opportunities for children in pastoral areasâ€, UNICEF noted that annually, over 5,000 children are taken out of Karamoja in search of food for families.
According to the survey, people from as far Teso, Kampala and Acholi, flock Karamoja daily looking for maids and labourers. They negotiate with the parents for a fee, which is paid before the child is taken.
Thereafter, the ‘employer’ is supposed to send money to the parents periodically as payment for the work that the child is doing. Sometimes the parents negotiate for a contract ranging from a few months to five years, after which the child is supposed to return home. Often, these agreements are not documented.
The children’s destinations include Soroti, Kumi, Mbale, Busia, Tororo, Iganga, Kampala and Kiryandongo districts.
The children are mostly from the sub-counties of Iriiri, Lorengechora and Lokopo in Napak district, while others come from the districts of Moroto, Nakapiripirit and Kotido.
A former UNICEF consultant, Moses Lulume, who carried out the survey between 1998 and 2008, says some children have been sold for as little as a 100kg bag of cassava flour.
“The Karimojong used to depend on cattle as their main source of livelihood but over the years, drought and cattle rustling have wiped out their livestock and they have no means of survival,†Lulume explains.
According to the 1982 animal population census, the Karimojong had over 8 million head of cattle, but today, the region has less than 2 million, with a population of 1 million people.
Lopiding was a rich man 10 years ago, who owned a big herd. He did not buy property or save money in a bank because wealth in Karamoja is measured in terms of cattle, which have since been claimed by rustlers, drought and disease, turning Lopiding into a poor man.
According to Kaabong deputy resident district commissioner Robert Okello, more than 500 young men and women migrate from Karamoja every week in search of jobs to sustain their families.
The youth and children affairs minister Ronald Kibuule, accuses some non-governmental organisations of encouraging parents to send their children to orphanages for a ‘better life’, only to use them as bargaining chips to get money from donors.
Kibuule visited orphanages that are run by NGOs using the Karimojong kids to get money. He said: “Some are raped and others are defiled. They are virtually sold off into slavery.â€
Kibule warned against selling the children and warned that the Police would crack down on the culprits.
“The biggest problem in Karamoja is lack of water and food. However, the Government is sinking billions into construction of valley dams. Soon, Karamoja will be a food basket for the rest of Uganda,†he explained.
The Government has also constructed over 10,000 boreholes for safe water. Each year, the Government sinks about sh2b into Karamoja from the NAADS programme to support farmers and over 50,000 have benefitted since 2006.
However, the majority are still living in massive poverty. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, poverty in Karamoja stands at over 80% compared to 31% nationwide.
A partnerships specialist at UNICEF, Anne Lydia Sekandi, says the Government has withdrawn 1,000 children from the streets and reunited them with their families.
“UNICEF supports government-led intervention and reintegration. UNICEF and her partners are adopting a two-pronged approach to help government tackle migration of children from Karamoja,†she says.
These include supporting families to increase their income and improve their livelihood, keeping children in school and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to ensure a good future, she explains.
and Olandason Wanyama
OVER 50,000 children in Karamoja have been sold or hired out by their parents since 2001. Many of them such as Peter Lopiding, 62, have done it to get money for food to feed their families.
Only weeks after the transaction, the money runs out and they regret selling their children.
Mzee Peter Lopiding, 62, is glued to his stool, Eche Cholon, under a tree at the bus stop at Iriri trading centre in the newly-created Napak district.
A Gateway bus from Kampala arrives and the door opens. Lopiding carefully looks at every disembarking passenger, with the hope that his daughter will be one of them. She isn’t. And as usual, he is disappointed.
He cannot count how many times he has come to the bus stop with the hope that his daughter will be one of the passengers from Kampala.
Three years ago, an ‘aid worker’, gave Lopiding sh50,000 and took his 14-year-old daughter to Kampala. His family was starving and they needed to buy food. Besides, with the girl gone, Lopiding had fewer mouths to feed. He bought sorghum, the staple food in Karamoja, for his family of 10 but after a week, the money was gone.
But the ‘aid worker’ had not told him the truth. Lopiding thought he was only hiring out his daughter and she would come back after a while.
“He took my daughter to Kampala and promised to let her visit us often. It is now three years and she has not returned. Every day, I sit here with the hope of receiving her,†he says.
Like Lopiding, many poverty-stricken Karimojong parents have been duped into selling off their children. According to UNICEF, over 50,000 children from Karamoja have been sold or hired out since 2001.
In its 2008 global survey report entitled, “Challenges and opportunities for children in pastoral areasâ€, UNICEF noted that annually, over 5,000 children are taken out of Karamoja in search of food for families.
According to the survey, people from as far Teso, Kampala and Acholi, flock Karamoja daily looking for maids and labourers. They negotiate with the parents for a fee, which is paid before the child is taken.
Thereafter, the ‘employer’ is supposed to send money to the parents periodically as payment for the work that the child is doing. Sometimes the parents negotiate for a contract ranging from a few months to five years, after which the child is supposed to return home. Often, these agreements are not documented.
The children’s destinations include Soroti, Kumi, Mbale, Busia, Tororo, Iganga, Kampala and Kiryandongo districts.
The children are mostly from the sub-counties of Iriiri, Lorengechora and Lokopo in Napak district, while others come from the districts of Moroto, Nakapiripirit and Kotido.
A former UNICEF consultant, Moses Lulume, who carried out the survey between 1998 and 2008, says some children have been sold for as little as a 100kg bag of cassava flour.
“The Karimojong used to depend on cattle as their main source of livelihood but over the years, drought and cattle rustling have wiped out their livestock and they have no means of survival,†Lulume explains.
According to the 1982 animal population census, the Karimojong had over 8 million head of cattle, but today, the region has less than 2 million, with a population of 1 million people.
Lopiding was a rich man 10 years ago, who owned a big herd. He did not buy property or save money in a bank because wealth in Karamoja is measured in terms of cattle, which have since been claimed by rustlers, drought and disease, turning Lopiding into a poor man.
According to Kaabong deputy resident district commissioner Robert Okello, more than 500 young men and women migrate from Karamoja every week in search of jobs to sustain their families.
The youth and children affairs minister Ronald Kibuule, accuses some non-governmental organisations of encouraging parents to send their children to orphanages for a ‘better life’, only to use them as bargaining chips to get money from donors.
Kibuule visited orphanages that are run by NGOs using the Karimojong kids to get money. He said: “Some are raped and others are defiled. They are virtually sold off into slavery.â€
Kibule warned against selling the children and warned that the Police would crack down on the culprits.
“The biggest problem in Karamoja is lack of water and food. However, the Government is sinking billions into construction of valley dams. Soon, Karamoja will be a food basket for the rest of Uganda,†he explained.
The Government has also constructed over 10,000 boreholes for safe water. Each year, the Government sinks about sh2b into Karamoja from the NAADS programme to support farmers and over 50,000 have benefitted since 2006.
However, the majority are still living in massive poverty. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, poverty in Karamoja stands at over 80% compared to 31% nationwide.
A partnerships specialist at UNICEF, Anne Lydia Sekandi, says the Government has withdrawn 1,000 children from the streets and reunited them with their families.
“UNICEF supports government-led intervention and reintegration. UNICEF and her partners are adopting a two-pronged approach to help government tackle migration of children from Karamoja,†she says.
These include supporting families to increase their income and improve their livelihood, keeping children in school and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to ensure a good future, she explains.