Have children when you''re ready, says Museveni
Sep 07, 2015
Having children irresponsibly and expecting either the state or good Samaritans to look after them is increasing the number of vulnerable children in Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has warned.
By Moses Walubiri
Having children irresponsibly and expecting either the state or good Samaritans to look after them is increasing the number of vulnerable children in Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has warned.
Officiating at the tenth anniversary of Kampala Children's Center (KCC) – an institution that looks after vulnerable children, Museveni called for discipline among Ugandans to avoid what he described as "social mistakes."
"These disadvantaged children are a product of social mistakes. We should avoid producing irresponsibly, not knowing how we are going to look after such children," Museveni said.
Located in Wakiso on the outskirts of Kampala, KCC was started in 2005 by Bishop Arnold Muwonge as a home for vulnerable children.
"You should have children when you're ready. The youths must grow up with discipline and lead purpose driven lives. This will minimize these kinds of problems," Museveni noted, saying "good Samaritans like Muwonge should only be a fallback position if families have failed."
The President also cautioned against leading "reckless lives" which might expose one to the risk of contracting AIDS.
Earlier, Susan Akot, one of the children at KCC gave a poignant account of her troubled family background - characterized by domestic violence - which finally saw her ending up at KCC. "KCC has given me hope and now I have a dream of becoming Uganda's first female president," Akot said thunderous applause.
According to United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Uganda, as of 2014, had 2.5 million orphans, 1.2 million of which had been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
On the issue of Universal Primary and Universal Secondary Education, Museveni promised to crack the whip on school administrators charging fees saying education under the two schemes is totally free.
"The rich can take their children to Budo and Ntare but USE and UPE is free," Museveni noted.
Muwonge lauded the president for sanctioning investment in Uganda's human resource citing South Korea which has achieved exponential growth in a generation as one of the countries that followed a similar path.
"Investment in the human resource and not aid will develop Uganda," Muwonge said, reeling off KCC's achievements and future plans including building a university.
The children at KCC, their humble backgrounds notwithstanding, are being given holistic education, with Muwonge revealing that their choir has performed for different audiences in far flung corners of the world including the United Nations and two British Prime Ministers.
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