February 5, 2012

You are here: Home / Archives for Grace Nakate

In pursuit of perceived acceptable norms…

November 21, 2011 By
Email
Namibie, une femme Himba et son enfant

Image via Wikipedia

Adorable babies are frequently associated with the physical attributes of being large and chubby. Onlookers cannot help but notice these little ones with so much fascination and say words like, “What a healthy baby!” Indeed the mother will most often be congratulated on attaining this healthy baby size for her child with questions or advice on what tips she can share with other mothers whose babies are
bony.

I recall such scenarios in the early days of my first daughter.  My eldest daughter although having been of average weight expectation at delivery, went on to become quite chubby in the first 9mths of her life. As most new mothers would empathise, she was the most exquiste baby – and often magazine photo shoot offers for baby magazines would be put forth.   Then illness struck and this appeared to have affected her interest with food, followed by a drop in weight whereby her chubby cheeks became a distant memory from her earlier photos.  Her interest in food waned even further as a toddler when her sister came along. To a larger extent in hindsight, she inherited my eating habits of being a fussy eater.

Photo taken in 1967 or 1968. The mother was on...

Image via Wikipedia

My second daughter was chubby from delivery and her interest in food was just as healthy, she actually opted to lose the breast-feeding in preference to the bottle at 3mths.  The reason behind this method for her I thought at the time was that, she was guaranteed to have her fill…I didn’t seem to have enough milk to satiate her appetite.  Somehow also got the feeling my oldest daughter gave up on eating when she mistook her baby’s sister to be in more need of it than her, whilst observing her at meal times.  It was her (older daughter) initial expression and action on that made me conclude this.

The public comparisons of the two daughters made about their weight appearances from all corners of our social circles got to me in those early days of motherhood.  This can be quite overwhelming especially if you are also trying to bond with your husband’s/partner’s relatives whilst also hoping to win their affection if not favour.  It can be made worse also if there happens to be other issues to contend with such as another person who your in-laws may or may not have in favour.

Most positive comments tended to favour the chubbier child – myself included I confess.  I had grown up with the perception that babies were to be chubby, that if they were thin or light, they didn’t somehow measure up to be babies.  Chubby babies were cuddlier…cute even.  It gave you a sense of pride that you had done a good job… Big is seen as healthy overall in Africa.

Ill-informed and possibly silly to note and I now know that, but it was how my take on babies was. (For their privacy, you will excuse me for not posting their photos.)  There was a 2.5yr gap between my two daughters then. The pressure to ensure that my oldest daughter ate to be just as chubby as her baby sister was quite overwhelming at worst.  It made meal times stressful for both of us and found me constantly checking that she was topped up with all sorts of vitamins to encourage her appetite.  I must have relaxed my paranoia at some stage - though I am not sure exactly when.

I remembered being force-fed as a toddler and throwing up straight after; so this memory for me, coupled with my personality for doing things my way, stopped me from putting my daughter through the same path. It meant I had to put up with comments of my older daughter’s weight and comparisons from parents of other toddlers of her age group at social gatherings and even at playgroups.  Some of these comments were said innocently but they still had a negative effect at times.  For example, some persons would ask if I was feeding her enough and unsolicited suggestions followed for me to try different vitamins for her appetite. Yes, some would even suggest force-feeding her.

It is on this basis that I find the case of Gloria Dwomoh who has been found guilty of causing the death of her child because of force-feeding to be quite tragic for all concerned.  She was trying to ensure that her baby was physically adorable to those who saw her. To be able to stand up to years of conditioned perception of what is acceptable practice in the hope of attaining the perceived ideal in your community and the need to belong is not always easy to set aside, no matter what education or setting one may have.  True she was working within a medical establishment, but how many persons can we name that we know are nurses or doctors or even within respected professions yet smoke like troopers, use what is socially accepted as social class-A drugs or out-drink any fish there is in the sea?  Yet these persons know the complications of their actions and the impacts on others related or otherwise, but still do so…   You might argue that their actions are on themselves – which to some extent is true; however their actions or results of their actions impact indirectly or directly to others around. Is this not simply a case of choice of accepting held perceptions of norms to our social or cultural conditioning at the exclusion of all else? What does this have to say about social inclusion society’s complex cultures and beliefs in relation to the law of the land?

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: African Culture, Grace Nakate, Latest, Out of Africa Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Food security and the impact of agriculture commercialisation

September 1, 2011 By
Email
CIA World Factbook map of the country of Uganda.

Image via Wikipedia

In early part of 2009, shortly before March the 13th, the impact of industrialisation in Africa sore its seed during an intense contemplatation program set up to look at ways of promoting for food security in Africa. I (even though not an agriculaturist) and perhaps quite a number of persons; perceived an incoming industrial revolution in Africa that might pose a significant threat to agricultural advancement if government policy goes negatively unchecked. Let me make it clear that I do accept that industrialisation is great; it will allow Africa a bigger room in the goods and service market of the world. It will engulf as well enable agriculture with a lot of great prospects as agro-industries might receive a greater attention of government and both domestic and foreign investors as is already happening in Zambia and Rwanda. Both small scale and large scale commercial agriculture will be the drive for both the young and old. Industrialization will also help African countries trade among one another in a unique way. This is because, most countries in Africa have almost the same commodity type; from agricultural resources to mineral resources. For instance, Uganda would not sell coffee beans to Kenya and vice versa because they both produce it on commercial quantities. However, the story can greatly change if Uganda’s coffee is taken through an industrial process and well processed and packaged branded coffee is produced out of it.  I am biased in stating that Uganda’s coffee is the best in Africa; the government and private sector actors in Kenya might readily patronize a lot of Uganda coffee but will not do same for Uganda’s coffee beans because Kenya is the leading exporter of coffee in Africa. These are some positive externalities of industrialization.

Many governments in Africa have pursued industrialization vigorously as part of their developmental plan over the decades. This has given rise to a lot of commercial agriculture where agro-industries are concerned. As a result, larger lands (arable lands) has been dedicated to industries. But, we all know that the greater percentage of the food provided the continent comes from indigenous Africans who own smaller farm lands. Now, imagine if the same size of arable lands allocated to factories are given to farmers whose desire is to invest their energies and time in large scale subsistence farming. It is subsistence farming that feeds Africa but when large scale commercial farming comes in, factories to process the cash crops cultivated on this commercial farms for exports will be a necessity. The question is: Will Africa export food whereas over 200million people of its people are chronically undernourished? Africa spends over $18billion on food importation; this means, greater percentage of the monies derived from Africa’s food exports are used to buy food into Africa again, sometimes with costs higher than what it earns during export. The reality is that, the dependency theory always works against Africa, farm inputs are heavily subsidized for farmers in most of the countries outside of the continent we directly trade with. Hence, African agriculture will have to decrease the prices of her commodities so they can get a market for the foods exported.

Advantages:

This is where industrialization provokes a positive externality, where it embraces processed foods, some for export and some for domestic consumption. This will greatly help decrease a lot of processed foods imported. But, when industrialization completely shifts from agriculture into the manufacturing goods and services there will be a threat of an intense state of food insecurity. In Africa, it is only prospects for food security that was not dated among all of the things stated in the financial times of 2003; 9th July (read Financial Times, July 9, 2003; p.1). It is said that over 500 children die of malnutrition every day and the situation is worsening.

Disadvantages:

The negative externalities of industrialization are many but the significant among them, to me, are global warming and the provocation of acid rains it will command upon African soils.  Africa already lies at the heart of the over-head sun. Emission of more Carbon dioxide gasses into its atmosphere will spell disaster. The depletion of the Ozone layer will make the situation unbearable for some crops to thrive as well as dehydrate farmers who use their natural energies to farm. Many children suffering from malnutrition, especially diarrhoea, are at greater risk since they lose too much energy. Smaller streams that naturally irrigate certain farms lands dry up as well as rivers and other important water bodies useful for irrigational purposes. This is already evidenced in parts of Africa (experiencing famines or threat of famines) where there has been political instability coupled with the extreme unforgiving weather patterns such as in the Horn of Africa.

Secondly, poisonous gases emitted to the atmosphere from industries will induce acid rains, rich in sulfur and other chemicals, upon soils. Microorganisms that should add nutrients into the soil will eventually die; the only option will rest upon fertilizer usage, especially inorganic fertilizers, which is equally a disaster. A lot of inorganic materials in the body will pose health risk and many will die from food related diseases because Africa’s health systems are so weak to cater well for the sick. Furthermore; additional monies will be spent on fertilizer importation, causing losses to Africa’s foreign currency reserves and consequently sky-rocketing food prices. Already, most of the humus layers of Africa’s agricultural soils have been completely destroyed by ploughs whose blades are several inches larger than the thickness of the humus layer. For example, in Uganda, the humus layer is about six inches thick so when you use ploughs with disk sizes of say, 26 or 32 inches on Uganda’s soil, you will actually be burrying the micro-organisms deep down leaving no nutrients to be absorbed by plants. This will result in more money being spent on the importation of inorganic fertilizers. Many farmers who cannot afford the high cost of production will subsequently move out of business. In 2008, the Algerian government invested $10billion into agriculture and it yielded great dividends, this is to tell you how risky the venture is. Therefore, since agriculture is such a risky venture (a reason that scares most African government away from investing heavily into it) we must not further heighten the risk by imposing unmanageable factors on it.

There must be a limit for things we do. Food security is paramount. African leaders must not allow themselves to be driven by this proclivity for modernity to the degree where all they care about is GDP growth rather than strengthening local food reserves. For most of these leaders, growth in GDP means an opportunity to attract more inter-governmental financial aid in-flows from the Western countries that never gets to the African people.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: African Development, Grace Nakate, Latest, Out of Africa Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Food security

August 15, 2011 By
Email
The official emblem of the International Commi...

Image via Wikipedia

 

Following on from my previous rant about aid and charity being a constant feature of dependent famine stricken places of the East African region I am back again on somewhat a similar trail.  Do bear with me – this is a labour of love. Grateful I certainly am at the response to the crisis and the fact that now long-term ventures are being looked in to as opposed to short-term relief as tends to be the practice of old.

Focussing on Somalia for a moment, I am left wondering what the impact is on the Somali pirates the irony being that in the presence of a famine crisis, the clans or rebels in Somalia have allowed the Red Cross, corridor access to some areas of Somalia.  There really is something not quite right with this mentality on most levels, the first being that it is because of this obsession with in-fighting which is giving breed to sustained civil wars that are keeping civilians away from doing anything productive on their lands to stem the famine! This is the same country we must remember that is divided up into factions purporting to an Islamic way of life i.e Al-Shabaab whilst leaning to extreme acts of human rights abuse citing religious grounds.  Of most recent, they passed a law banning samosas because of the shape of pastry its made into!

The fact is EA, Uganda especially has no business being hungry.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: African Development, Grace Nakate, Latest, Out of Africa Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Lightening storms of Uganda

August 5, 2011 By
Email
This photograph, acquired in February 1984 by ...

Image via Wikipedia

Some of you might recall the thunderstorms we had in the early week of July here in the UK.  The noise was deafening.  Were it not for the welcome relief from the hot June month to replenish what had a very dry spell of very little to virtually no rainfall in the preceding months, the experience wouldn’t have been welcomed.    The storm found me in the office but although predicted and warned about, nothing prepared me for the volume of water let alone the noise from the lightening storm. As scared as I was, my fear was groundless. There were lightning rods that deflected each bolt of lightning and I wasn’t in any danger.

Some of us might have romantic notions about storms and indeed they do make pretty awesome viewing as seen in some of the ariel photos often taken.  Some people have even developed addictions and become storm chasers if we are to believe and accept the Hollywood version of events as depicted in some of the movies. Perhaps this romantic/fun notion might evaporate if and when you read on.

In the mid to late part of June this year, 21 people were killed in Uganda by a savage lightning storm that swept through parts of Uganda.  17 students and one teacher were killed when a freak storm sent lightning bolts raining down on the Runyanya Primary School, in Kiryandongo district in Uganda on the 29th of June. Initially officials in Uganda had put this figure at 15 people in a given week based on limited access due to the geographical locations of where these sad occurrences had happened. Adding to the communication issue, the transmission of three radio stations had reportedly been damaged by the lightening storm. Several police officials across the East African nation cited incidents. In all, they said 52 people have also been injured by the strikes.

The highest fatalities had occurred in buildings where persons had rushed to take shelter from the storm giving indication that lack of lightning conductors on buildings could be partly responsible for the deaths.  The irony being that persons sought refuge in churches/mosques or schools, only to meet with their deaths. Many buildings are built on high ground- perhaps keeping them safe from flash floods, but making them targets for lightning bolts. A simple lightning rod would be all the protection those buildings need to keep persons safe from unpredictable weather. Each lightning rod costs $400/£244.

Currently storms in Uganda are a serious threat to life. Some sources indicate changing weather patterns in Uganda will make electrical storms more common. To date, in total more than 30 people have lost their lives and more than 100 people have been injured in the unusual summer storms – in the sense that this weather pattern is rare.

Most likely linked somewhat to the ecological imbalances cited in climatic changes and soil degradation whereby deforestation has been so intense on high grounds to make way for buildings and human habitation.  Some of you might also quite rightly question the health and safety element in place pertaining to regulations in these parts of the world.  The honest answer is: these things are all well researched and published. BUT enforcing regulations or laws in countries like Uganda is something of a great challenge and weak at all levels.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Grace Nakate, Latest, Out of Africa Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Like a song rehashed

July 19, 2011 By
Email
Cover of "Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Workin...

Cover via Amazon

…Africa’s dependency on aid and consumerism seems to be the order of the day.

Been watching events unfold in the Horn of Africa from the famine along with the question of aid be it in global immunisation drives by the GAVI organisation or the world food programme.  The issues pertaining to famine or disease endemics in Africa is giving me cause to accept the sceptics who have long been echoing the likes of Dambisa Moyo as depicted in her book Dead Aid.

Recent calls for fundraising to generate help for the famine that is engulfing refugee camps in Dadaab, N.E Kenya took me back to a time in the 80s as a teenager.  At that time, I remember participating in all sorts of fundraising schemes going, be it community or school run activities, to make a difference to the millions of persons that were suffering from the scourge of famine in Ethiopia.  I was 13yrs old.

It was in 1980, when Toto released Africa which was to later launch the Live 8 concert at the Eden project England in 2005.  In 1984, the now Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure of Ultravox founded the charity super group Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. They went on to organise the charity super-concert Live Aid the following year and the Live 8 concerts in 2005.  Hot on its heels, the world was soon to see the American version of fundraising borne.  Following Band Aid‘s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” project in the UK, an idea for the creation of an American benefit single for African famine relief came from activist Harry Belafonte, who, along with fundraiser Ken Kragen, was instrumental in bringing the vision to reality. Several musicians were contacted by the pair, before Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie were assigned the task of writing the song. Following several months of working together, the duo completed the writing of “We Are the World” one night before the song’s first recording session, in early 1985. The last recording session for the song was held on January 28, 1985.

All these two major global campaigns simply appear to have served as platform for business opportunities in the aid service industry.

From here on, we have had various aid agencies and charity organisations some under the UN charter, under religious umbrellas, and all scrambling to prove they can out-do the other in solving the crisis which depict Africa.  They all have one common theme – to help Africans – and herein lay the problem.  Africa has more aid or charity agencies than it has of affiliated innovative backed companies, research or grass root manufacturing companies.  If you doubt this, check out some of the considered troubled areas and count how many aid vehicles or staff you see moving about.  In some parts the food prices and accommodation in these regions has gone up to rival what the local person can ill afford!   Africa has the land, minerals, climate, and man-power (albeit challenged in discipline), yet remains a huge global consumer base in all areas of her development.    And this seems to suit those who are happy to support and perpetuate the dependency mentality; or maybe to perhaps appease or absolve themselves when they donate what is already underwritten as  foreign reserves in their allocated national budgets.

Far better qualified persons to me have already raised alternatives to what ought to be done with the continent of Africa so I will not regurgitate it nor do I wish to rehash it.   All I can say is that the song which is rehashed each time to play on the public’s emotions is getting over worn.  It is baffling as to why the UN which overseas some of these refugee camps in desolate regions of the world is remaining silent to the root causes of such instability.  Mainly that of corrupt leaders who are in the pockets of corporate firms/companies in developed nations.  The objectivity of these leaders is to remain in power, whereby all the resources are poured in to harnessing military wear which they soon turn on their people in times of being threatened with loss of this power.  For one has to ask: meteorologists give warnings of such climatic changes (and they tend to be quite vocal of late!), historically, persons from these regions used to harvest crops and store them in granaries, they also used to have well-maintained ater reservoirs – the list is endless.  Yet we are led to believe and observe that these persons are now nothing more than global beggars, victims of climate change just fleeing about from one camp to the next leaving a huge chunk of their native country empty if we are to go by the numbers reported.  So if most of these refugees have taken to living in atrocious refugee camps – who is remaining in their country of origin and why have they not been held to account for some sort of articulated genocide?

The actions of the UN in so far as redressing such crisis in Africa appears to indicate that it is far much easier to call on the public in developed nations every ~10yrs to part with money to deal in crisis management as opposed to prevention.  I could go on with my rants…but I’m truly tired mentally (the flu has also taken its toll!) and exhausted of having the same song playing.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Africa Matters, African Development, AFRICAN DIASPORA, African People, African Politics, Grace Nakate, Latest Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What’s with solar and Africa?

June 29, 2011 By
Email

Solar sisters- Ruhanga SW Uganda

For a few days now I’ve wanted to finish writing up this blog.  The issues pertaining to this itch in my head are of a non-dandruff variety I hasten to add, though it keeps coming up time after time in what appears to now be a rush to get all sorts of investments going on the African continent.  There seems to be frenetic activity for all sorts by co-operatives, governments of the world – developed and those in the throes of developing, all heading south to the African continent in search of resources, land, wildlife and basically all anyone cares to list.  So much advice from experts in all disciplines as well as lay persons, myself being amongst this feast that I’m at a loss as to what is or not viable.    Yet amidst all this, I still find Africa at the receiving end of being a consumer of the global markets presenting themselves at her door.  I will talk from the little experience of one country I have of one East African country in particular.

Uganda would appear to be allowing herself to remain a dumping ground for whoever can bring their products or stuff out to her.  At onset of oil discovery, there was cited to have been so much excitement it could be palpated from the moon.  As a result those predominantly “in-click” (these are from families with connections to the leadership) with the regime have been busy sending off hundreds of students to go and study Oil Science and all Oil related disciplines, one asks themselves to do what? Not a bad thing on one hand I and probably many others would argue…a well-equipped and skilled labour force is a positive thing.  The drawback is the ratio of sharing this national pie – as is always the problem with autocratic regimes prevalent now. Oil was “discovered” or made public to the “public” approximately three years back, possibly less than this time, but the amount of effort and drama that has gone to its support and closed deals , in addition to giving away chunks of that crude oil to foreign companies has been amazing.  Not to mention the speculative sums paid out before even one barrel came out.

The point of my angst is actually not even to do with who is taking what or where from this new -found wealth within Uganda.   I sincerely wish them all well and pray they make good moral choices with all that this brings.  My harpings are more connected with the nature of investment being poured in to such countries like Uganda.  These fall short of the global view about not only cutting carbon emissions which are a major cause of the current global climate effects but also of the need to back up what now most agree is the need for Africa to cut away from the apron strings of donor/aid reliance.  These students partaking in studies abroad cost African revenue highly, and when they do master the trade chances of them being loyal to the motherland are 50/50 given the working conditions.  But let’s say the conditions are of the same standard to where they are trained at, the top consultative posts are most likely to be held by foreign nationals who will require to be paid highly for the inconvenience of relocation etc…Then there’s the equipment hired or bought for drilling etc… To my knowledge I am not aware of any laboratories or factories which have opened up to support this new found wealth. I could go on, but even I get tired of my ramblings!

I am baffled and remain so as that when it comes to something like the sun that is available all year round on the continent of Africa; this sun that can be generated to produce a lot from it in various ways, no single effort or scholarship or reduction or removal of taxes or LARGE incentive for people to go solar! Why are investors or even life-time African governments and leaders, not investing in production of solar panels on their own soil but still insist on exporting ready-made products?    Somebody please help me make sense of this itch!  Because not long now, hydro

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: African Development, Grace Nakate, Latest Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Parenting rants

June 11, 2011 By
Email
RavnenN41Oktober1900

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve not been blogging for a few days now and all had been going really well! The girls have been good; as for me I’ve just been going with the flow and actually ENJOYING it! Well I was…Apologies as this blog is not going to be about any of the subject matters this site is famed for. My brain has been taken over by teenage woes and I will surrender to this for now.

All hell broke loose come last Friday before the last Bank holiday in May :( OMW! Last three days I’ve felt so drained, confused, don’t know what to do. My youngest teenager has been a complete MONSTER since breaking up from school for half term.   Actually that’s not exactly true… she has been mutating into a monster even before the half-term, with an attitude to rival Vicky Pollard and a potty mouth to boot!  My hand itched to smack some sense in to her at some point and I had to remember the therapy sessions alongside the meditation.  It really helps.  You avoid committing murder or suicide, sometimes both in whichever order takes flight.

One of the heightened rebellious acts to come out of my youngest’s crusade to use up all her teenage escapades has been that of not returning home at the agreed time, opting instead to stay out late, getting in to all sorts of scuffles that I’m not even going to go in to here more for my sake as she sometimes peeps in and reads. She is aiming to become a lawyer and the way she argues, I don’t want to end up with a lawsuit on my hands! On the occasions when she had her friend sleepover, they spent the whole 2 nights up talking and I suspect sneaking in some alcohol. I suspect this because I found a top for Dissarano bottle, and I know its liquor I definitely do not purchase.  It would be futile asking either of them to own up on asking and in any case, I had to get up bleary-eyed for work from a night spent with one ear out to make sure they don’t escape out in to the night.  If you think I’m joking on this, I am not!  Another thing my youngest teen has taken to is a hankering to hang around with her “girls” in the park late in to the night, I also suspect with boys.  Every warning or talking to just washes over her, I’ve taken to just leaving her small notes in her jacket pockets reminding her to make good choices.  I doubt but hope she sees and reads these.  She has been told off to the point where I catch myself questioning the sense of deja vu each time I open my mouth to say something to her.   I’ve tried all sorts of tactics just to get her attention and it feels as though nothing I’ve done, tried, or said has even sunk in.  Exhaustion does not even begin to cover it.  Between her and her older sisters, also in their teens, it is like supervising a relay team of schizophrenic teenagers versus menopausal symptoms baying for attention.

Also I have to ask: is it just me or has any other person (especially single parents) with teenagers here in the UK found that when their teens are playing up something rotten, not many people like to offer to take them in or off the parent’s hands for some respite.  If anything it has the negative effect on friendships especially if those friends have never been through parenting.  Social services is an interesting body.  They prefer to wait until the “child” has committed or has had something committed to them, before they can make any move.  As for working single parents, well this is another interesting phenomenon.  Of recent so much negative publicity has circulated in the media about single parents that woe-betide any single parent who throws in the towel and opts to stay home to raise their kids.  It is ok to end up suffering from bipolar, but please do it quietly and out of society’s view.  Worse still, a single parent of the diaspora community who is also looked up to for economical support by those in the motherland.  I could be wrong in this observation and for this, I stand to be corrected.

Wish I could say that it’s just been one of those days – but I cannot!  It is more the case of it’s one of those weeks or months!  It didn’t help that the last 2 days before breaking up from school; the youngest had taken to staying out late and then opting to bunk out of lessons claiming all sorts.  Either that, or making a meal out of applying makeup prior to going to school a keen to getting ready for a night out as if to audition for the Rocky Horror Show!  Then there are the arguments with her sisters over personal items which are taken without permission that compose my daily alarm of being woken up by yelling and shouts of accusations with each daughter wanting me to take their story as justified.  I have given up trying to reason as to why they each refuse to respect each other’s property or personal space.  It’s an alien concept and I am the alien to even propose such.  Empathy is something the good Lord left out in the teenage package.

One does get the occasional lull in the home. Usually this happens when the older two are engrossed on their BBMs and the youngest has the television all to herself watching Vampire diaries.  The only other action from the girls would then perhaps be towards eating all the remaining snacks around in the ladder store – to avoid having to eat any home prepared meals.  Anything else is too taxing and will always receive a response of “I will do it later” which usually translates, “just before I ask you for some pocket money”.

Makes you long for the toddler days when the only challenge then was minimised to the point where I had to tell them every little instruction, wash your hands, get some soap, wash soap off, turn tap off, dry your hands, get out the bath room, say good night to your goldfish etc, get up to bed and so on!

There was some flickering light at the end of the tunnel today albeit it started off wobbly.  My youngest still tried to push the boundaries by going and staying out late ignoring all attempts to get her on the phone from where she was at.  Eventually she returned, mumbled her usual apologies with a crest fallen look.  By which time anyway it was so late I needed her to be in bed sleeping to be up early for school the following day.  However, the fever of her latest escapade seems to be dissipating – for now anyway.  There is a God indeed and to that my hope is refreshed! Grateful too for having an understanding and supportive partner in my life to shoulder the challenges.  If I’ve not said it before sweetheart and you are reading this, I do love you and I am blessed indeed, warts and all.

Every stage of our human development is a challenge of mental agility.  At this rate, I’m wondering if I will still have any left to see me through my golden years!  I do apologise for going off on a rant but I am grateful that I got most of it off my chest now – well at least a great percentage of it anyway!

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: AFRICAN DIASPORA, Grace Nakate, Latest, Out of Africa Tagged With: , , , ,

Mother nature v man-made

April 6, 2011 By
Email
Civil engineering and infrastructure repair in...

Image via Wikipedia

Getting my mojo back to write or even blog has meant my having to dig deep within me for justification.  It has been very challenging to find a positive outlook on what to blog about to tie it in with the African theme mostly seen on this site.  Hence the long pause brought on my inner reflection at the events currently playing out in the world, irrespective of the lunar projections which seem to be the driving force at the madness or planned chaos in some part by humans. It is uncanny that whenever armed conflict is waged it always seems to be around a specific time of the year…

On March 11th this year, most of the outside global community  including myself woke up to the news of a large tsunami which had hit the North East coast of Japan leaving devastation, the cause of its aftermath, to date is still  rolling on to the radiation from the nuclear plants damage. This had followed on earlier to one of the largest earthquake ever to have been recorded in history measuring 8.9.  Whilst watching the events unravelling on a daily basis I have to add, partly because I have friends in this part of the world, but also because of the magnitude of such devastation this nation has experienced I am simply in awe of how of how all of her people are coping with the aftermath.  The discipline and mutual respect is exemplary.  Yes I have heard people state that Japan is a rich nation and therefore she can cope with the devastation – unlike other previous hits like in Indonesia (26th December 2004) or at worst Haiti (January 12th 2010).

The part about wealth (Japan) is true.  To me however, wealth without unified discipline from society’s grassroots upwards is just as bad as a poor society that lacks focus and unity in discipline.  We have comparisons with events in Hurricane Katrina which occurred in what is globally considered and seen to be a wealthy country.  On August 29th 2005, New Orleans suffered devastation from a hurricane leading to the largest US domestic relief effort in history.   The mismanagement of the relief effort, and the apparent insensitivity of the President (who did not visit the area for days), led to a dramatic decline in Bush’s popularity. It also raised accusations of racial prejudice, with campaigners for civil rights asserting that relief would have been more forthcoming had the victims not been overwhelmingly poor and Black, but rich and White. Congress approved a reconstruction budget of $200 billion, but much of the money’s effectiveness in subsequent years was undermined by corruption.

Fact is; coping with loss of lives cannot be measurable in terms of wealth or poverty – they hurt just the same to those afflicted.  Disciplined and unified organisation is however a factor in how long-term impact is effected – to me this is where Japan and her people are to be commended and for countries like us in Africa especially need to learn a thing or two.  I hear some already saying Japan is a small area so this is easy to do – well, an idea starts small and grows. A nation’s survival is a joint and mutual effort by all in it irrespective of tribe, race, colour, faith etc. Mutual respect.

Now I move to the current pain I am feeling about unfolding events in Africa, in particular one of the North African countries.  Without a doubt, and because of my nature and personality, I would be the first to speak out against the brutality of actions met out by the current leader against those opposing him.  However in the same breath I would also use the same yardstick to speak out at anyone else who goes double or even quadruple to what the oppressor is doing.  Thing is, the truth is lost in this conflict that rages and what saddens me most is that once again, we are witnessing yet again a breakdown of social and economic infrastructure in another country all in the name of removing one person perceived to be the oppressor.  The spoils of war to benefit yet again, persons already developed – true style to echo survival of the fittest.  The very people being “assisted” to change their leadership will be the same people yet again digging deep in their pockets to pay out for the rebuilding as well as payment for the coalition’s efforts in coming to their perceived rescue.  Bombs/missile, aside from taking out lives, is also monetary to produce and therefore will require to be paid for.  Fact is: Africans do not appear to be learning the lesson. At the genesis of each power transition to a new leader, they rejoice on promises being given them for the honeymoon period.  Each new leader may or may not start off with good intentions but in the end, it becomes murky.  For as long as African does not have an economic power, nor work on mutual care and discipline amongst her people, they remain open to abuse by corporate power brokers with their own interests who will do everything and anything to keep Africa and her people at the consumer end of the bargain.

The UN and coalition government forces need to redress how they handle their own corporate business companies that readily do deals with known and suspected regimes that abuse fledgling developing countries and not just come out to treat symptoms. For in taking to bombing however precise or otherwise, it is to me like an adult taking to beating up a child where reasoning has failed.

I pray for enlightenment and for humanity to hold true meaning and translation to all, but especially those in powerful positions invisible to the common person.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Africa Matters, Grace Nakate, Latest Tagged With: , ,

The “f” in feminism

March 15, 2011 By
Email

I’ve often been asked which side of the coin I fall on pertaining to the feminist movement and I have to say I’ve always not been sure.  I believe in mutual respect of persons as well as accepting that there are certain things which I would prefer to have a man do for me without having to be taxed to doing them myself to the equal setting.  The feminist movement as I first got educated about seems to be at odds with some of the persons who claim the label and are quick to virtually silence anybody that is male to the point that I at times pity the male child.  Female bosses from experience have been worse than their male counterparts – some citing the difficulties they had to undergo to get to top.  I would be of the school of thought that would have thought that the experiences they went through at being badly treated by males would have given them a head start in correcting and indeed showing that the alternative is better as opposed to becoming the abuser!  The drive for equality which the feminist brigade appears to be about has to me done more harm than good.  It focussed so much on educating us the females about how to get our rights to equality but spared little thought in educating the males with whom we had to share this new found access to equality.  As a result, you get some of us females working twice as hard in all areas, in order to maintain the equality badge!  From experience, it seems to be the case that feminism as played out here in developed countries by “girl power is all about gender battles if not fame at any cost,  to put down men at whichever opportunity arises – not about co-existence or supportive roles for genders.  This is partly why I am hesitant to support girl child programmes in Africa in their present format as most often they alienate the boy-child leaving me wondering what is to become of these secluded generations of young ladies/men or how they will benefit their communities in a balanced way.

Having started off on a rant, I will now give due respect to Annie Lennox, a feminist.  To mark International Women’s day, I have been moved by the works of Annie Lennox in spear-heading in this year’s events which kicked off in London on the 6th of March whereby she gave an interview on what she and five other high profile females had to say on feminism as it is seen today (http://www.eurythmics.me.uk/2011/03/06/annie-lennox-in-todays-observer/).  I am a fan of Annie Lennox’s music from way back in my early twenties alongside her bold move to come across as beautiful short-haired woman that opted to market her voice as opposed to shedding her clothes to market herself.  I admired the resilience and spirit she has continued to show in coping with her private challenges alongside her activism in global social issues especially pertaining to the female gender.

The interview Annie and the other ladies raised questions which as a female with female children offspring, have further heightened my concern about how feminism is perceived in our society both here in the developed world and in the developing world – namely Africa.

“For me the anomaly is that the western countries are so resourced. I can identify with a woman losing a child. This happened to me, I lost a baby. But I’m living in a place where I can get medical treatment. A woman in Rwanda or Uganda or Bangladesh will deliver a baby on the floor and probably it won’t survive and there’s a good chance the mother won’t either. Being conscious of this vast disparity between our experiences, I’m appalled the word feminism has been denigrated to a place of almost ridicule and I very passionately believe the word needs to be revalued and reintroduced with power and understanding that this is a global picture. It isn’t about us and them.” Annie Lennox.

“Uganda’s maternal mortality rate continues at an unacceptably high level. While maternal mortality figures vary widely by source and are highly controversial, the best estimates for Uganda suggest that roughly between 6,500 and 13,500 women and girls die each year due to pregnancy-related complications. Additionally, another 130,000 to 405,000 women and girls will suffer from disabilities caused by complications during pregnancy and childbirth each year.” USAID.

Ironically in Uganda, given the state of the healthcare system, the female vote at virtually 90% is what endorsed to sustain the status-quo of Ugandan governance.  We definitely need to revisit what feminism is or should be about.

Filed Under: Grace Nakate, Health, Latest, Out of Africa Tagged With: , , , ,

Dr Ian Clarke – the Irish-Ugandan politician

February 16, 2011 By
Email

Dr Ian clarke

Dr Ian Clarke Busuulwa’s bid to win the Makindye Division LC-3 chairman’s job has pulled in attention from various corners of the population.  Aside from the obvious physical fact of his external appearance of being white (mzungu), he is also a renown figure within the private healthcare service industry of Uganda. The Irish-born Ugandan owns International Hospital Kampala and International Air Ambulance.  He moved to Uganda in the late 1980′s to set up a rural community hospital, north of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city.

In November 2010, Dr. Ian Clarke entered Uganda politics by securing nomination, as an Independent, to contest for the Chairmanship of Makindye Division, one of the five (5) divisions of the city of Kampala. His three pillars in the election are: “good roads, good health and economic development”. Dr Clarke is facing incumbent Moses Kalungi, FDC’s Livingstone Kizito, DP’s Deogratius Kijjambu, and NRM flag bearer Rashid Biruma. Clarke, who has lived and worked in Uganda for the last 23 years, is widely viewed as Kalungi’s main rival in the race.

In a brief telephone interview with Ida Horner, Dr Clarke gives some insight as to what made him become interested in local politics at the community level.  He viewed local governance as being “the most responsible and important position in politics” as it addressed local issues most pressing to the people such as garbage collection and delivery of service to the area in which he resided in. “Our people are suffering without good health facilities and roads. My leadership, if I am elected as LC3 chairperson, will be to address these social challenges” he said.

“I will also improve garbage collection and water coverage, and ensure that other social services reach local people,” Clarke added.

However being a foreigner and a muzungu (white person) at that, the reaction of how native Ugandans especially those within his locality viewed his political entrance is one which most would question.  A resident of Muyenga hill, Clarke said his inability to speak Luganda would not stop him from communicating with the masses. It was interesting to find that at one political gathering where he had met such opposition from one person to find that it was the crowd which had come to his defence telling the person that “colour was not important”.  On the whole Dr Clarke views Uganda as being a non-racial country and his colour has not been a handicap.

With regards to the forthcoming general presidential elections, Dr Clarke as most would-be -politicians tend to be cautious on saying who the outright winner will be albeit he acknowledged that the incumbent had spent a lot of money ahead of these elections.  Dr Clarke did state that of the 2 out 3 independent opinion polls,  Yoweri Museveni had a clear majority and retains popularity nation-wide except in Buganda.  The second runner up, Kizza Besigye lacked support in rural areas.

There was no elaboration on how the Diaspora vote featured in this interview aside from highlighting the main benefit as it were to those that were considering relocating back to Uganda – that being down to the quality of life versus having to accept a cut in expected salary.  However the standard of life was in direct relation to the cost of living, i.e., a drop to a salary 1 million UGX/per annum being adequate to cover living costs etc…

Now the international media having been awash with reports of gay rights activist’ death and a proposed death penalty Bill by the Ugandan parliament. The question paused to Dr Clarke was whether he saw David Kato’s death as a coincidence or not, and in general how did he perceive homosexuality within Ugandan society.  His response was that he didn’t think David Kato’s death was a coincidence and that whilst Ugandans in general are a people who “live and let-leave”, Ugandan society “was not ready for the open life-style of gay people”.  He did believe that the gay Bill was down to someone wanting to make publicity mileage out of it. Well – if that is all what the aim was, it certainaly has been a marathon of a mileage and as for the truth pertaining to the death of the gay activist, that too as with so many other mysteries of life one can only wait and see.

Finally..let’s watch the space for the forthcoming local elections in May to see if Dr Clarke wins the coveted LC-3 post.

Filed Under: Grace Nakate, Latest, Out of Africa Tagged With: , , , , , ,
« Older Posts