Just another life story

Hello, I hope you are doing well. It has been a while since I wrote and trust me my mind has been buzzing with things to say to you. First things first, I hope you are staying home safe, washing your hands, keeping a social distance and observing the other national guidelines in the fight against COVID-19.

 Since we talk about life here, it would be a sacrilege against my sweet soul if I do not talk about Corona Virus and all that is fringed with it.

The situation going on worldwide is a challenging one, the stories we’ve read and the videos we have seen with our own eyes over the news among others. Families are crying, both men and women are calling out for help in all forms most importantly, food. One of the main questions that’s got me wondering is “How is the government going to solve our poverty levels, more so in such times?

Uganda is a struggling country in terms of economy, with 21% living under the poverty line. The most common of the causes of poverty in the country is over population, I will go straight to the point.

Women, the mothers are indubitably the most affected people by this pandemic. Imagine a family of 7 with both parents and 5 children living in a single rented house. The wife is a sit home mother whose day is characterized by making food with interludes of translated telenovelas on the local TV channels and the man is a Boda Boda rider in the city center. The money the man makes daily is just enough for the family to eat that exact day and a new one starts at zero. This implies that the family cannot be sustained in case the man is not in position to go to work especially at a time like this when there is a lock down.

Women give birth each day and as they do, the thought is always about the new “bundle of joy” they are bringing into the world. While more women keep bringing more “bundles of joy”, the population in their homes, village and later country grows. This happens every day. It is a good thing to have babies and grow our country, this means the workforce is widened and so is the local market base for products. The problem comes when the kids are not planned for.

Women have the power of changing the world by reducing the number of children they bring into the world.

Nevertheless, they are averted by many things that are usually brought about by ignorance and societal dictation. While some believe that giving a man few children makes it easy for him to leave you, others are convinced by the stereotypes about contraceptives that they are harmful to their lives and may lead to barrenness. 

This is the most common cause of the high rate of unwanted pregnancies among most women. With our birth rate in Uganda at 38.437 births per 1000 people, we need a population that is sustainable, not one that cannot survive when we face uncertainties like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like any good thing in life, Research does prove that contraceptives have side effects, but there is always a way to mitigate them. There are a number of them on the market, though one has to choose what works best for them, because at the end of the day it is easier to manage the situation than have to raise children one is not ready for.

Food for thought

In a time like this, if you are able, Thank God and reach out to someone. For a moment, everything in this world paused, let that shape you.

Special thanks to Raymond Mugume, for without your extra push I would not have published my first blog in 2020.