I’d like to write about how life is for the typical Ugandan. It’s good to start with the fact that a typical income is around 7,000 shillings ~$3.20 per day. However, many people earn as little as 3,000. ~$1.50 per day. I once thought that $2 goes far in a country like this but it actually does not. A 1.5 litre bottle of fresh water costs 1,500 though you could boil a lot more with 1,000 worth of charcoal. A basic meal might cost 1,000 in ingredients for something really bland. Rent would be at least 1,000 per day for a really run down house.
As you can see for a poor household, the budget is already blown. And remember, this is for the lowest end stuff. If you want the luxury of eating an apple, that’ll be another 1,000 per fruit. A BBQ meat skewer another 1,000. Of course, buying many such things requires a trip to town which will cost 3,000 for the round trip. School is not free either. As you can see, having anything but the minimum can blow the typical income very quickly.
What was that? Oh what you need soap? Some pants? Well, you’re just gonna have to go to bed hungry. How about some chairs and a table? You’ll be saving for a while! And you better not get sick. Paying for medication while you can’t work will is going to be one hell of a challenge. Any extra expense requires going without something important.
Now that we’ve used up our budget here’s how a typical household works. There is usually no running water. We often hear about this but it’s a huge problem. At home we just turn on the tap to get drinkable water. Here it requires people to go with jerry cans to the local water pump and carry it home. This is often done by children even younger than 10 and may involve 500m of up and down muddy hills twice a day with a 20 litre container. Young teenagers and below will tend to carry smaller bottles. I’ve even seen small children probably around 6 or 7 dragging a small water bottle up a hill with a rope. It’s very sad, especially when thinking about the tantrums we see kids having back at home. Recently I had to carry the 20 litre containers a few times and it is insanely hard. If I was a child without sufficient food I don’t know how I'd cope.
When the water reaches home, the parents have to boil it by burning charcoal in a ceramic bucket. Keep in mind that this can cost up to a third of some one's daily income after factoring in cooking food.
At home, there will usually be no glass windows (if there are windows) but rather wooden flaps. Although often they just have cardboard or cloth. Walls are usually old and crumbling onto a concrete floor. Walls might be brick but many are mud huts still remain from the past.
Then it’s time for food. Many families are peasant farmers who have to eat whatever they can grow. Any money they make is from selling whatever surplus food they have at these makeshift store fronts that appear in front of many houses. Due to seasonal availability, the whole family may have to eat just sweet potato or some other vegetable for a whole month or two. This is bland and not very nutritious which is why many children have fluid-filled bellies. Even if you have a job and buy your food, you would usually be eating rice, baked beans and potato. My friends speak of people who can have a varied meal with bread, eggs, fruit as well as the above as well off!
When it’s time to sleep you have to bathe with cold water and the toilet is always an outhouse. Even the toilets can range from luxurious with a door and roof like mine, to ones without either. A hot bath is out of the question. Back at home I can just turn the other knob. Here, a household would need to use around 1,000 shillings worth of charcoal to boil it for and that is money many don’t have.
I have always appreciated the higher end stuff I have such as my amazing Galaxy S3, the power windows in my car and miraculous microwave. I am also always amazed when I fly through the sky to anywhere in the world. However, I never really felt appreciation for the basic stuff. I knew I had things that people here didn't but you have to see and experience this place to really feel it. If I want to drink water, I turn a tap rather than exhaust myself carrying it from a local pump and then boiling it. If I want to have fun, there’s a paralyzing array of things to choose from. Getting soap, or other basic necessities doesn't require sacrifice. If I want to eat at home, my problem is choosing between a variety of delicious and nutritious food whereas here they may have to eat the one bland one all month long.
Just today I was struggling to eat my meal at the construction site (rice, beans, sweet potato and posho (cooked cornmeal). It’s so bland that after I’m not hungry anymore I have trouble eating it. So after 10 minutes of this I gave an almost full plate to group of 4 children. Within 90 seconds, they came back with a cleaned out plate.
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| Everyone has to work |
What was that? Oh what you need soap? Some pants? Well, you’re just gonna have to go to bed hungry. How about some chairs and a table? You’ll be saving for a while! And you better not get sick. Paying for medication while you can’t work will is going to be one hell of a challenge. Any extra expense requires going without something important.
Now that we’ve used up our budget here’s how a typical household works. There is usually no running water. We often hear about this but it’s a huge problem. At home we just turn on the tap to get drinkable water. Here it requires people to go with jerry cans to the local water pump and carry it home. This is often done by children even younger than 10 and may involve 500m of up and down muddy hills twice a day with a 20 litre container. Young teenagers and below will tend to carry smaller bottles. I’ve even seen small children probably around 6 or 7 dragging a small water bottle up a hill with a rope. It’s very sad, especially when thinking about the tantrums we see kids having back at home. Recently I had to carry the 20 litre containers a few times and it is insanely hard. If I was a child without sufficient food I don’t know how I'd cope.
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| A communal water pump |
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| Children carrying water |
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| This little girl is still training with a smaller container |
When the water reaches home, the parents have to boil it by burning charcoal in a ceramic bucket. Keep in mind that this can cost up to a third of some one's daily income after factoring in cooking food.
At home, there will usually be no glass windows (if there are windows) but rather wooden flaps. Although often they just have cardboard or cloth. Walls are usually old and crumbling onto a concrete floor. Walls might be brick but many are mud huts still remain from the past.
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| This windowless house is only slightly bigger than the chicken coup |
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| This better-off house has cardboard and cloth instead of glass |
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| Walls are crumbling, the floor is dirty. And you can't handle a even a little mess? |
Then it’s time for food. Many families are peasant farmers who have to eat whatever they can grow. Any money they make is from selling whatever surplus food they have at these makeshift store fronts that appear in front of many houses. Due to seasonal availability, the whole family may have to eat just sweet potato or some other vegetable for a whole month or two. This is bland and not very nutritious which is why many children have fluid-filled bellies. Even if you have a job and buy your food, you would usually be eating rice, baked beans and potato. My friends speak of people who can have a varied meal with bread, eggs, fruit as well as the above as well off!
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| Many homes have these store fronts to sell surplus food they have grown |
When it’s time to sleep you have to bathe with cold water and the toilet is always an outhouse. Even the toilets can range from luxurious with a door and roof like mine, to ones without either. A hot bath is out of the question. Back at home I can just turn the other knob. Here, a household would need to use around 1,000 shillings worth of charcoal to boil it for and that is money many don’t have.
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| This toilet has half a roof and even less of a door |
Just today I was struggling to eat my meal at the construction site (rice, beans, sweet potato and posho (cooked cornmeal). It’s so bland that after I’m not hungry anymore I have trouble eating it. So after 10 minutes of this I gave an almost full plate to group of 4 children. Within 90 seconds, they came back with a cleaned out plate.
Again, this is all stuff I knew but I never felt it until I had to actually carry the water container up hill, take a cold bath or eat the bland food. And I live in a relatively luxurious house here with a covered toilet, electricity, glass windows and varied food! Plus we have helpers that carry the water to the house and cook it for us.
I'm only experiencing half of the issues really yet it still a huge mix of emotions with mostly awe. It's just incredible that life can be like this here while it's so incredibly wonderful in Australia. Everyone should come here and help out while learning first hand how many issues back at home are just embarrassing to even mention. it's just been a bit over a week and it's already better than any holiday I can imagine. It's a country with massive contrasts. Beautiful green landscapes and hardcore poverty. The people are really amazing, and I'm not just saying that. They are very friendly, honest and hard working.
I'm only experiencing half of the issues really yet it still a huge mix of emotions with mostly awe. It's just incredible that life can be like this here while it's so incredibly wonderful in Australia. Everyone should come here and help out while learning first hand how many issues back at home are just embarrassing to even mention. it's just been a bit over a week and it's already better than any holiday I can imagine. It's a country with massive contrasts. Beautiful green landscapes and hardcore poverty. The people are really amazing, and I'm not just saying that. They are very friendly, honest and hard working.
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| They are not playing farmers |
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