My Young Uganda
Uganda is known worldwide as the country with the youngest population in the world with its recent statistics showing that 49.4% of the population is between 15 and 65, while 2.5% was 65 years or older meaning that a huge number of the population is below the age of 15. This is an incredible number which brings the thought of so much potential among the youth in this bustling country. On top of this large number; a recent Harvard University study revealed that Uganda along with India would be the fastest growing economies in a few years.
India has a huge population of approximately one billion people. Therefore, the research concerning Uganda’s economy cannot just be mere hopes and dreams; there must be a correlation between a large young population and economic growth of a country. If you walk around downtown Kampala near the Old taxi park and the new taxi park you will see immense numbers of young people engaging themselves in the selling of various commodities from clothes along the street to even stationary for schools. In “Kikubo” you will find inconveniently spaced shops practically next to each other crammed to the roof of their small shops with products up for sale. On the other hand you will find many young people in arcades engaging in unprofitable risky ventures such as sports betting with limited chances of obtaining their money back. The glaring difference among these two groups of youth is so vivid in the streets of Kampala it’s nearly impossible to avoid it.
On June 7th 2014 a high risk study among slum youth in Kampala conducted by “Uganda Youth Development Link” discovered that 46% of teenagers in Kampala take alcohol, nearly the same percentage of people have their first sexual act before the age of 14. What is the cause of these numbers and why at such a young age are our youth engaging in such destructive behavior?
The lack of employment opportunities is one of the numerous causes of destructive behavior happening among our youth in Uganda today. Let’s face it. The growing number of unemployed youth in Uganda grows at a faster rate than employment opportunities that are made, this breeds an atmosphere of constant competition as well as a lack of innovative youth who solely depend on the idea of getting a white collar job with a basic salary. The education system has created a generation of “in the box” thinkers who find it difficult to come up with unique ideas which are daring enough to get for them their own source of income.
With so much time to spare after graduation, it’s not a surprise that so many young men and women are resorting to idol and destructive activities. They see their futures become dimmer and dimmer as days, weeks, months and years pass by within a moment. However, we can’t ignore some other facts also. Now more than ever young people are exposed to the world and what lies beyond the borders Uganda. The internet and technological advances has broadened the scope of potential innovations among young Ugandans. For example the electric car that was designed by young Ugandan students in Makerere known as “Kiira” which has of recent developed into a huge brand with concepts of electric buses to transport large number of people. Other examples also include the popular “40 days and 40 smiles” organization which was set up as a charity model by many young Ugandans to inspire youth to take active part in offering self-sustainable holistic support in the education of vulnerable children in Uganda.
Other examples may include the boom in the use of technology and IT. We find many youth engaging in courses to do with graphic design, web design, building applications for phones and so much more. There are numerous hubs where young aspiring graphic designers are able to work on real projects to test their skills and get exposure for example “the Hive “ in Kanjokya street, “Fireworks” in Kololo where young tech gurus flex their IT muscles and develop real money making skills that are capable of getting themselves out of poverty as well as regular “white collar” jobs.
It is very important for the older generation of Ugandans to remain optimistic. Reminding the youth that it is all their fault as to why they are failing is not the way to go. If anything our society has created an atmosphere for failure. For example, the constant reports of corruption, favoritism among company executives who pull moves behind closed doors to get their nieces and nephews in well-paying jobs without any reasonable qualifications. All this put aside I believe that our youth can rise up above the daily struggles and statistics which appear to be against them. Let’s not forget that the future of any nation is in the hands of its youth. We must trust them enough to make Uganda a better nation.
This article was written by Mark Kaggwa
