Local tourism is an important business that Ugandans could take advantage of. It would not be about wasting time as some would say, but about something that comes with many amusements, lessons and wonder or a kind of madness.
However, many Ugandans leave the country without having traveled much. Interestingly though, he claims knowledge of the UK, Washington, and sometimes just Kampala, and never about northern, western, or eastern Uganda.
Kityerera is another place in Uganda that, at face value, might surprisingly mean “an area covered in mud, and that’s about sliding as you go.” From that statement, it would take a while for him to contemplate whether to travel there. The decision to go there could perhaps come from a brave person.
It is actually a place deep in the Mayuge district with a population of over one hundred thousand (100,000), the creation of which helped reduce the size of Iganga, once known as the most populous district in Uganda.
It is home to the South East Busoga Forest Reserve, a battleground for invaders and workers tasked with replanting trees. The battles can sometimes be severe, registering dozens of wounded.
Furthermore, according to an elderly Bugadde resident, the reserve was once a habitat and feeding ground for hippos and buffalo. After their extinction, the locals resorted to the destruction of natural forests.
The battles in the forest continue. The question then becomes: why do invaders have to fight so hard for forest land? The interesting answer to this question, according to a forest official, is that the settlers are fugitive criminals who fled from various regions of the country and went as far as Kenya to escape justice.
On the other hand, the most vivid explanation for the invaders’ hard-line approach is the fact that they harvest heavily from their rich forest soils and earn a lot of money through agriculture and illegal sale of forest land to new invaders.
As a result, many bought land, built houses, and alike (men and women) married multiple partners. For affluent women and men alike, financially strapped potential sexual partners could always come after them. Having achieved all that the invaders are able to take anything to resist and cling to and even grab more.
Interestingly, the invaders have their own administrative systems run by the main invader or aggressor of the forest workers. He, along with his assistants, constantly plan attacks and organize rebellions against any plans to replant trees or resettle them. It should be noted that the forest workers represent the government in the reserve and have a mandate to work tirelessly to reforest the area so that it regains its vitality as a forest.
Some of its busiest cities are Bugadde and Bwonda which control numerous commercial activities including; fish trade, food crops and food sales and textile trade. The main notable food crops are; corn, millet, rice, jackfruit and tomatoes.
Food crops are produced for the local market and for export, with much going to Juba (South Sudan).
Prices in the local market are the same as in Kampala. Come hydropower: the cities, being surrounded by islands, with a shorter distance to Kenya (by water), are headed for rapid development in the near future.
Even though people work very hard for a living, and with such a fast growing area, Kityerera unfortunately does not have hydroelectric power, it has the worst network coverage from both MTN and Celtel or Zain, while for Mango , their (network coverage) is so miserable that one can throw away the card when entering Kityerera.
Comparing it to some suburbs of Kampala and Mukono, it’s hard to forgive someone who cares about electricity distribution. Kityerera’s shopping malls are more developed than most suburbs of Kampala or Mukono. For example; Bugadde or Bwonda are better than Mbalala (with electricity) in terms of development, but they do not have hydroelectric power.
The education of girls in primary schools is very impressive. The number of girls in existing primary schools is close to twice that of boys. The boys sooner rather than later feel the goodness of money, which in turn forces them to drop out of school in favor of farming, brick-making, and the boda-boda transportation business.
With some money in your pocket, the next item in your plan would be getting married, having children, experiencing headship of the family as stay-at-home parents, and most likely marrying several other women or men, as appropriate.
In addition, there is evidence that after the primary level, they hardly expect to continue their studies. The area, well, has more primary schools than secondary schools. For the existing ones (high schools), they are just a recent creation.
So, as if it were a tradition, the seventh (7) of primary school used to be the highest level for both girls and boys. Consequently, most girls are soon challenged by intergenerational sex and prostitution for economic security.
Reliable sources in the area put more than thirty (30) numbers of pregnant adolescents between the ages of sixteen and eighteen (16-18) years, registered in a single month. And in many cases they become second, third and fourth wives of older men.
Even with a chance at a wife initially, the chance of getting a second and third co-wife is still very high. In this part of the world you will hardly find young girls in the above age range, either single or without one or two dependent children. In fact, whoever wishes to enjoy married life here must come with a wife or risk becoming a stepfather and a second or third partner.
According to Mzee Abdul-khadir Bazalaaki, one of the owners of a private high school, who helped to establish a major public high school (Bunya High School) and also to expand the water supply in the area, community members do not value The education. And that much remains to be done to force the stubborn parents here to take their children to school.
Unlike Kampala, here, instead of street children, the villages have stray goats that run and move day and night in groups like some kind of antelope. They look healthy with fat bellies. However, it is surprising that the animals have owners who easily identify them within the groupings.
Kityer towns, like Kampala, have a mix of tribes from various areas who come to participate in the lucrative trade and make life possible. They include; Basamia, Bateso, Bagisu, badama, a smaller number of Banyakole, and of course the Basoga.
And they are predominantly Muslim who have sections of Shia and Sunni. Looking at the history of Christianity or the Reformation, the Shiites would take the position of the Protestants, while the Sunnis would take the Catholics (as told by Mzee Abdul-Khadir)
The development of the area has not left aside prostitution as a key to it, although it silences economic activity. The prostitutes here, unlike their Kampala counterparts, respect the traditions of kneeling while greeting their customers and wear long dresses. With such courtesy, men are encouraged and find the ladies very generous.
A week of one’s visit may not be enough to help identify them, unless questions are asked about their location. They tend to be; bar and hostel attendants or own and work in local food establishments. Their clients are mainly merchants (street vendors), small and large truckers and boda-boda carriers.
Prostitution, as a world trend, does not surprise anyone in the depths of Kityerera. But, the only conundrum, perhaps, is the ability of women to have more than four pseudo-marriages while basing themselves in the home of a traveling “husband”. Actually, of the four, the one traveling misses out. Loneliness from business trips, near and far, could be responsible for such a mess.
It is normal to find a couple (both men and women) with a history of three or four husbands before the current relationship, while among them there are children who are left to grow up in the care of grandparents or are raised by one or neither. . as biological parents.
Wherever they come from: It is widely believed and common knowledge that the Basoga are extraordinarily sexually active. People from the north, west or center will tell you the same thing. After debating for a long time against the famous claim that Basoga are sex maniacs, the verdict was in this part of Busoga. Could the Muslim background have dictated it by not having witnessed the same in Jinja, where they (Muslims) are not that many?
For some, the situation may be attractive, and a lot of urgency is needed. But as much as aggressive reproductive health awareness raising by people here is badly needed, and something that needs to continue for six to 12 years, condoms must be made accessible. People here say they don’t have access to condoms, but they sure play sex. How safe are they?
There is zero tolerance for crime in the area. The crimes committed include; adultery, chicken theft, shoplifting, idleness and disorder, fighting, land disputes, and desecration. Local sources say displacement is highest in Mayuge.
As part of crime prevention, local authorities recently passed strict ordinances that prohibit members of the community from loitering after ten o’clock (10 p.m.), abusing drugs, drinking irresponsibly and being found idle. and messy. It became extreme when the mother who went out for a shower or for a short call could earn one an arrest. This, credibly, must have negatively affected hostels and bars.
Solar energy, which would be a close alternative to hydroelectricity, is used instead to charge phones. Generators, on the one hand, are mostly used in hair salons and movie theaters.
But the solar panels could be purchased communally with a good organization from the local leadership, where a section of houses about twenty (20) or fifty (50) common resources and purchase a strong panel good enough for lighting and other accessories application electrical. Strategic groupings, associations and cooperatives could also take advantage of this opportunity instead of waiting years to see hydropower.
Much emphasis should also be placed on secondary education, supporting new private schools with renovations and helping to establish more secondary schools.
And, aggressive reproductive health programs must take root in this area, as must the flood of condoms there, as well as the ability to demonstrate and encourage their proper use.