BY JOEL KAGUTA
IN KASESE—
Despite Kasese district being one of the potentially rich areas in
Uganda it is registered among the districts with the worst poverty
stricken families.
Some of the biggest factors crippling the people of Kasese into
poverty include early pregnancies and unplanned marriages, ignorance
and mental resistance to change.
Imitating the uncalled for western cultures like pornography through
the social media and especially the Facebook has also overtaken the
minds of the youth to the extent that some have been pulled into same
sex relationships, which is taboo in the eyes of God and the African
culture.
In what appears to be a response to the mentioned concerns, Young and
Powerful Initiative [YAPI], the development arm of the Diocese has
embarked on a 3-year ambitious project under which at least 19,360
children aged 5 years will have been assimilated to hate pornography
by the time it winds up.
The project funded by Save the Children in Uganda [SCiU] is also
targeting 18,325 youths aged between 18-24 and 10,582 women to be
sensitized to understand sexuality.
Young and Powerful Initiative [YAPI] with support from Save the
Children is also implementing another project on training the out of
school youths on how to avoid early pregnancies.
Early pregnancies and marriages are believed to be on the increase
among the age group between 12 and 18 years, Abbey Kabuge from Save
the Children said.
A one week training for trainers on Comprehensive Sexual Education
that has been going on at Kisinga Sub-county headquarters has ended
today with a call to them to put into practice what they had been
taught and instructed to do.
South Rwenzori Diocesan Planning and Development Officer, Crispus
Mbauta, told the participants yesterday that especially the out of
school youth need to understand clearly some body metabolic changes
and also how to guard against bad peer groups.
Susan Mbambu, a participant decried poor decision making, domestic
violence, rape, drug abuse, pornography and lack of sexual control as
having contributed heavily towards the increase in early pregnancies
in the various areas of Kasese district.
Kasese district Probation Officer, Sowedi Kitanywa recently named the
most affected sub-counties with rampant early marriages, pregnancies
and school dropouts in the district as Munkunyu, Kisinga, Kyalhumba,
Mahango, Kilembe, Maliba, Kyabarungira, Kitswamba and Buhuhira.
Other most hit areas with high rates of school dropouts are in the
Lake region including Katwe/Kabatoro town council and Katunguru,
Kasenyi, Hamukungu and Kahendero fishing villages.
Early sex has contributed to so many unplanned child births causing a
big human population with the biggest percentage of them eating
without working and therefore, perpetual abject poverty among the huge
families in the district, Kitanywa says .