Community
The Elders
One of my first outings in Mityana, Uganda was to look for the elders.
They might remember my father or his family from back in the nineteen sixties.
I was directed to Mr. A, a retired tailor in his eighties. He looked healthy standing by his sewing machine situated outside one of the shops. Although he’d retired, he still occasionally worked to pass his time. He had started tailoring when he was in his early teens. He remembered my father, but not the other members of the family. When he could help me no more, he pointed further down the street and mentioned a name. The shopkeeper who was translating for me told me to look for Mr. B.
Once I got to where I’d been directed, I asked for Mr. B, and was taken down a narrow alley and into a small compound by someone who knew him. Chicken roamed freely in the compound. Mr. B, a tall, frail man in his nineties then invited me into his home. He spoke little English but understood enough to ream off a list of East Indian names, none of which I recognized. Before directing me to yet another elder across the street, he asked why I didn’t speak Luganda.
I entered the shop Mr. B had pointed to and asked for Mr. C. A young man behind the counter asked who I was and then took me through the back door of the shop, across a small courtyard and into his father’s home. Mr. C spoke English very well. He didn’t seem to recognize my father’s name and we soon started talking about my reasons for being in Mityana.
Minerva versus ‘Chalk and Talk’
Fortuitously, I happened to meet a couple of individuals working for the Minerva Project when I was volunteering for the Arab Cup held in Doha in late 2021. I had finished my duty and we were all on our way back home after the game.
They spoke about the active learning pedagogy used by Minerva University, and its emphasis on imparting skills and knowledge that are useful in different contexts, and all this appealed to me.
At school, I was taught the ‘chalk and talk’ way, often having to memorize facts and figures that had no useful purpose in my life, other than for getting a “good” grade, a prerequisite for further studies. Perhaps there was a way for me to join others already sharing the new pedagogy here in the region and/or to apply it on a particular project?
I’m now working on the thesis component of the master’s program at Minerva, which is project based, and I’ve elected to focus on the challenges Mityana youth face to earn an adequate living, and what sustainable options exist to at least partially meet some of these challenges.
Potential solutions are perhaps more likely to be sustainable if they are community-led and utilize available community resources.
The Youth
Speaking casually to the youth here and to other members of the community, it’s apparent that the biggest challenge youth face is unemployment or underemployment.
Those lacking earning power include those who left at some point during their primary or secondary education and even after university.
Some youth have mentioned learning about topics that have no direct application to help them improve their lives now or in the future, other than to hopefully get good grades to move on in the education system. Even then, for a good number of university graduates there are no jobs waiting for them. Some did point out that Uganda has started to change the way it teaches by engaging the students more.
Other challenges youth face include lack of practical skills and knowledge, access to capital, business training and financial literacy. Lack of earning power may lead to other issues, such as increased theft.
All this information is anecdotal and cursory, but consistently told. A more evidence-based approach will help support these narratives.
Some community stakeholders mentioned a possible course of action to partially face this challenge, and that is for the youth to change their mindset, and this also applies to some of their parents, and potentially to others as well. I think it may be equally applicable to other parts of the world too.
Mindset
One approach to get unemployed or underemployed youth, particularly university graduates, to change their mindset about vocational careers might be to find role models that transitioned to these fields and have been successful. While this involves survivor bias, it does show what’s possible compared to seeking a job that perhaps may never materialize. There will still be the option to switch back if that preferred and elusive job does materialize. This of course assumes they have the funds or sponsorship necessary to get the vocational training.
Parents minds may need to be changed too. There’s prestige in having a child with a university education, and having that child work as a farmer or tailor is sometimes seen as a step back. Is it a step-back compared to waiting on the sidelines for life to start? Based on her education, might she be a better farmer or he a better tailor, reading up on and applying the latest knowledge and practices?
There are other potential mindset changes for youth and parents, and for other stakeholders too. More on this later.
Industry
Mr. C had lamented about the lack of industry and big employers to absorb all the youth looking for work. He thought coffee had potential. Another individual said there might be pressure from other countries to limit certain home-based industries. Yet another wanted to see more government incentives (e.g., through reduced taxes).
Note
There are so many layers to unravel. The last three sections are just a collection of my thoughts based on some cursory and anectodal information gathered to date, and will change and be supplemented as more information comes to light. Even then, it may not capture the true essence of the challenges faced by the youth and how they might at least be partially addressed effectively.
This is a continuation of my updates while in Uganda. For the previous update, see here.
