KAMPALA – Kiteezi Samaritan, a local charity organization affiliated with the International Samaritan has launched a skill development and livelihood enhancement programme for women in the vicinity of the Kiteezi garbage dump community.
Speaking at the lunch of the programme on Friday, February 23, 2024, David Kafambe, the Executive Director of Kiteezi Samaritan said his organization has earmarked up to UGX 1.5 billion aimed at supporting families working in the garbage dumpsite.
“Working in a garbage dump site is the lowest level of employment someone can have. It’s not a good place to work in [because of] so many health hazards. So for us, we seek to support them to break the barrier of poverty,” Kafambe said during an interview.
He said that Kiteezi Samaritan chose the strategy of investing in education “because when you invest in education, then you can have so many children go to school and they can come back and and impact their communities.”
He said the charity organization will also support women with livelihood programs including performing arts, art crafts, fashion, and design among others.
“When women are working in the dumpsite, they want a space where they can come and rest and learn skills and so this is not just an office [but] it is a skill center where we are going to be training them in different skills,” he said.
“Their performing arts group is based here. The different trainings that we are going to be doing are all based here and someone just wants to relax and speak to a counselor and this is the space where they will be coming. So this is best for the women for the families and they come here and learn, relax and you know to make their lives better, Kafambe explained.
The Kiteezi dumpsite is the only landfill in Uganda, and it is currently facing significant environmental and sustainability challenges
Communities around the landfill live with contaminated air, scattered waste, and leachate. Water resources for drinking and domestic purposes have become polluted.
The Kiteezi landfill is home to 800 waste pickers mostly women and children that sort and recover material for reentry into the economy. Waste Pickers in Kampala City have proven to be critical in sifting through the waste. Despite their societal, environmental, and economic roles, waste pickers are exposed to unhealthy working conditions, low pay, social stigmas, exploitation from middlemen and corporate polluters, weak laws, and abuse from authorities.
Andrew Pawuk, the Vice President for International Samaritan a 30-year-old US-based NGO said they will work with Kiteezi Samaritan to bring light and hope to the people who work in the garbage community.
“We want to bring hope to the people of Kiteezi, including mothers, fathers, and children who work in the dumping site. We want to bring education and holistic scholarships to children. Local authorities in Uganda are very eager to work with organizations like International Samaritan to support people and therefore, this encouraged us to extend services here,” Pawuk said.
He said the education scholarships will allow young people to go from working in the dumps to becoming teachers and going to medical school.
Presiding over the programme commissioning, Mondo Kyateeka, the commissioner-in-charge of children affairs at Uganda’s Ministry of Labour and Social Development urged women to only produce children they can adequately care for.
“Nobody gave you a contract to produce many children. Produce only those you can look after. Don’t say because this government or such and such an NGO is here, I can give birth to all the children I want. When you give birth to a child, it is your responsibility to look after that child. Therefore, the children you are siring now you don’t know where they will end up in a few years to come. So produce a few you can ably look after,” he said but was quick to say that there is no harm in producing as many children as possible, it makes no sense when these children are not adequately cared for.
He also applauded NGOs like Kiteezi Samaritan for stepping in to complement government efforts of giving a proper life to vulnerable groups of people like children and women.
“We need to know that poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. It must interest us to check poverty levels. It is important to ensure we do everything possible to work towards a society of equity. The gap between poor and rich is very wide and as long as this continues happening, we have a problem. We need to close the gap between the rich and the poor.” “When we get such NGOs to help us, it doesn’t mean we should leave everything to them. We should know that the biggest burden should go to us to solve our problems,” Kyateeka added.
John Kyejusa, Wakiso District Community Development Officer commended Kiteezi Samaritan for complementing the government program.
“We now see the future of the vulnerable families as being bright. Apart from supporting vulnerable families, we shall link them to government services for continuity. We look forward to working with Kiteezi Samaritan to introduce other government programs not only benefit children but also other members of the public.”
