Money Talk

CHOGM is over, I can tell without even looking at the meeting agenda.

The streets are packed with more people, the traffic jams make even short trips take hours, and the street children are back.

Dirty little kids with grubby clothes, sad eyes, and outstretched hands… life in Kampala has truly returned to normal. I don’t know how I feel when I see them. I am glad they are back - it beats them being held and mistreated in some government intuition or prison. These kids are survivors; they understand the life on the street and know how to live it. Unfortunately knowing that doesn’t make seeing them any easier.

Today I had another understanding on how difficult it is for the average person to survive in Kampala. There is such desperation for jobs, that employers get away with paying their workers next to nothing – or on some days, if they feel like it, nothing at all. But, people are so desperate that 2000 USH ($1.17 CAN) one day, and nothing the next, is better than nothing at all. But, surviving on 2000 USH* is an amazing feat.

For example my typical daily budget includes:
15,000 USH a night for the guesthouse,
1,800 USH for the transportation to-and-from the New Vision Newspaper,
300 USH for the milk and oatmeal I have for breakfast (I make it myself),
2,300 USH for a plate of matoke, rice, groundnut sauce, and chicken with a Miranda, at the Hospital Canteen,
500 for a rolex for dinner,

That doesn’t begin to take into account the products and items I use, like bug spray and sunscreen, on a daily basis.

So if I live with a friend for free, eat only two meals and walk most of the way to work (would probably take 1.5 hours), I could survive on 2000 USH. The worst part, many of these places that are paying their employees 2000 USH are making a lot more money.

Did I mention these working days are 12-14 hours? The rich get richer as the poor get poorer. The whole system shows the problem with the way capitalism works.

How is a student supposed to make money for school fees? What if a child gets sick, the parents can’t afford the hospital, or what becomes of a child when if the parent dies? 2000 USH a day doesn’t leave much for savings.

*An example of costs
500 USH is 6 ripe tomatoes or 10 small onions or a bag of sugar cane
600 USH will give you 30 seconds airtime to Canada on the MTN plan.
1000 USH is ½ Litre of whole milk or a bunch of sweet bananas
1200 USH is 1 kg local rice
1800 USH for a 2 kg bag of posho (white corn flour – a mashed potato like texture when cooked)
2,400 USH is a litre of fuel
14,800 is a cheap Indian meal for two at Masala Chat, my favourite restaurant in Kampala
67,000 is the cheapest cell phone, plus a 3,000 sim card