Summary

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This is a family of seven that recently moved into the area. They live in a one roomed house that is clearly two small for them, the only advantage being that it is near a water well. The father is a porter and wasn’t at home when we visited while the mother washes clothes for people in the neighbourhood. They both have unsteady sources of income because construction projects can be halted and the need to wash clothes could be met by another competitor.

 

Dollar Rate

USD. 1 = UGX. 3,500

 

Monthly Income

The collective monthly income for this family is estimated at $25.70 USD (UGX. 90,000) which is from the father’s porter work and the mother’s occasional laundry opportunities.

 

Monthly Expenditure

Food $85.70 USD (UGX. 300,000)

Rent $14.28 USD (UGX. 50,000)
Electricity $2.86 USD (UGX. 10,000)
Health <unknown>
Water <unknown>

Education $1371 USD (UGX. 4,800,000/year)

 

Challenges

The family tried to enrol their children into school, but failed to find the required fees, and as a result, all the children dropped out of school. They live in a one roomed house which is where they keep their chickens as well. It is stuffy and congested. The father is a porter and has seasonal work because construction is periodic, so some days he has work, and other days he doesn’t. There is no government aided school in the area which makes the cost of education slightly higher for them

 

The family is most likely struggling to feed their children and they clearly do not have clothes, beddings and shoes. Their living conditions pose a health threat to them because the one-roomed house is not well aerated, then when the chickens are added into the cramped space, it becomes extremely smelly.

 

The mother seems exasperated because the children are not in school. It seems she is also unable to find work at all or sometimes she is nursing a sick child and cannot go to wash clothes when called upon, which makes her appear unreliable.

 

Family Priority

1. Education

2. Food

3. Job/Business

 

Suggested Intervention

Rent an adjacent room for the family at an extra $ 14.29 USD (UGX. 50,000)/month so that the front can be turned into a stall and the back can be extra living space for the family. The mother would be able to stay home and nurse her child who is not school going age and still make some money at the same time.

 

Enrolling the children in school would keep them from loitering in the neighbourhood and would bring some emotional relief to the parents who feel like they have completely failed their children. It would remove the burden of feeding since the fees includes meals at school.

 

Other Deliberations

This was a relatively quiet visit, we did not speak a lot because the mother may have been shy or exasperated from her living conditions.

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