Post Independence Uganda

Uganda’s post independence history is plagued with conflict, wars, political instability, insecurity, poverty, corruption, disease and hunger. The things that hold a nation together have been seriously damaged. The family institution, which is the basic building block of the nation, has been wounded and weakened. It is a well-known fact that the state of the family institution in any society determines the general state of the entire nation. The present sorry state of the Ugandan family is reflected in the general state of affairs in the entire population.

According to Uganda Media Women’s Association over 40% of marriages in Uganda end
up in separation. According to informal surveys made by FLN most families/marriages in Uganda can be summed up as “UNHAPPY”. Polygamy, adultery, materialism, breakdown of the traditional values is on the increase. The media promotes lust, infidelity, perversion and lack of commitment in relationships.  This and the subsequent “wholesale” adoption of the Western lifestyle and values by more and more Ugandans, has contributed immensely to the breakdown of the family in Uganda.

Many parents have relegated the responsibility of giving guidance and support to their children, to schools, the media, their peers and whoever else happens to be available.

Youth

The youth are barraged by all kinds of messages from all directions. They are desperately looking for guidance. But since they find little or none, they resort to their peers, the media, magazines and novels or to dangerous alternatives, where they receive wrong information, which has the potential to destroy their future and potential in life.

Studies done in various parts of Uganda indicate alarming rates of youth involvement in sex. One such study carried out between 1995-1998 by Isaiah Mbuga at Makerere University, indicated that 21% of youth have been involved sexually by age 11 and about 70% by age 19. Further scrutiny of the studies indicates that the cause of this high rate of youth sexual involvement is largely due to poor parenting practices caused largely by family/marriage failure. According to the World Health Organization, Uganda has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the world.

The growing problem of street children in Kampala and other major towns is largely attributed to family breakdown.  Experts on child development also agree that the family is the most effective and best natural training ground for children in areas like tolerance, morality, acceptable behavior, trust, integrity, honesty etc. When the family institution breaks down, this vital training ground is compromised, leaving the children to adopt socially and morally unacceptable mannerisms and practices.

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Cultural Background

Many of the cultures and beliefs in Uganda tend to fuel or escalate the spread of HIV/AIDS. Some examples are given here below: -   

1. Some people believe that when a man is infected with HIV/AIDS and gets involved in sexual intercourse with a young virgin girl, he will get cured of the disease.
2. In some cultures in Uganda, when a man dies and leaves behind a woman/wife, one of his brothers is free to take over the woman/wife, and will have sex with her, even if she is infected with HIV/AIDS.
3. Polygamy is widely acceptable in Uganda, and as a result of this, men tend to think that having sex with many women is a sign of manhood.
4. There are other cultural beliefs that if a young man does not have sex early, they will become impotent. Another one is that if a girl does not have sex early, her breasts will not grow big.
5. Because of poverty, men who offer money and other favors in exchange for sex lure many young girls into prostitution.
6. Because of our cultural background, parents do not discuss issues relating to sex with their children. It is believed to be a taboo. So children grow up without proper guidance, teaching and direction on matters relating to sex education. The children therefore resort to other sources of information like the media, movies, pornography, novels, their peers etc for information on sexuality. Unfortunately, usually the information available is wrong, misleading or confusing to them. This leaves children vulnerable, in that they are left to experiment with risky behavior, which usually leaves them exposed to HIV/AIDS infection.
7. There is no value / moral based sex education program available to the youth.
8. Most programs available on HIV/AIDS simply treat the symptoms rather than the root cause of the problem, and that is why the AIDS epidemic is still a big problem in this country.

Since many Ugandans admire the Western World and culture, in most cases they do not bother to separate the good and bad aspects of the Western society. They instead copy it wholesale, and as a result of that, moral degeneration and some deviant sexual practices that is openly accepted in much of the Western World is beginning to take root in Uganda today. The scary thing is that while the Western World has the resources to offer interventions for those affected by these vices, the Ugandan society is not even aware of the devastating consequences of some of them. Some of these vices lead to risky sexual practices, which exposes the victims to HIV/AIDS infection as well as other sexually transmitted diseases.

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A Glimpse of the Stituation in our Schools

Given here below the list of secondary schools reached and sample questions, comments and compliments from the students. The situation painted by the feedback from the students portrays the overall situation in schools as found by the FLN School Ministry Team in schools visited.  As will be seen, some students go through a lot of problems and have no one to confide in. Some of them however manage to open up to the FLN School Ministry Team, and share their struggles and problems.

There are some more sensitive problems, which are not included in this report in order not to breach the confidentiality required of us by the code of ethics for counselors.

In summary the problems found among the students includes:

• Premarital sex between students
• Prostitution
• Sugar mummy and sugar daddy sexual relationships with students (Sexual relations with adult men & women) - Defilement
• Incest
• Homosexuality / Lesbianism
• Rape
• Abortion
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS
• Addiction to pornography
• Beastiality: Sex with animal

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Problem Analysis

Ugandan schools are facing ever increasing challenges of moral decline, deviant sexual practices such as homosexuality (gays and Lesbians) alcohol abuse, drug abuse, substance abuse (smoking) and more serious discipline issues such as burning of schools, riots, destruction of school property.  This is because the youth are growing up in very trying and challenging circumstances.  They are facing dysfunctional family relationships, neglect by parents and influence of the global culture infiltrating the society through the media.  In addition, the entertainment industry, Internet, poor role models, a flood of false or inaccurate information on sexuality, pornography, general moral degeneration and lack of proper guidance, have all compounded the plight of the youth.

Secondly, very limited teaching is available to the youth that communicates values of abstinence and faithfulness.  Instead, condoms have been offered as the first line of defense against HIV/AIDS and are often given out freely during products promotions.

A closer look at these problems will reveal that these are just the “tip of the iceberg”.  In other words, they are only symptoms of a bigger problem, which must be dealt with if this serious trend is to be reversed. 

According to FLN informal surveys over the last three years, it has been noted that an increasing number of youth and adults have taken on addictions like deviant sexual behaviors, alcohol, drugs, pornography etc.  Most of these addictions result in risky and dangerous behavior as well as psychological problems; all of which increase the risk of the youth contracting the HIV virus and failing to reach their maximum potential in life as productive and responsible citizens.  As a result, more and more youth have become sexually active, evidenced by increasing cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and teenage pregnancies.

It is precisely for this reason that FLN was set up to address the root cause of these problems by conducting programs that provide a permanent solution to this worrying situation that is unfolding at this time.

In light of this serious situation, a compressive program that instills character and positive behavior change and that brings on board all stakeholders is necessary if this unfortunate situation is to be addressed before it is too late.