Public affection of love is a contentious issue in Uganda. When the queen of Buganda kissed her husband (the king), tongues waged. It made headlines. The conservatives frowned while the young blood punched their fists in the air and screamed “that’s is how it should be.”
But the young blood in Northern Uganda seem to have their priorities and emotions misplaced.
Standing outside my hotel on my first evening in Gulu, I couldn’t help but notice the teenagers who walked in pairs, holding waists, hugging, giggling and speaking in low tones. Sometimes the girl looked down as the boy talked, seemed to cajole and finally win in taking her somewhere she seemed hesitate to go in the fist place.
When I asked why there were so many young people moving in pairs and talking in a way that suggests they are not discussing physics or and chemistry, a friend who has grown up in the area simply said, “Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) Camps)”.
Apparently most of these people’s parents were idle so they spent time making babies. Sometimes the children would be listening.
Fathers spent time drinking and manufacturing children.
The huts most families share are too small. Sometimes parents and children share beddings! The level of poverty is appalling.
As a result, children got to eaves drop on what their parents were doing.
The generation is sex crazy. I am not sure the girls even have reproductive health information. What does one expect from this generation?
It may not be too late though but how do you avoid HIV in this generation? If it is too late to tell them to wait then should they be encouraged to use condoms? I don’t want to do that. I substitute the condoms with Christ.
Surely the war in this part of the country may be history but the generation needs to be saved. What is the solution for Northern Uganda? I am thinking. Please think with me.
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