Category: Opinion

Charity begins at home. The behavior of children is most influenced by the parents as the earliest role models. Thus proper parenting is paramount in shaping the future of a child

Parents should interact with their children and through these interactions children acquire behaviours enabling them in becoming effective members of society.

According to Psychologist Lev Vygotsky, the way children learn is by internalizing the activities, habits, vocabulary and ideas of the members of the community in which they grow up.

Schools are communities where children from diverse cultures learn together. Teachers must help students to become active and goal oriented by building on their natural desire to explore, to understand new things and to master them.

Inappropriate behaviour especially bullying, drug abuse, theft and premarital sex should be prohibited in schools and teachers should help children understand about their body biology and gradual changes they experience as they grow.

Parents should provide detailed information about their children to help the school handle every child based on parent information. Some parents tend to provide wrong information about their children while joining new schools.

National and multinational corporate companies involved in the manufacture of a variety of products including ciggerates, cocaine, condoms, beer, liquor and sex enhancement drugs have mostly used the images of youths on advertisement billboards, packaging and visual commercials thus directly encouraging youths into consumption of such products.

It’s therefore required of government institutions responsible to address the issue of outdoor advertisement and branding of such products directly linked to youths moral failure.

Advent of new media and television with subsequent modern programming has attracted more children especially the youths into consumption of drugs and alcohol and sex since television programs present an image that when such is embraced one feels great, powerful and in charge.

Parents ought to devise means of controlling use of internet and programs presented by television to their children at home based on the ages of children.

The parents should provide to children vital information about sex education and cautioning them against consumption of illegal stuff by presenting to them associated problems.

The current generation of youths is more advanced and bombarded with a lot of information and products leaving them with more choices as opposed to the generation of their parents whose youthful lives were generally under strict cultures, family and religion.

This thus calls for adjustments among the parents and society institutions in the way they address challenges of modern society especially those affecting youths.

Large numbers of family breakups mostly brought about by the challenges of modern lifestyle have left more children growing up in dysfunctional families thus lacking proper parenting.

Scientific researchers ought to add their voice to finding solutions to prevailing society challenges.

It’s that time of the year again where we gather together and make merry.
It’s also a time where many are thankful for all that they’ve achieved and all that they’ve gone through in a span of a year.

Some choose to do it with family, others with friends and others with colleagues.

It’s a happy time all around from the celebration of Jesus’ birth, the giving and receiving of presents and the marking of a whole new year with countless possibilities but that’s not what I want to dwell on.

Have you ever noticed that some people are not in contact with one another for a very long time but for some reason on New Year’s Eve, they’ll send a message to each other of best wishes for the New Year?

Have you also noticed that those comprising the management of companies will most often never recognize the achievement of their employees until the end of year party?

Better yet, have you ever realized that a parent may only reward his/her child during Christmas and on that child’s birthday?

Now here’s a really interesting one-Have you ever observed that some companies only give goodies to their clients at the end of the year even when they have not awarded their clients any discounts or special rates throughout that whole year?

Sad scenarios but this is what actually happens and I think this trend should actually change.

As you enjoy this holiday season, I would like you to put some thought on how you can make next year more memorable such that when it gets to the end, it feels more fulfilling.

This can be accomplished by doing very simple things and I’ll give you a few
examples:

There are those relatives and friends that you don’t communicate with very often, the kind you send a ‘happy new year’ message every year.

Make it a point to communicate with them about 3 times during the year just to find out how they are doing….

Citizens ought to know their rights and obligations. It is their right to be protected against any form of aggression and abuse (internal and foreign); recognized and accorded diplomatic identification and protection.

It’s the right of citizens to enjoy social and political rights; and enjoy public and social services provided by the state, these include education, medical care, social security, transport infrastructure and relevant information, among others.

On the other hand, it is the responsibility or duty of all citizens to protect the state and work towards it’s healthy wellbeing. Citizens are also charged with the fight against corruption; and against any form of human rights abuse and neglect within their community.

Our national laws especially in Africa tend to be protective and segregative against “migrants”; and forget that we all migrated from one place to another.

For instance, according to history; the Bantus migrated from the Congo Basin; the Nilotics from Kemit/ Egypt; and the Nilo-hamites from Asmara. These form a number of tribes and ethnic groups of Africa.

As a Ugandan, Subject to the provision of Article 10 of the 1995 constitution of Uganda, only a child born to a citizen of Uganda is recognised as a citizen by birth; children born in Uganda to parents of different nationality are not considered citizens of this country until registered or naturalized as per article 12/13.

It is not the child’s fault that his/ her parents are not citizens; my parents might not be Ugandan but the fact that I’ am born in a country makes me a bona-fide national of that country. Many are proud of this nationality.

All African states ought to adhere to this fact in order to foster and facilitate the rapid achievement of the continental integration that is championed by the African Union (AU) and all it’s regional blocks like ECOWAS, SADC, EAC, etc.

The acceptance of these stateless persons and population in many parts of the continent will help to prevent and manage many of it’s citizenship conflicts; these include conflicts based on identity, ethnicity and religion like in the DR Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and political or tribal rivalry in Kenya and many parts of Africa.

All these are instigated by failures of citizenship rules, and can only be resolved by recognition and protection of all citizen rights irrespective of their origin.

There is nothing in this world worse than being denied your proper identity and belonging; being denied equals social and political rights to benefit or serve your nation! Human beings are social beings that relay on others to be what they are: Because they belong to a society/ community, they care for it and in return expect it to protect them. This creates a bond between the two, and this bond is engulfed by love.

Many states talk of dual citizenship when they protect eligible members of their communities from adopting their rightful citizenship. I have a cousin who is born in Uganda, lived and studied in Uganda since childhood, but was recently denied access to university education on basis of nationality.

The immigration office in Kampala claimed he’s been living in the country illegally and can be arrested! I wonder on what grounds? I believe, it was not his fault to be born in Uganda; he just found himself here and could not leave the country due to the circumstances him and his parents found here.

If Barak Obama could become the president of United States of America, then why do we have a lot of issues for Alasane Quatara, Joseph Kabila Kabange, etc?

What I know, all our African population is mixed and you find especially those along the colonial boundaries having relatives across! The best example here is Hon. Moody Awori in Kenya and Hon. Aggrey Awori in Uganda.

The Author is a Pan Africanist and Researcher

Tel: +256 772 502450

Email: yousum2001@yahoo.com

The ever increasing unemployment figures arising from high output of graduates from many universities in Rwanda threatens the social stability if not properly handled. Before 1994 graduates estimated at 1,900. Today, Rwandan university enrolment exceeds 60,000.

Unemployed university graduates would be a formidable force in Rwanda’s rural transformation. Government should look into this challenge more urgently and critically especially providing special financial packages in form of access to bank credit to graduates that establish self help projects in the rural areas.

Fresh graduates from universities continue to stay in urban centres especially Kigali city always hovering from office to office applying for white collar Jobs of which there are very few to cover competing tens of thousands of graduates.

The government should establish infrastructure especially electricity and roads, telecommunication among others that could attract such graduates to rural districts of the country enabling them exploit their potential with less costs in the rural districts.

Graduates from specific rural districts should team up in form of cooperatives and associations to establish self help projects in their districts. This would most likely enable them access credit from rural banks to support their projects.

Access to right and timely information is crucial in realisation of rural transformation of rural communities.

Community radios require establishment in at least every District of Rwanda to address particular challenges in every district leading to quick community mobilisation to achieve desired change.

Quality programming supported by young graduates from such districts could present a better resource in information creation vital for society transformation.

Scalingup Rural electrification should be quickly considered supported by stable supply of electricity to enable the establishment of Information and Communication Technology centres and Laboratories in rural schools aimed at extending the accruing benefits of ICT services to the communities.

Definitely the lack of ICT services in the rural setting are among the factors that contribute to the overcrowding of young university graduates in the City thus making rural districts as non compliant to their lifestyle.

The lack of access to current information throughout rural primary school and colleges has resulted into the production of youths incapable of fitting into the current market demands that require ability to quickly communicate while navigating ICT tools.

Currently in the rural areas there is an ongoing campaign of issuing loans of Frw1 Million to women. There is no proper sensitisation about this. The rural population claim its free donation from government to women. This means the money is going to be wastefully spent in case it’s granted.

Rural banks have not done enough to make follow-ups on the projects funded by these loans. The loan beneficiaries have on many occasions been caught up in the middle of their projects which collapse shortly after establishment.

This results into Banks filing lawsuits against loan defaulters who in the end lose all their worth in public auctioning of their property presented as loan security.

This has broken up families and caused social unrest and crime. Business and finance graduates would be very instrumental in volunteering as Monitoring and evaluation officers in the rural areas.

Rural Banks don’t seem to follow-up on how loan money is being used and on many occasions loans are used for weddings, buying household items and a lot of wasteful spending.

The demand and supply of different services and products by the rural population is so high. University graduates should exploit the rural commerce opportunity to transform their lives at an affordable cost.

The Agriculture produce seasons provide opportunities in an untapped commerce sector that dominates in the rural areas.

Religious organisations would play a vital role in mobilising university graduates into rural areas to help rural population in acquiring vocational skills, wealth creation and agro- business.