Africa and the G8: what Katine villagers say

from the Guardian

As world leaders prepare for the G8 summit in Japan, Richard M Kavuma speaks to people in Katine sub-county, where Guardian and Barclays are helping to fund a three-year integrated development project. Locals hope the G8 leaders will choose to breathe life into their agriculture and an ailing healthcare system. Read what the academics say or find out what the NGOs say

By Richard M Kavuma

Berito Alutu, in his 60s, farmer, Ojwinyi village
I wish the richer countries could send us money to buy drugs. There are no drugs in the health centre, yet I have a terrible chest pain. We also have a big problem with mosquitoes, which bring malaria, the most common disease here. I wish they would help us control malaria, maybe with more mosquito nets?

We also have a problem with ox-ploughs. There is no way we can grow a lot of food when we are using hand hoes for tilling the land. It means we do not have enough food.

Katine G8 David Enyagu David Enyagu Opusi, 45, headteacher, Oimai Primary School
Most of us here are peasants. The G8 leaders should think of ways to help us improve the technology of our agriculture so that we can produce more food, because we have a food crisis right now. Perhaps we can get tractors or ox-ploughs instead of tilling with hand hoes, so that we can open larger farms.

In schools, we lack books related to agriculture, so that important subject is poorly taught. The country is so poor we can't even afford books; we have to rely on donations. At least the donors have been supporting primary education and I am happy because right now we are getting grants, so we don't have to charge parents. It has helped a lot because parents were having difficulties paying fees and it affected learning; sometimes schools could not even afford to buy chalk. Even the number of pupils has increased because of this free education. But we need more support.

Katine G8 Victoria Agote Victorina Agote, cassava seller, Katine market
My two sons died of HIV/Aids and so did their widows – now I am living with orphans. I wish those leaders could come to the aid of women like me, so that children can be educated.

Of course, there is now free primary education but it has not helped children who were already in secondary school but could not pay the fees.

And of course it is very difficult to grow enough food when we are using hand hoes. We need support to get ox-ploughs to till our gardens.

Katine G8 Gabriel Emeru Gabriel Emeru, 55, Atirir village council chairman
Our main challenges are poverty, food shortage and HIV/Aids, which is killing people. So we need help to confront these challenges. But I think we need programmes to teach our people about the problems of the environment.

For example, why can't we start an initiative to plant trees? As you know, the weather is changing and the cause is people cutting down all the trees to make charcoal, burning bricks and for firewood for use in our homes.

I think the rich countries also need to look at the issue of the lack of drugs in hospitals. At our health centre here in Atirir, even as we speak, there are no drugs.

Katine G8 Janet Adongo Janet Adongo, 17, shopkeeper and mother of one, Atirir
I got pregnant at 16 when I was in secondary school – I have since dropped out. It is good that our trading centre is getting piped water, the main road is going to be improved and primary school education is now free. Donor countries have helped us, even if we do need more support, for education, for example.

But the weather is changing, there are long droughts and we don't have enough food anymore, and food prices have risen dramatically. We need help to improve agriculture to cope with the changing weather.

Our health centres don't have medicines. You go to the health centre, they examine you and then tell you to go and buy drugs from drug sellers. If you don't have money, you could end up losing a child or even an adult.

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