We are like solar panels, we don’t move away from the sun’: Young Men in Urban Uganda
In 2022 Jim Joel Nyakaana travelled to the cities of Kampala, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal and Masaka to capture the lives of young men whose outdoor livelihoods are increasingly affected by climate change in Uganda.
These photos were exhibited in Nakasero Market on 19th July 2022.
FORT PORTAL
‘I arrive at work at about 7am so as to get corporate client who need their cars washed before they proceed to work. January is a bit slow, business picks up towards end of February. It takes approximately 2 hours at most to wash the car and about an hour for boda bodas.’, Araali, Fort Portal.
‘During dry season the water is little… there’s a lot of garbage collected due to low speed of flowing water. This goes on from January to March and increases with intensity of the dry weather. Whenever it is hot, we go by the shops to rest at the verandah or across the road at the boda boda stage under the tree shade’, Araali, Fort Portal.
‘I was introduced to this trade by my uncle who is the master. I have been working as a coffin maker for over a year now. We all share the workshop much as each makes and sells their own coffins. Despite the lockdown I was able to continue with my work since coffins were on demand’, Tumusiime, Fort Portal.
‘During the hot days I use a cap to shield from the sun and sometimes take a break at the nearby verandahs. The sun is also destructive to the coffins and we use polythene to cover them from both sun and rain’, Tumusiime, Fort Portal.
‘The rains begain in March and April, but January and February are usually hot months. During the dry season is when I can do some work, but during the rainy season I cannot do much as the rains spoil the bricks. I am an electrician as well, when there is no work, I do bricklaying’, Araali, Fort Portal.
‘To make 10,000 bricks takes me about 7 months. The work includes moulding, drying and baking the bricks. Baking of bricks takes place during the dry season where I can be able to sell a brick for between 130-150 [Shillings] and make a profit margin of between 400,000 to 500,000 [Shillings]. During the dry season I work nonstop to maximise on the season and use either a cap or cloth to cover from the sun. During the dry season when the streams run dry I have to fetch water from a borehole about two kilometres from here’, Araali, Fort Portal.
KAMPALA
‘On some days I start at about 4am when I have to buy stock from farmers or middle men who have brought in produce from rural areas. Thursday, Tuesday and Sunday night from 5am people bring in fresh supply from upcountry’, Clinton, Kampala.
‘A challenge I face is rotting of fresh produce so I have to sell off my produce earlier so as not to end up with rotting vegetables. This is quickened during the dry months of January. I use this makeshift umbrella to shield from both the sun and rain. However, my stall in this road is illegal so I keep running away from city council officers’, Clinton, Kampala.
JINJA
‘I start work at 2pm because that’s the time the city council members allow vendors on the road. I can make money during the dry season because the rains obstruct people and they are rushing back home’, George, Jinja.
‘We are sorting fishing nets for another fisherman so as to earn something since my nets were stolen’, David, Jinja.
‘July is the hottest and May the wettest month. In the rainy months the water is kaliro (warm) which causes the fish to die a lot, so we prefer the hot month that does not affect the fish stocks’, David, Jinja.
GULU
‘I don’t stay in the city but on the outskirts. I start work at about 8am up to evening when most clients are returning home. The pineapples I sell come from as far as Luwero, and they are seasonal. In the dry season they are in plenty, while in the rainy season the supply reduces’, Chris, Gulu.
‘This January has been different, with rains and sunshine unlike other Januaries. Trees are almost done and the land is all empty and flat. 9am to 2pm is the hottest time of the day and it becomes cool from 4-5pm in the evening. During the heat of the day we take a break in our work compound, but usually we stay and work in the sun since we are used to the sun. I hope when I get money we will be able to put up a structure so as to work under the shade’, Michael, Gulu.
MASAKA
‘We sell in the middle of the road on one of the junctions that connect to Kampala Road. I have been working for close to one year but the city council is always chasing us away’, Mutebi, Masaka.
‘January has always been so hot, but this time it’s been raining, and we even received some rains in February. During the dry season the mangoes are scarce but now the mangoes are in plenty. The mangoes come from many places as far as Luwero and Busoga. For this season the mangoes are from Masaka, while the apples come from South Africa. We stay working in the sun, we are like solar panels we don’t move away from the sun. When it rains we run to the verandahs. We want it to be shining all the time because we make money in the heat of the sun’, Mutebi, Masaka.
