WUNRN
Report of the UN Special Rapporteur
on Human Rights & Extreme Poverty Including Poverty of Older Women +
Old Age Poverty & HIV/AIDS
______________________________________________________________________
Via HelpAge International
UGANDA - ELDERLY WIDOW IN POVERTY, NO PENSION, CARES FOR 15 AIDS ORPHANS
© Antonio Olmos/HelpAge International
Lule, 60. “I am a widow and I look after 15 orphans on my own. Some
are my grandchildren as two of my children died from AIDS and the others are my
husband’s grandchildren by his second wife.
“Every kind of job has its own difficulties and mine is no different. The only
thing is that now I’m older things have become even more difficult. The pain in
my legs makes it worse, but they refuse to go away even after taking medicine.
“I got the loan for my cow through the Heifer project. At first I was worried about getting the loan because I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to pay the money back. I also found it difficult managing to look after the cow at the beginning, but now I’m used to the work.
“The cow now supplements the income I get from selling plantains and from a
few rooms I rent out in the house. I sell milk from the cow to neighbours, and
that helps to feed and pay the fees to send the children to school. Even so I
can’t always pay the school fees and then I have to beg the school to let me
pay the following term. I am always behind with these payments.
“I do get a little help from my son. He helped me to build this house but lately he hasn’t been able to help much. A pension would make life much better because if I had a regular income I could use some of it to pay someone to help with the cow. But even with a pension, I think people should always work. I believe if you stay idle, you will become sick.”