Finding a way against all the odds

A story of Local Response from Katabi community, Uganda by Judith

Finding a way against all the odds

Loy Kabeleza is 67 years old and has seven children and four grandchildren. She lives with her grandchildren and some of her children. She earns her living by keeping poultry and also has support from her elder son.

Jaja Loy in the (middle) making charcoal with some of her friends

Jaja Loy(grandma Loy) is also taking care of her son who is disabled and requires a lot of attention and support. Her husband is too old to provide for the family’s basic needs and lives in a village. Some of Jaja Loy’s children are still in school and therefore there’s still a lot to do in the family.

She is proud that she has a family and has a child who is always there to support her. Jaja Loy has plans of starting a project of rearing pigs so that it can help her to generate more income and support her family. She loves her family so much and she thinks the only thing she can do is to be strong and to be there for her family. As of now nothing is important than her family.

Jaja Loy has a plot of land in the village and her dream is to farm.. She says, she is too old to do the farming by herself but if she gets enough capital she will hire people to work the land. She believes that the farming will help her get food for her family and also sell surplus to the community.

Jaja Loy has been facing health issues because of diabetes. She hates the disease and would wish to get rid of it. She visits the health clinic regularly and adheres to the medications. She tries to eat healthy foods so as to keep her blood sugar level stable.

Jaja Loy is a member of Katabi Eldery Association and she enjoys spending quality time with some of the older people from her area. The purpose of the elderly association is to bring the elderly people close and discuss important issues about their lives and see ways forward on what she can do best to improve their life in the community. The group teaches older person about health issues and educates older persons on income generating activities. Jaja Loy likes the association because she has learned so many things from the association. Jaja Loy says that it’s because of the association she was linked to a health worker who helps sick older persons in the community. Older persons suffering from hypertension and diabetes can visit the health worker at any and get health assistance. It’s through the association she was given a blood sugar machine (Blood Glucose monitor) so that now she is able to monitor her sugar level.

When we feel a sense of responsibility for our family and our community, we are motivated to keep ourselves healthy so that we can meet our responsibilities.