Private Story
Nicholas Shawn Mugarura
Climate change has a far-reaching impact on everyone, though it hits the poor hardest. Millions of Ugandans are grappling with these effects, including in the country's rapidly expanding towns and cities. Gumisiriza Narasi is just one of those millions, but his resilience is emblematic. He isn’t living large, rather, he just wants to survive one day at a time. At 62 years old, Narasi still spends days and sleepless nights on security watch, as he tries to put food on the table for his family.
To make a living in Kampala, Narasi had to leave his wife and six children behind at the family’s home in Kitagwenda district, over 300 km away in Western Uganda. The need to meet his children’s growing daily needs has kept him away, and he only sees them during Easter and Christmas holidays.
Narasi works for an NGO as a security guard. In 2020 he decided to try urban farming to supplement his low income, creatively using the small space around the office compound to set up small vegetable and fruit gardens. All shaped up well and his garden bloomed, until a recent spell of dry weather - the result of a disrupted and changing climate - withered his plants and took with it his hopes of a good harvest.
So long as his passionfruit, bitter berries, maize and sukuma wiki (African spinach) were growing well, Narasi was assured of a daily meal and at least 200,000/= Ugandan shillings weekly. His biggest markets were his workmates and several small local restaurants. The drought swept that business away, and he’s now wary of more shocks. He has tried planting weather-resistant crops like malabar spinach, and although it doesn’t have a market, he can count on it for a meal.
This has left him very vulnerable, and he can’t afford life in the city anymore. His low salary doesn’t allow him to take care of his family’s needs, and his age prevents him from looking for another job. More than 75% of Ugandans are below the age of 30 and the majority are unemployed, creating fierce competition for other jobs Narasi may seek.
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