ESTUDIO PATOLÓGICO

“Street  people  can  start  a  family  because  of  the  job  and  grow  from  zero  to  something”.     Emmanuel   about   the   chances   he   sees   in   the   bodaboda   business   and   his   motivation   to   join   the   bodaboda.    

We  turn  left  from  the  main  road  where  many  hand  made  wooden  beds  are  shown  to  the   passing  traffic.  A  rough  pad  of  dark  red  sand  sided  by  trees  at  one  side  and  unstable  houses,   with  elections  posters  on  every  available  place,  at  the  other  side.  After  100  meters  the  trees   give  room  to  the  blue  sky  and  we  arrive  on  an  open  spot  where  Emmanuel’s  pride,  his  blue   painted  house,  is  built.  Emmanuel  parks  his  motorcycle  and  without  locking  it  we  enter  his   neat  home.    

The   responsibility   for   his   family   is   something   that   clearly   appears   continuously   as   I   speak   with   Emmanuel.   This   in   itself   is   maybe   not   very   surprising,   but   what   is   more   noteworthy  is  that  many  bodaboda  drivers  I  spoke  with  besides  Emmanuel,  actually  manage   to  take  care  of  their  families  in  a  manner  that  they  previously  thought  never  to  be  possible.   Emmanuel  for  example  is  proud  that  he,  with  hard  work,  can  fulfil  his  responsibilities  as  head   of   the   family.   He   is   happy   he   fought   like   a   man   and   is   caring   for   his   family   with   no   help.   Again,  the  self-­‐confidence  Emmanuel  has  developed  by  ‘caring-­‐without-­‐asking’  is  evident  in   his  answers.  Emmanuel  has  the  feeling  that  he  became  stronger  by  ‘fighting’  and  he  is  proud   that   he   did   not   give   up.   Emmanuel   is   a   confident   and   proud   bodaboda   driver.   When   he   entered  the  bodaboda  business  there  was  a  negative  image  surrounding  the  bodabodamen.   Today   Emmanuel   tells   me   that   this   negative   image   is   changing:   “Bodaboda   is   a   real   job   today.   Also   we   are   seen   as   responsible   people   today”.   Emmanuel   puts   it   poetically:   “the   minds  of  the  bodaboda  people  are  growing”.    

The   people   see   that   bodaboda   operators   are   also   responsible   people,   people   with   families  and  responsibilities.  Driving  a  bodaboda  is  recognized  as  work,  the  same  as  working   for  a  bank  is  work,  a  job,  as  well.  This  recognition  for  his  job  is  very  important  to  Emmanuel   and  gives  him  a  positive  self-­‐image.  Illustrative  for  his  self-­‐confidence  is  his  story  about  his   neighbour   that   works   for   the   ministry   of   agriculture;   “a   big   man”   Emmanuel   says.   He   continues:    “I  share  boundaries  with  someone  in  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  when  we  meet   outside   we   greet   as   gentlemen.   My   neighbour   has   a   well-­‐paid   government   job   at   the   Ministry,  I  am  a  bodabodaman  but  we  still  share  a  boundary.  We  greet  as  gentlemen”.  Ten   years  ago  this  was  impossible”.  Emmanuel  is  convinced  that  over  the  years  the  “minds  of  the   bodabodamen  are  growing.”  He  used  to  say  “We  are  part  of  the  street  now.  We  are  the  new   symbol   of   Kampala”.   This   is   what   comes   back   all   the   time;   the   feeling   that   they   are   an   imperative   part   of   Kampala’s   DNA   today   and   that   they   are   proud   of   this.   In   a   way   the   bodaboda  became  a  new  symbol  of  Kampala.  For  some  in  a  negative  (unsafe,  dirty,  reckless)   sense,  but  for  others  in  a  very  positive  sense.  Positive  or  negative,  it  is  neutral  to  say  that   bodaboda  is  an  inevitable  element  of  Kampala’s  outlook  as  it  is  in  many  other  cities  in  sub-­‐ Saharan  Africa.      

Emmanuel  invests  heavily  in  his  children’s  future  by  sending  them  to  the  best  schools   he   can   afford.   His   children   deserve   a   better   future,   he   says.   Emmanuel   sees   many   young   people   are   struggling   to   find   jobs,   and   the   only   way   to   avoid   this   struggle   for   his   own   children  is  education,  he  believes.  For  Emmanuel  education  is  so  important  that  his  children   attend   more   expensive   schools   than   the   children   of   his   neighbour,   who   has   a   job   at   the   ministry.   However,   whether   education   alone   will   be   enough   to   secure   a   job   in   Uganda’s   future   job   market   remains   to   be   seen.   As   shown   in   my   literature   review,   competition   for   jobs,  let  alone  the  white  collar  jobs  Emmanuel  has  in  mind,  will  increase  dramatically.    

Sending  his  children  to  expensive  schools  is  not  the  whole  picture  Emmanuel  had  in   mind.  The  bigger  picture  is  about  the  day  when  he  will  be  an  old  man:  “I  invest  in  the  future   of  my  children  and  hope  they  do  not  forget  me  when  I  am  old”.  He  knows  older  friends  who   secured  an  income  for  their  older  days,  because  their  children  have  good  paid  jobs  now  that  

enable   them   to   help   their   father   with   financial   support.   Emmanuel   sends   his   two   eldest   children  to  the  prestigious  Kakoola  High  School,  founded  by  the  Minister  of  Education  Hon.   Dr.   J.C.   Muyingo.   Emmanuel   tells   me:   “Many   people   wonder   how   I   manage   to   send   my   children   to   this   school.”   His   answer   is   brief   but   all-­‐encompassing:   “I   sacrifice   myself   for   them”.  He  disappears  for  a  minute  in  another  room,  and  when  he  comes  back  he  carries  a   neat  suitcase.  He  unlocks  it  and  starts  showing  me  all  the  certificates  which  he  safely  holds  in   here..  Emmanuel  is  able  to  direct  his  future  and  sees  education  as  the  best  tool  to  do  so.   Emmanuel’s  strategy  confirms  B.  Trudell’s  theory  of  ‘education  out  of  marginalization’.89  It   seems  to  work  for  now,  but  what  will  be  left  of  the  value  of  education  as  dozens  of  others   have  the  same  education,  and  jobs  will  become  increasingly  sparse?  Emmanuel  himself  can   profit  from  a  crisis  in  Kampala  but  if  his  children  are  in  a  position  they  cab  is  o  be  seen.