An assessment of coping with socio-economic needs among Batwa of Kisoro district, Uganda

Abstract

The marginalized communities around the world often struggle to cope with livelihoods due to the following changes in every day pattern. Usually, these changes forced through need for development. In 1992, the Batwa people were forcefully evicted from forests (ancestral land) under government programme of forming national parks and international interests in mountain gorilla conservation, Batwa have been isolated from their traditional cultural values with neither a viable tradition nor access to adequate socio-economic benefits like medical care, access to land, education among others, something that has kept them in vicious cycle of poverty. However, the Batwa have maintained resilient coping mechanisms embedded in their culture and traditions. The study therefore sought to analyze the plight and coping mechanisms of Batwa to inform development programming among marginalized communities. There is need to understand the socio-economic context where livelihood unfold regularly. A sample size of 84 respondents was utilized, In-Depth Interviews (IDI) were carried out among 30 household heads, 6 key informants (KII) from agencies that support Batwa and 48 participants from Focus Group Discussions (FGD) (6 FGD of 8 participants in each session). Qualitative data (KIIs and FGDs) were thematically analyzed while quantitative data (IDI), were analyzed using descriptively using MS Excel. Majority of respondents were males (57%). The average age was 41 years for males and 35 years for females. Most respondents had attained primary education and 82% of males and 77% of females reported being married. On average, the household size ranged between 3 to 5 people and the main source of income for respondents was casual labor.

The Batwa are engaged in activities such as petty trade like selling crafts, providing labour to farmers, cultural dance performances, etc. Social activities like social hours of cultural dance, meetings, celebrations, attending funeral and church activities are also practiced. Social activities are vital in enhancing spirituality, togetherness, unity, passing on of heritage knowledge and cultural values to children, the young generation who never got chance to live in the forest have got chance to appreciate the ancestral lifestyles.

The major challenge of Batwa was lack of land for farming and settlement, food insecurity, unemployment, poor housing, inadequate safe water, poor hygiene and sanitation, extreme poverty, domestic violence, internal conflicts, illiteracy, poor health, education challenges, unstable sources of income. However, Batwa have adopted coping mechanisms, like making handmade crafts for sale, offering labour, cultural performances, education of children, small scale farming. Government and agencies like Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT), Mgahinga Community Development Organization, have facilitated the coping practices of Batwa through vocational capacity building, education of children, buying land, construction of houses/homes, sensitization, creating awareness among others. There is need for government t and agencies to emphasize on skills development, secure adequate land for farming, improve housing, improve education and health, provide seedlings to enable food security and nutrition, create job opportunities for Batwa so as to stabilize interrupted source of livelihoods. Officials should work with Batwa leaders in monitoring and preventing abuses, internal conflicts, and help them to be self-reliant.