Gate Crashers

On a warm spring-like day on the rolling hills of Kibuli, another historical event was taking place at Kibuli Muslim Hospital. The land that is now called Kibuli, was donated by the late Prince Badru Kakungulu in the 1930's with the sole purpose of creating institutions that would support and improve the status of the Muslim community at large. The opening of the new Out-Patient Complex (OPC) with a Casualty Department on the beautiful day of the 23rd of July, crowned ten years of hard work.

Under the initiative of concerned Muslims around Kibuli Mosque, with the guidance and support of the late Prince Badru Kakungulu, twenty years ago Kibuli Muslim Hospital (KMH) started as a small Out-Patient Department with very few staff and limited facilities. Later on In-Patients facilities were added with a fifty-nine bed capacity and a small theatre; this was up to 1995 and by then it was Kibuli Nursing Home. Today Kibuli Muslim Hospital has become a fully-fledged Hospital with a 145 bed capacity, working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The hospital servers from 100,000-120,000 patients annually. In addition, KMH has a staff of 150 covering all the departments, 35 visiting specialists and consultants who help run KMH. As a result, currently KMH is a Health Sub-district which has been assigned the responsibility of Makindye East where it carries out Primary Health Care (PHC) activities with the collaboration of Kampala City Council, Makindye Division and UNEPI.

Thus, this past Saturday marked the reality of a dream at KMH with the opening of the first phase of the Out-Patient Complex. The opening ceremony was filled with beautiful decorations, many "thank you speeches" and attended by many dignitaries, that included the likes of Prince Khaasm Nakibinge Kakungulu and Mr. Haider Somany, on behalf of the Somany Family (major donors to the construction of the new complex).

Yet, despite the expensive cars that rolled at the entrance of the gate to the complex, and the high-profile guests that attended the event, and the beautifully dressed compound of the new Out-Patient Department, a glaring, but somewhat cereal, irony floated in the atmosphere. Many villagers from the surrounding area were straining their necks and faces through the surrounding fence to get a peep of what was ensuing. Sadly, most of the on-lookers in the periphery were from the nearby slums that encircle KMH. It felt as though poverty was trying to feel and smell of what was to be wealthy.

One could observe that Kibuli is home to many schools (of all levels), training institutions, and hospital. However, it is also the home to many slums that contain many migrants who cannot afford the services (e.g. education, health, vocational training) that Kibuli has to offer. Consequently, due to the limited income of the residence in the slums, few can afford to eat one meal a day. As a result, there is a tendency of these residents to self invite themselves to community events with the hope of at least acquiring a meal (be it lunch or dinner).

These so-called "Gate Crashers" were prevalent at the opening of the new OPC, who were not at the event to hear the guest of honour's speech, but merely there to get free lunch. It was evident that some of the invited guests of the event found the presence of the "Gate Crashers" not welcoming and felt as though they were "cramping the style" of the event. Others just pretended that they did not exist. While the rest just felt sorry for and could not help but offer them a better view of the event by offering a seat. Despite the ill looks from the invited guests and threats from security, the "Gate Crashers" continued to attend the event feeling that they had every right to be at the event since it was happening in their community.

Consequently, lunch followed the closure of the ceremony and one could only imagine how happy the "Gate Crashers" felt when it was being served. Lucky for them, there was not such a tight security controlling the entrance of guests into the eating area. As a result, the "Gate Crashers" found it easy to infiltrate the area and stand in line for lunch so that they could satisfy their daily hunger for food. In the end, though some people found it offensive, I was happy to see that some hungry stomachs got filled. After all, they are human and deserve to eat!

However, the presence of the "Gate Crashers" brings to light certain questions we as a society need to ask ourselves regarding social welfare. What do we need to do to make basic needs (health and education) accessible to the poor? How can we ensure that individuals eat at least two meals a day? How can we avoid creating communities where "have-nots" peep through the fence of the "have's"?

These and many more questions must be discussed at the local level political system so that a civil responsibility, and civil pride, is eventually established to reduce the amount of "Gate Crashers" at events.