{"id":49699,"date":"2023-02-17T16:31:43","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T21:31:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging24.finca.org\/uncategorized-en-gb\/good-light-in-the-village"},"modified":"2024-11-04T02:27:24","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T07:27:24","slug":"good-light-in-the-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finca.org\/en-gb\/good-light-in-the-village","title":{"rendered":"Good Light in the Village"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the past, there was no good light in Akokoro, the village where Esaya Odockthu and his partner Flavia live. The village is a 20-mile drive from the district capital, Nebbi, and about 250-miles from the nation\u2019s capital, Kampala. It lies deep in the highlands that separate Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The dirt road from Nebbi get progressively narrower as it approaches Akokoro, eventually dwindling to a footpath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flavia and Esaya have lived in or near Akokoro their whole life. \u201cI was born a long time ago,\u201d Esaya says, \u201cback when we were part of Britain. When Queen Elizabeth visited [in 1954]<\/a>, I was a still young man.\u201d He guesses that he is in his mid-80s. Flavia is closer to 70. Esaya\u2019s wife died years ago, and Flavia lost her husband. They aren\u2019t married and now mostly depend on one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Esaya was younger, he farmed plantains, potatoes, and maize, the basics of subsistence farming in Uganda. He stopped working a decade ago, too bent and arthritic to continue to work his land. He now hires other villagers to plant, weed and harvest in exchange for a portion of the farm\u2019s output. And those neighbors still farm those same few crops, perhaps with a little bit of coffee for commercial sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What it Means to be Poor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are about 100 households in village, perhaps 500 people in total, most of them children. While a few homes have concrete floors and tin roofs, most people \u2013 including Esaya and Flavia \u2013 live in mud huts with thatched roofs. Electricity lines end a few miles short of the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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