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Teacher turns waitress to survive 2nd lockdown
Ms Loyce Mugide carries dishes at her workplace in Ntinda, a Kampala suburb on June 28, 2021 PHOTO / ESTHER OLUKA
What you need to know:
- Determination . “The continuous habit of re-opening and re-closing of schools has had an impact on our salaries as teachers. For this reason, I don’t think one should just sit around waiting until the government draws up another academic calendar. When will this even be?” Loyce Mugide
The lockdown is beginning to take a toll on Ugandans, with some now being forced to look for other jobs in order to make ends meet.
Among those is Ms Loyce Mugide, 43, a teacher at Kireka Home for Children with Special Needs.
Ms Mugide is a mother of four children aged 20, 10, 8, and 5. Currently, she is carrying the bigger burden of providing for the family after her partner moved out of their home following a misunderstanding.
Ms Mugide says she had to think outside the box of how to survive during the lockdown after President Museveni make the announcement on June 18.
“Things were not good for me and the children during last year’s lockdown. Life was hard because I sat home most of the time,” she says.
“And so when President Museveni make the announcement that the country was going to have a lockdown for a period of 42 days, I began thinking of what possible jobs to do during this time,” she adds.
Ms Mugide also says the other reason she was forced to think of getting another job was because of the unstable academic calendar.
“The continuous habit of re-opening and re-closing of schools has had an impact on our salaries as teachers. For this reason, I don’t think one should just sit around waiting until the government draws up another academic calendar. When will this even be?” she wonders.
So, last week, Ms Mugide decided to go out looking for a job. She walked from her home in Kireka, a suburb on the outskirts of the city, to different parts of the city centre making inquiries about any available job opportunities.
“All I wanted was a job and did not care what type it was,” she says.
“So, last Wednesday, I desperately walked to Ntinda New Market and asked around whether there were any job offers. A female trader informed me there was a restaurant within the market that needed a waitress. I met the owner who eventually gave me the job,” she adds.
Ms Mugide earns Shs5,000 daily from the job and has to walk every day to work.
“I use the money to mostly buy food. For example, if I work for two days and get Shs10,000, this money is enough for buying a kilogramme of beans and posho, which the family can consume in a day,” she says.
Though there are occasions when children demand for other treats, Ms Mugide says she normally reminds them of the situation at hand.
“For example, during breakfast, the younger ones sometimes ask for bread but I tell them there is not enough money to afford it,” she says. “The older children understand and are not as demanding as the younger ones.”
Ms Mugide says she will continue doing the waitress job until schools re-open.
