Gabazira's blog

Hello there! How should our Nakabugu kindred deal with COVID-19?

This week, we are discussing solutions. Some solutions are in the hands of the Nakabugunites themselves, but as usual, for the vulnerable African, some are God sent

We hope that you recall the profile of the Nakabugunite as shared in Series 1: typically rural-based; may never travel to far-flung places like China or even ably situate how supply chains in China influence the lifestyle in rural Nakabugu, including bringing about COVID19; and, Nakabugunites are social animals, living in utilitarian houses. It’s mostly a basic lifestyle punctuated by the few, increasingly unavoidable, urban influences like mobile telephony and social media, etc

Nakabugunites! A people that live on the basics, mostly keep to themselves, don’t know a lot more than what is around them, and most of the time, simply let their ‘Gods’ both African and Biblical, deal with their wants. To them, it’s a matter of forwarding wants to God’s inbox, and everything will be taken care of, both in spirit and materially. Nakabugunites don’t always have to get needs in-hand to register satisfaction; matters, of especially the African god, can be improvisatory, and we are happy with the latter. We don’t always have to see and touch to get satisfaction. Satisfaction can be attained via order or mind manipulation

This time though – even as Nakabugunites send all kinds of email to the inboxes of their Gods, asking for all types of favour, none other than the President of Uganda has asked that they help themselves to prevent the virulent COVID19

But are our kindred so needy and vulnerable that God would never forget them? That even as Nakabugunites are called upon to practice self-help in their effort to avoid COVID19, the Gods, via Nakabugu’s own nature, environment and demographic factors, may again come to the rescue of the kindred

According to the New York Times, demographics, culture, and the environment may be the mitigators, and therefore, route to preventing massive COVID19 infections amongst our kindred. And these three aren’t things that the average Nakabugunite controls directly. They are matters left to their Gods, both African and biblical

The average Nakabugunite lacks the mental bandwidth to analyse such multifaceted stuff, plus connect the dots. It’s not their thing – to them, it’s better avoiding headaches of nature and godly matters. These are things they see and live with every day – simple. Where they come from and why, isn’t a priority knowledge matter

So, may it be that God is coming to the rescue yet again? And that while he may not completely eradicate COVID19, he may help neutralise its effects

The three COVID19 crisis neutralisers:

◦ The youth bulge:

Africa — with about 45,000 reported cases, a tiny fraction of its 1.3 billion people — is the world’s youngest continent, with more than 60 percent of its population under age 25. And when these young folks get infected with COVID19, they are at times asymptotic – i.e., don’t show symptoms and are mostly unaffected by the disease. Like most of Uganda – Nakabugu is blessed with a large youth population and sick or not, they will not die in huge numbers as the seniors. Italy, one of the countries most affected by COVID19, has a median age of 45, and the majority of COVID19 deaths is of people in the 80’s. We have witnessed the same in other countries. So, may it be that our accident of nature [read: high fertility and low life expectancy as the old die early] is a crucial factor in mitigating the terrible effects of this disease on Nakabugunites? By the look of things, yes!

◦ Our culture

In Europe and much of the Western world, many of the COVID19 deaths have happened in nursing homes. We don’t have this worldliness in Nakabugu. We care for the elderly at home, and naturally, we have avoided the deadly human to human infections, at least for the time being.

We are also pretty much geographically isolated in Nakabugu. There are places or ‘super-villages’ where access to the ‘other’ world is extremely limited. People living in such isolation are somehow still insulated from the virus. Until recently, the effective lockdown measures in Uganda ensured an ‘iron’ curtain between the Nakabugu kindreds and the more urbanite and virus-carrying peers – this has prevented/delayed human to human infection.

◦ Warmth and light

Now – we are sure that the majority of the Nakabugunites take the God-given and abundant sun, heat and light for granted. After all – they have lived with these things time immemorial. Of course, allowing for the fact that we simply don’t know enough about COVID19 and that it hasn’t stopped surprising scientists – Coronaviruses don’t do well under warmer temperature

“The ultraviolet rays of direct sunlight inhibit this coronavirus, according to a study by ecological modelers at the University of Connecticut. So surfaces in sunny places may be less likely to remain contaminated, but [it should be noted that] transmission usually occurs through contact with an infected person, not by touching a surface.”

Also, because we get the sun and warmth daily, we mostly live outside our utilitarian houses. The latter reduces the infection that happens inside the houses, like the case in the Western world. Nakabugu’s functional houses are a blessing in disguise, not so?

“People living indoors within enclosed environments may promote virus recirculation, increasing the chance of contracting the disease,” said Mr Car of Nanyang Technological University.”

Has God again come to the rescue?

Now, who amongst you would disagree with the assertion that the above three variables, that may decide the fate of communities in regards to COVID19 human to human infections, aren’t abundant in Nakabugu?

And if these three factors are indeed abundant, is it that our Nakabugu kindred merely have to keep within their physical confines, exploit our three God-given circumstances, buttressed by following the government guidelines on COVID19 prevention? Do we have a formidable solution to this virulent virus?