Business minded

Coming to a new place and experiencing new things has led me to make quite a few observations about what I’ve seen. One of which has been all the businesses. I noticed it first in Kampala. There are a LOT of shops, everywhere you look. But it also seems that they repeat themselves. At first I didn’t notice, but then as we were driving around more, I didn’t see a lot of variety in what people were selling. There were clothing stores, with pretty similar second-hand clothing; Airtel or MTN stores, selling the same minutes or SIM cards as the next stand; food stores, that had the same options for drinks and food; pharmacies, which you don’t need prescriptions for; and then it started over again. Yet there didn’t seem to be any open spot along the street front that didn’t have some sort of store or stand to sell whatever they could.

After church that first Sunday, with Pastor at Miracle Center, I realized a trend. Not only did he mention to his congregation that they would be wealthier by the end of July, but he mentioned it would be through their business. He kept saying that opening a factory is a possibility, or that they could open a business. It seemed that opening a business was his answer to getting into a higher social bracket. But what kind of business could they open that would possibly be lucrative for them? What new options were there for another business/shop to open?

Coming from a family that has had their own business (two different ones in different states), I wonder about this. How can someone make enough money to support themselves, especially with big families, if the next person is also selling the same thing? I realize that business is different in different countries, but I feel as though things still have to be competitive. What does one person have compared to the other in order to get customers to want to return back to their store? I haven’t seen any differences, not even in prices.

But it wasn’t just Pastor that thought that way. Even Andrew mentioned that most people are going to school for business. It seems that business education is very promoted in this region. Other professions don’t have the same income. The schools don’t have much money, so to be a teacher is almost out of the question. Healthcare is the same way. Education is expensive, so there needs to be a definite income after you finish. It seems that business is the way to go. I wish there was another way. If they had more teachers, healthcare professionals, engineers, or anything else to diversify the working field then there may be a chance for more development in the area.

It’s difficult to get people to understand that there needs to be education beyond just business. Especially in a poor area when all they see are business people making money. Trade school is the same outcome. If everyone is trained in a skill, then it makes it difficult to get a job because there are others who already have that job. Boda-bodas for example – there are so many of them that it’s hard to make a living. 

I truly hope that things will get better. I feel like having a variety of careers can only help further the development of this region. Even if the development is only to get them back on their feet and in a better state than they’ve been put in because of the war.