Makerere University Guild President Gracious Kadondi and several students have raised concerns about the growing hunger crisis on the prestigious hill, revealing how some learners struggle to afford even a single meal a day.
On TikTok, some students have been sharing their experiences, lamenting how hunger has taken a toll on them over the past couple of weeks.
Some claim they spend entire days without eating anything, only returning to their hostels in the evening to prepare porridge before calling it a day.
The concerns have also sparked questions about the university administration’s silence and what is being done to address the situation.
Speaking to the press, Kadondi revealed that some students go for days without food, with cases of learners being taken to hospital only for medical personnel to discover that their problem is hunger rather than illness.
Students go hungry a lot and sometimes spend three to four days without having anything in their stomachs. When you take them to the hospital thinking they are sick, after checking them, they find out that it is hunger.
Kadondi also reflected on her personal experiences with hunger during her first year at the university, recalling how she and her roommates sometimes depended on the kindness of a fellow student to get a meal.
“We used to sleep three in a room at Mary Stuart Hall, but one of us was fortunate because her meals for the entire semester had been paid for, meaning she could get one meal a day. She was very kind to us, and whenever she got her food, we would share it. In the evening, we would take tea with half a cake,” she revealed.
The Guild President further questioned whether Shs4,500 is enough to sustain a student for an entire day, considering the current economic conditions.
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According to how our economy is, Shs4,500 isn’t enough to sustain a person for a full day. And for a private student whose parents are already struggling to pay tuition and meet other expenses, it can be tough.
Kadondi noted that while the university has functioning laboratories and lecturers are available to teach, hunger has emerged as the biggest concern among students, threatening to overshadow their academic experience.
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