Abstract
The deprivation, adversity, and lack of protection for children on the streets of urban Uganda are well known; as is the reality that most of their support is facilitated by Western Missionary operated, non-government organisations (NGOs). However, their approach is problematised as ineffective, oppressive, and colonial. Yet there is a dearth of research from the children’s perspectives, capturing the meaning of such actors’ interventions within their lifeworld’s, and no such literature within the Ugandan context. Therefore, this case study focuses on the ‘Mzungu Phenomenon’, a theme unearthed from critical hermeneutic analyses of the life stories of 30 former street children within an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda. The Mzungu phenomenon refers to the meaning and influence of the Western Missionaries and volunteers that feature within the children’s experiences, captured within their narratives. Underpinned by Ricœur’s narrative philosophy, this study illuminates and problematises the way in which Western NGO actors feature within the children’s lifeworld’s, and the wider ramifications from postcolonial, and postcolonial feminist theoretical perspectives. This includes the perpetuation of colonial legacies, ideologies, and praxis, that contribute to disempowerment for children, their families, and their communities, and the dual oppression of women. Therefore, this piece argues that despite a need to enhance child protection measures in Uganda, the current approaches that do not align with national and international rights-based policies must be further critically examined, challenged, and reformed, to ensure the wellbeing of the children.
Highlights
This critical hermeneutic case study is one of a series of articles focused on the life stories of 30 children living within an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda, who previously lived on the streets
When contrasted with the female participants evocation of the Mzungu phenomenon as an “only chance”, recognising their limited alternate options and wider social context, the deeply embedded complexity of a colonial power system is elucidated. This critical hermeneutic case study has illuminated and problematised the perpetuation of oppressive colonial legacies enveloped in the approaches employed by Western, predominantly religious based, operators engaging with children on the streets of Kampala
Though only the perspectives of Ugandan adults appear within the literature, this includes the maintenance and perpetuation of colonial power relations, ideologies, cultural imperialism, and disempowerment reported by De Wet (2016); the lack of long-term benefit, detrimental impact and motivations of Western nongovernment organisations (NGOs) actors in formerly colonised nations globally (Bandyopadhyay, 2018; Bandyopadhyay & Patil, 2017; Gray & Campbell, 2007), and the twofold oppression of Ugandan women (De Wet, 2016; Mulumba et al, 2021)
Summary
This critical hermeneutic case study is one of a series of articles (see Bunyan, 2021; 2021) focused on the life stories of 30 children living within an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda, who previously lived on the streets. Guided by Ricœur’s (1984) narrative philosophy and theory of interpretation, this highly reflexive and contextually sensitive approach combines the hermeneutics of faith with suspicion to delve beyond superficial narrative interpretations, to illuminate the silenced stories hidden behind those told explicitly (Josselson, 2004, 2006) As elucidated, engaging this approach to the life-story narratives of 30 (n=15 f, 15 m) children living within an orphanage near Kampala whom the researcher, a Scottish, non-religious, White, Woman, had worked alongside for a decade, revealed a theme that was not initially an intended topic of enquiry within the wider study: the Mzungu Phenomenon. This case study questions the way in which the Mzungu phenomenon features within the children’s lived experiences, its meaning and influence on the children’s choices and actions, and the wider repercussions, in terms of the Ugandan social, cultural, and historical context In doing so, this piece doesn’t seek to minimise the suffering or challenges that many Uganda children face, or the need for support from the global community. It problematises an aspect of existing approaches and ideologies, in hopes of provoking more critical sociocultural awareness among those engaging with communities in the field to begin to dismantle neocolonial power relations and discourse, within praxis
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