MAGOGO, Uganda (AP) — Some call them the continent’s greatest natural resource, the bevy of children who account for so much of Uganda’s population.
They watch curiously from a hillside and sail across soccer fields and smile from the backs of their mothers.
There are some 25 million children in Uganda, about half the country’s population, and their numbers are a credit its successes. Vaccination drives to combat diseases such as measles, campaigns to distribute mosquito nets to reduce cases of malaria, and a host of other programs have combined to send infant and child mortality plummeting over the decades.
Neighborhood children watch as a nurse cleans the ear of an older resident on a visit by the NGO Reach One Touch Ministries, one of the few organizations in the country that care for older people, in Magogo, Uganda, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Neighborhood children watch as a nurse cleans the ear of an older resident on a visit by the NGO Reach One Touch Ministries, one of the few organizations in the country that care for older people, in Magogo, Uganda, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Norah Kasozi, 73, gestures to her granddaughter, Shalom, 4, to be careful near a ditch as she is pushed in a wheelchair to her home by Isaac Okware following a physical therapy visit to a nearby clinic, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Mukono, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Norah Kasozi, 73, gestures to her granddaughter, Shalom, 4, to be careful near a ditch as she is pushed in a wheelchair to her home by Isaac Okware following a physical therapy visit to a nearby clinic, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Mukono, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Students play at a special school for children being raised by their grandparents run by the NGO Reach One Touch One Ministries to help support seniors in the community, in Magogo, Uganda, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Students play at a special school for children being raised by their grandparents run by the NGO Reach One Touch One Ministries to help support seniors in the community, in Magogo, Uganda, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Young children look on as their grandmother, Prasidia Tishwekwa, who is in her 80s, has her blood pressure checked by field nurse Winnie Katwesigye outside their home Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Rutarabana, a rural village in western Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Young children look on as their grandmother, Prasidia Tishwekwa, who is in her 80s, has her blood pressure checked by field nurse Winnie Katwesigye outside their home Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Rutarabana, a rural village in western Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Whitney Catherine Among, 20, from left, learns how to make charcoal briquettes from Christine Nalumu, 64, and Saniya Nakimuli, 65, part of a program by the NGO Health Nest Uganda, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda. The program helps both groups to share their skills with one another, from teaching youths how to make briquettes used for cooking and heating and seniors learning about technology from the younger generation. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Whitney Catherine Among, 20, from left, learns how to make charcoal briquettes from Christine Nalumu, 64, and Saniya Nakimuli, 65, part of a program by the NGO Health Nest Uganda, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda. The program helps both groups to share their skills with one another, from teaching youths how to make briquettes used for cooking and heating and seniors learning about technology from the younger generation. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Lillian Ddungu, 68, right, teaches sewing to youth as part of a program by the NGO Health Nest Uganda, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda. The program helps both groups to share their skills with one another, from teaching youths how to sew and seniors learning about technology from the younger generation. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Lillian Ddungu, 68, right, teaches sewing to youth as part of a program by the NGO Health Nest Uganda, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda. The program helps both groups to share their skills with one another, from teaching youths how to sew and seniors learning about technology from the younger generation. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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A young boy covers his nose and mouth as he walks past a pig, part of a program by the NGO Health Nest Uganda, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda. The program helps both groups to share their skills with one another, from teaching youths how to care for livestock and seniors learning about technology from the younger generation. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A young boy covers his nose and mouth as he walks past a pig, part of a program by the NGO Health Nest Uganda, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda. The program helps both groups to share their skills with one another, from teaching youths how to care for livestock and seniors learning about technology from the younger generation. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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But the lives of Africa’s future are, in many ways, intertwined with those of its past.
Children gather around people dressed as characters from a popular children’s television show during a school’s kindergarten graduation party, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Children gather around people dressed as characters from a popular children’s television show during a school’s kindergarten graduation party, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Motorcyclists crowd a busy shopping street, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, home to one of the world’s youngest populations, where half of its people are under 18 years old. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Motorcyclists crowd a busy shopping street, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, home to one of the world’s youngest populations, where half of its people are under 18 years old. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Young girls, part of a wedding party, hold hands as they leave a hotel to attend the ceremony, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, home to some 25 million children, about half of the country’s population. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Young girls, part of a wedding party, hold hands as they leave a hotel to attend the ceremony, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, home to some 25 million children, about half of the country’s population. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Students carry their chairs at a school for children being raised by their grandparents run by the NGO Reach One Touch One Ministries to help support seniors in the community, in Magogo, Uganda, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Students carry their chairs at a school for children being raised by their grandparents run by the NGO Reach One Touch One Ministries to help support seniors in the community, in Magogo, Uganda, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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The bookended age groups of children and older people suffer the highest poverty rates. They rely on one another for care. And they often live together: Among households with older people, an estimated one in six are “skipped generation,” with grandparents and grandchildren sharing a home.
Rose Liru, 94, right, eats dinner prepared by her granddaughter, Parvin Nakawesi, 9, left, and grandniece, Brenda Mungulu, 11, rear, at the home they share, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in Magogo, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Rose Liru, 94, right, eats dinner prepared by her granddaughter, Parvin Nakawesi, 9, left, and grandniece, Brenda Mungulu, 11, rear, at the home they share, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in Magogo, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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A woman carries a gift basket as she arrives at a park to attend a friend’s birthday party, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, where about three-fourths of Uganda’s 43 million people are under 35, to according to UNICEF. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A woman carries a gift basket as she arrives at a park to attend a friend’s birthday party, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, where about three-fourths of Uganda’s 43 million people are under 35, to according to UNICEF. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Some of the children’s parents died of AIDS or had to move away to find work or simply were no longer up to the task of raising a child. Where grandparents have stepped in, it can be a blessing and a curse. Many of the older people struggled to sustain themselves even before taking on another mouth to feed and school tuition to pay.
Children wait to walk down the aisle at their kindergarten graduation, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Children wait to walk down the aisle at their kindergarten graduation, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Rose Nakirigya, left, holds her son, Axell, as he celebrates his 1st birthday with siblings, Abia, 4, and Ariel, 5, right, at a restaurant, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Rose Nakirigya, left, holds her son, Axell, as he celebrates his 1st birthday with siblings, Abia, 4, and Ariel, 5, right, at a restaurant, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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“I have no choice,” one grandmother says, “but to be a strong woman.”
Fathiya Natukunda places a cake at a picnic to celebrate a friend’s birthday in a park, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Fathiya Natukunda places a cake at a picnic to celebrate a friend’s birthday in a park, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Youths play soccer at sunset, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Mukono, Uganda, home to one of the world’s youngest populations, where half of its people are under 18 years old. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Youths play soccer at sunset, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Mukono, Uganda, home to one of the world’s youngest populations, where half of its people are under 18 years old. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Patrons dance as a band performs at a night club, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, where about three-fourths of Uganda’s 43 million people are under 35, to according to UNICEF. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Patrons dance as a band performs at a night club, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, where about three-fourths of Uganda’s 43 million people are under 35, to according to UNICEF. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Janet Nampija, right, looks at her daughter Nakaima Hairat, 14, after a swim in Lake Victoria as they sit along a beach at sunset Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda, home to one of the world’s youngest populations. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Janet Nampija, right, looks at her daughter Nakaima Hairat, 14, after a swim in Lake Victoria as they sit along a beach at sunset Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda, home to one of the world’s youngest populations. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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A youth group wades into the waters of Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake, while visiting a beach at sunset, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A youth group wades into the waters of Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake, while visiting a beach at sunset, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Entebbe, Uganda. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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The list of challenges faced by many older people here is long, their lives blanketed with financial desperation and physical challenge. Whether those hardships will be addressed by policymakers in effective ways is an open question.
What’s certain is the problems of the old today are the problems of the young tomorrow.
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This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.
