Matthias is another of the gold miners in
Busia. When I met him, he voiced his own thoughts in praise of the Kacha.
He said: ‘it has saved us our life as we
have less use of mercury and so we don’t have as many dangers of using mercury
any more. Now we only use a tiny amount to do the final amalgamate. This is so
much better than before when we had to use more. There are so many dangers
associated with Mercury – first hand for those using it, also the risk of
children getting contaminated by it when they come by to see their mums; if the
women are pregnant it is extra dangerous as the use of the mercury can affect
the baby; and then of course we don’t know if it is in the water systems from
being spilled, or from the washings. The environment has suffered through using
the use of mercury in the gold process, and so have we. If we can process the
gold without using mercury it will make our lives so much better, so much
healthier, and also for our children. And it will make our environment so much
cleaner and better. We just want to be free from having to use mercury, so if
we can get the Konka as well that will be our prayers answered’
And that is our aim: to provide the miners
with the final pieces of equipment that they need so that they will have the
ability to do the full processing of the gold in a completely mercury-free way.
The full set is one Kacha, two Mastas, one Konka and one Smelter – once they
have all the pieces they will be set. Their lives will be mercury-free, they will be recovering more gold from the
same amount of ore, they will have time to carry out all the other aspects of
life that make up the day-to-day routine of rural Ugandan life, and they will
be gaining some more income so the children can go to school, healthcare bills
can be covered, clothes can be bought, and repairs to housing etc can be made.
What is really exciting is that,
thanks to the input of Ugandan NGO EWAD who are facilitating a whole range of
additional pieces of training, and work-based improvements, the miners, and the
groups in which they work are moving ever closer to becoming certified as
fairtrade gold producers.
One of the lasting memories for me about
visiting these gold miners, apart from the depth of praise and rejoicing that
they had for the impact already made by the Kacha, and the hope that they have
for the added benefits of the Konka, was the paradox seen between their
lifestyles and the mineral they are finding.
Here they are, digging for gold – an item
most associated with wealth and prosperity, and yet many of the miners are
living in rural poverty, and in houses, some of which are perched right on the
edge of gaping holes in the ground that are the mineshafts. The least we can do
is equip and empower them to be able to achieve better working conditions,
better living conditions, better family lives and more hope for the future.
It has been a fascinating visit to Busia to
meet the small-scale artisan gold miners, and their cooperative groups. My
thanks go to EWAD, and especially Margaret, Joshua and Kevin, for leading,
photographing and driving respectively. Also to EWAD generally for all that the
whole team are tirelessly doing to help transform so many lives.
Thanks also go to Greg Valerio for
introducing me to the project in the first place and to the Guernsey Overseas
Aid Commission for donating the money to CRED to enable purchase of the Kacha
and Mastas.
A massive thanks goes to the miners – for
their welcome, their willingness to show me round and answer what must have
seemed like some pretty daft questions, and for all the hard work they put in
day after day after day – I feel so honoured to now be involved in their lives,
and in helping to transform those lives for the better.
But most of all thanks be to God, for so
beautifully and perfectly linking all the different people together who feature
in any way in the story of Kachas, Mastas, Konkas and Smelters in Uganda.
PS if you want to be part of the story –
it’s not too late! Go to http://cred.org.uk/gold/ to make a donation J
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