The Observer (Kampala)
The Analyst
24 June 2009
column
Churches across the country are flooded with applications from couples seeking to wed, following the announcement that government will distribute free mosquito nets to all citizens. Sources in religious establishments have told The Analyst that they have been caught off guard by the thousands of couples who have been turning up daily to book wedding slots since two weeks ago.
"When we asked the couples why they have chosen this particular time to enter holy matrimony, they all had the same answer: that government was going to give them free wedding gowns!" said a source at Peter's Church of Uganda in Kampala. The source added that when they investigated further, they realized that the couples were referring to the government's recent announcement to distribute over 17 million free mosquito nets to combat malaria, which is the leading killer disease in the country. According to health officials, malaria kills 320 people daily.
In the past, the few mosquito nets distributed by government and charities have been promptly turned into wedding gowns by creative rural folk. In accordance with Christian tradition, some say colonial tradition, the bride wears a white lacy gown to her wedding. Since the majority of the rural people, who live on less than one dollar a day, cannot afford such wedding gowns, they shy away from having church weddings, and stop at the traditional marriage ceremony, or simply move in with each other without any formalities.
However, the church leaders are always criticizing them for "living in sin" and encouraging them to "clean up" their marriages through church weddings. The church, however, doesn't offer free wedding gowns, leaving willing but poor rural couples locked out of holy matrimony. Describing the government plan to distribute mosquito nets as a "godsend", Rev. Joseph Masembe of Joseph's Catholic Church in Kamonkole village told The Analyst that his church was ready to run 24-7 to accommodate the spike in weddings. His church, like many others across the country, normally operates 4-1, that is, four hours once a week, on Sundays.
Asked whether converting mosquito nets into wedding gowns would not undermine government efforts to reduce malaria deaths, one church official said that "the soul is more important than the body." Apart from wedding gowns, mosquito nets have also been converted into table cloths by poor people to impress important guests, such as local chiefs, religious leaders, NGO workers and relatives from the city when they visit the rural homesteads.
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