By Emodingo Ambrose George (UGANDA)
On the shores of Lake Victoria, just outside the bustling city of Jinja in Eastern Uganda, lies Masese Landing Site. To an outsider, it may seem like a place full of opportunity—a hub where goods and people flow, connecting Uganda to inland trade routes.
The air is thick with the scent of fresh fish, the ground constantly buzzing with activity as boats arrive laden with goods and workers tirelessly offload crates. But beneath this busy surface lies another reality, a far less visible one.
For men like 26-year-old George Kafuko, a porter at the site, the landing site isn’t a place of opportunity. It’s a place of daily struggle. Kafuko is one of the hundreds of porters who work in the shadows of the landing site, hauling heavy loads of goods under dangerous and unhealthy conditions. These are the unseen hands that keep Masese moving, but the weight they bear is not just physical—it’s the weight of poverty, danger, and uncertainty.
Boats lie anchored along the quiet shores of Namugongo Island, a busy port near Masese Landing in Jinja, Uganda, where traders, fishermen, and transporters gather to exchange goods and prepare for the next day’s journeys across the lake.
Masese: A place of opportunities and risks
Masese Landing Site is one of the oldest and most important landing sites in the region. Perched on a hill just outside Jinja, it has long connected the local fishing industry to markets across Uganda, making it a lifeline for the region’s economy. Fishermen, traders, and porters all rely on Masese for survival, and while it offers much-needed jobs, these jobs come at a steep price.
Most of the porters, like Kafuko, are informal workers. They haul heavy loads from boats to trucks, trucks to boats, without protective gear or regulation. Their hands are calloused from years of labor, their backs bent from carrying the weight of the economy—yet the compensation is meager. On good days, Kafuko might make 40,000 shillings (about $11), but on bad days, his earnings drop to as low as 5,000 shillings (about $1.50).
Life as a porter isn’t just physically exhausting; it’s emotionally and financially draining too. Despite these hardships, Kafuko’s connection to Masese is deep. He was born and raised in the area, the youngest of four brothers. At 26, he now lives just a few hundred meters from the landing site with his young son. His wife works abroad in Oman to support the family, but Kafuko remains anchored to Masese, both by necessity and a sense of loyalty.
After hours of physical labor, George takes a moment to rest on one of the boats, exhausted from a day filled with heavy lifting and continuous movement, serving those traveling to remote islands on the Nile.“Masese is my mother,” he says. “I depend on her for everything. She has been there for me even in the hardest of times.”
The Dangers of Life at Masese
Working as a porter at Masese is a daily gamble. The landing site is littered with broken glass, fish bones, and other sharp objects, increasing the risk of injury. Porters like Kafuko wade through polluted water, exposed to infections and illnesses with no protective clothing or boots to shield them. Every step carries the risk of sickness or injury, and an injury means no work—and no pay.
“I’ve seen friends cut their feet badly on broken bottles. Some get sick and can’t work for days, sometimes weeks,” Kafuko says, his voice heavy with the resignation of someone who knows too well how precarious his livelihood is.
George Kafuko, a dedicated porter at Masese Landing, carries a customer across the sandy shoreline of the Nile, known for his strength and dependability in safely transporting people and goods over difficult terrain.Yet, he endures. The weight of his responsibilities—his son, his household, his family—keeps him going, even when the work becomes unbearable. He dreams of a safer job, one where he doesn’t have to risk his health daily, but for now, the landing site is his only option.
A Glimmer of Hope: Possible Community Solutions
There is hope that life for porters like Kafuko can improve. Solutions at both the community and personal levels are being explored to address the challenges faced by workers at Masese.
One of the most immediate needs is proper waste management at this landing site. The litter of broken glass, fish bones, and other waste could be reduced through better waste disposal systems, such as placing more waste bins and organizing regular clean-up efforts. Public awareness campaigns about the importance of keeping the area clean could also lessen the risk of injury for porters.
Access to protective gear is another critical issue. Kafuko and his fellow porters need gloves, thigh-high boots, and durable clothing to protect themselves from injury and illness. Donation drives or partnerships with local businesses could help provide these essential items, making their work a little safer and more sustainable.
Scars line one of the porter’s feet showing the risks they face daily from glass shards, fish bones, and debris along the shores, which frequently cause cuts and injuries as they work without protective gear.Health services are also vital. Mobile clinics or health workers stationed closer to the landing site would allow porters to receive immediate care for injuries or illnesses. A low-cost health insurance scheme for informal workers like Kafuko could also alleviate the burden of medical expenses.
Beyond safety and health, the idea of forming porter cooperatives has been floated as a potential solution. A cooperative could provide porters with financial support through savings programs, training on safer work practices, and a stronger voice in advocating for better working conditions.
Possible personal-level solutions: Steps toward a better future
For Kafuko and porters like him, small personal changes could also make a big difference. Starting a savings fund, even a modest one, could allow porters to purchase their own protective gear over time.
Setting aside money for a health savings plan or joining a local health cooperative could ensure that medical costs don’t cripple their finances when injuries inevitably happen.
Diversifying income sources could also help. Porters could be encouraged to take on side businesses to supplement their earnings. Selling snacks or drinks at the landing site could provide a more stable financial foundation, helping them weather the unpredictable nature of their daily wages.
A boat loaded with goods and passengers leaves Namugongo Island, heading along the Nile to connect nearby islands and communities—an essential link for trade and transport in Jinja.The hands that ‘hold’ the future
Masese Landing Site is a vital part of the local economy, but its success comes at a cost to the porters who work there. Men like Kafuko bear the weight of this economy on their backs, but they do so without the protection or support that their work demands.
The hands that carry the loads at Masese are the same hands that hold the future of the community. By addressing the challenges these workers face, there is hope for a brighter, safer future. Kafuko dreams of a day when he doesn’t have to choose between his health and his livelihood. Until then, he will keep working, keep carrying, and keep hoping for better days ahead.
George carefully carries a female passenger to a boat docked at Masese Island, ready to transport her to another island in the vital network connecting Nile communities.For now, Masese remains both a mother and a burden to the men who labor on its shores. But with the right interventions and support, it can become a place where opportunity doesn’t come at such a steep price.
The story of the porters of Masese is one of resilience, but it’s also a call to action—for safer working conditions, for fair wages, and for the recognition that those who carry the weight of the economy should not be forgotten.
Source: This EverydayNile story was supported by InfoNile, MICT and FOTEA with funding from the IHE-Delft Water and Development Partnership Programme, JRS Biodiversity Foundation and GIZ, on behalf of the German Federal Government. This story is among 10 articles, written by 10 photojournalists from 10 countries who participated in EVERYDAY NILE project 2024.
