We all agree that graveyards are scary as most people feel uneasy when passing through them.
Whether the grounds are finely manicured or left to the weeds, the fact remains that it’s a graveyard, and thoughts of skeletons emerging from the soil to grab your ankle and pull you into the underworld can never go away.
Mulinde Solomon, a resident of Nsoba East Mulago, Kawempe North Constituency is changing the perspective of people on burial grounds.
The 42-year-old says that he developed the idea during the COVID-19 lockdown when the world was ‘quiet.’
“The loneliness during lockdown showed me how the people we bury feel lonely. So I decided to give my people company by creating a garden around our burial grounds,” says Mulinde.
Mulinde’s burial ground has about eight graves and he says that the community has always expressed their fear about them, which he admits that it was understandable.
“As humans, we fear graveyards. This has inspired me to try to create positive thinking about the graveyards,” Mulinde says.
He adds, “I started the garden by planting flowers so that I can make the burial grounds look lively.”
He further explains that he added beans, maize, and cassava among other things.
“I sell off the harvests and also give some to the community around for free,” he says.
Mulinde claims that the idea has made the burial grounds busy and reduced the fear.