The blazing sun beats down on the compound in Abali Village, Alebere Parish, Itek Sub-county in Lira District. Yet, amidst the heat, 100-year-old Sarafino Ali weeds the compound of his newly constructed house. His skin is weathered, but his grip on the hoe remains unshakeable. The hoe rises and falls; its blade slicing through the earth.
The sun beats down on Ali’s back, but he is not about to give up. He is driven to finish the task. The land is both Ali’s pride and his legacy. For more than 60 years, he has been farming here and building a life. Now, as he clocks 100 years, Ali is still working and striving. ‘I married five women, and God blessed us with 40 children. Four of those women and 10 of our children are deceased. Now I am left with one wife, 30 children and more than 200 grandchildren,’ he says.
The centenarian owns 50,000 acres of land in Alebtong District, and seven acres in Aber Sub-county in Oyam District.
He lives a simple, wholesome lifestyle, devoid of modern indulgences. He neither drinks alcohol nor eats meat, opting instead for wild fruits, green vegetables, chicken, and eggs. ‘All my age-mates who engaged in irresponsible consumption of alcohol are dead. The majority died 40 years ago. But as you can see, I am still very strong because I do not drink alcohol,’ Ali explains. His daily routine is a testament to his physical and mental agility. He wakes up at the crack of dawn, tends to his garden, and spends hours looking after his goats and cattle. Ali is a common sight on dusty community access roads, riding his bicycle. The children he bypasses often laugh and run alongside him, trying to keep up with his pace.
As he sits on a plastic chair close to his wife, his eyes sparkle with a deep sense of contentment and a reflection of his gratitude for life. His diet, rich in nutrients and fibre, has undoubtedly contributed to his remarkable longevity.Nonetheless, in a world where modernity often prioritises convenience over health, Ali’s lifestyle is a refreshing anomaly. Silas Ogwok, his grandson, says Ali’s commitment to traditional living has yielded a bounty of benefits, not just for himself, but for his community as well.
‘I also do not like meat. Like my grandfather, I only eat chicken, eggs, and greens. I do not drink alcohol, and I am sure that I may live longer than him,’ says the sixteen-year-old Primary Five pupil. Ali got married to his wife, Santina Adit, in 1982 when she was 20. Adit says her husband is loving and caring. ‘When I came into his home, I found that he had four wives. Before they passed on, he treated my co-wives and I equally. I was blessed with 14 children, but two of them died,’ says the 63-year-old woman.
Ali is disappointed by his own family, who seem to live in a world so different from the one he knows. ‘As a young man, I worked tirelessly to provide for my family, embracing a simple, wholesome lifestyle. But I find my children are different. They have grown up in a world of modernity, where the allure of nightlife and excess is impossible to resist. They drink alcohol as if there is no tomorrow, carefree and uninhibited,’ he says.
Ali lists the countless times he has tried to reason with the children, to share with them the wisdom of his years. But they just laugh and dismiss him as old-fashioned. Besides his children’s unhealthy lifestyles, Ali’s only depressive moment occurred in 1982, when his village in Omoro Sub-county, Alebtong District, was plagued by relentless attacks from Karimojong cattle rustlers. The attacks forced several villagers, including Ali, to flee for their lives. He relocated to Barr Sub-county in Lira District, where he sold some of his cattle and bought land.
‘I had 600 heads of cattle, but I lost everything during the insurgency. That was around 1985,’ he says. In 2010, a group of war claimants under the Lango War Claimants’ Association sued the government for damages suffered during the years-long insurgency in northern Uganda. In 2014, the High Court in Lira ruled in their favour and ordered the government to compensate 69,475 war claimants. The court also ordered the government to pay Shs5m and 25 percent interest to each claimant for general damages. Justice Simon Byamukama Mugenyi, in his ruling on July 14, 2014, said it was the responsibility of the government to protect the residents and their properties during the conflict.
The court valued each sheep and goat at Shs150,000, a pig at Shs250,000, and each cow at Shs900,000. However, to this day, the claimants are still waiting for their compensation. ‘Out of the 600 heads of cattle I lost, the government approved payment for only eight. So far, I have received payment for only three,’ says Ali.
Life expectancy
This farmer is a testament to Uganda’s rising life expectancy, now at 68.5 years, up from 63.7 in 2014. As the country celebrates its increasing life expectancy, his story shines a light on the possibilities of aging with vitality, with females living longer than males, at 70.1 years and 66.9 years, respectively. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), people worldwide are living longer. Today, most people can expect to live into their sixties and beyond. Every country in the world is experiencing growth in both the size and the proportion of older persons in the population. By 2030, globally, one in six people will be aged 60 years or over. At that time, the share of the population aged 60 years and over will increase from one billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion.
By 2050, the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double (2.1 billion). The number of persons aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426 million. WHO indicates that while this shift in distribution of a country’s population towards older ages – known as population aging – started in high-income countries (for example, in Japan, 30 percent of the population is already over 60 years old), it is now low- and middle-income countries that are experiencing the greatest change.
By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population over 60 years will live in low- and middle-income countries.
How therapy works
Age, family genetics, and gender make it nearly impossible for older adults to avoid becoming a chronic disease statistic. According to research published in 2025, 93 percent of adults aged 65 and older have at least one condition, while 79 percent have two or more.
Obesity, which impacts about 40 percent of adults 65 and older, can increase the risk for conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
High blood pressure: About 61 percent of older adults have hypertension – a common condition that involves both how much blood the heart pumps, as well as how resistant the arteries are to the blood flow. When the heart pumps a lot of blood, and one has narrow arteries that resist the flow, he or she will get high blood pressure.
The danger of hypertension is not only that you can have it for years and not know it, but it can also cause other serious health conditions, like stroke and heart attacks.
High cholesterol: Fifty-five percent of older adults have high cholesterol – a condition that occurs when the body has an excess of bad fats (or lipids), resulting in arteries getting clogged, which can lead to heart disease.
Arthritis: About 51 percent of older adults live with arthritis – an inflammation of the joints, which causes pain and stiffness, and is more common in women. One should exercise at least five times per week, for 30 minutes each time, to improve function and decrease pain, and stay within the recommended weight for your height – losing one pound can remove four pounds of pressure on your knees.
Obesity: About 40 percent of adults 65 and older are living with obesity, a chronic disease linked to more than 200 chronic conditions.
Diabetes: Twenty-four percent of older adults have diabetes – a disease that occurs when the body is resistant to, or does not produce enough, insulin. Insulin is what the body uses to get energy from food and distribute it to your cells.
When this does not happen, one will get high blood sugar, which can lead to complications such as kidney disease, heart disease, or blindness. The chances of having diabetes increase after age 45.
Cancer: The disease impacts 20 percent of older adults. Routine screenings are important for catching cancer in its earlier, more treatable stages. Your health provider can provide recommendations on what screenings are right for you.
Tips for cancer prevention include wearing sunscreen, avoiding tobacco, limiting alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting regular exercise.
Heart disease: About 16 percent of older people have heart disease – a condition that occurs when the heart cannot adequately supply blood and oxygen to all of the organs in the body.
The heart might become enlarged, develop more muscle mass, or pump faster in order to meet the body’s needs, causing one to feel tired, light headed, nauseous, confused, or lack an appetite.
Depression: Fifteen percent of older adults have depression – a treatable medical condition that is not a normal part of aging. Depression causes persistent feelings of sadness, pessimism, hopelessness, fatigue, difficulty making decisions, changes in appetite, a loss of interest in activities, and more.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: About 12 percent of older adults 65+ have COPD, which includes two main conditions: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. COPD makes it hard to breathe and causes shortness of breath, coughing, and chest tightness.
The best way to prevent COPD or slow its progression is to quit or avoid smoking. Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke, chemical fumes, and dust, which can irritate your lungs.
Asthma: An estimated nine percent of adults 65+ have asthma, which causes swelling and tightening of the airways in the lungs. Common symptoms are shortness of breath, coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, and difficulty exercising. Among older adults, it is common for asthma to go undiagnosed because the symptoms can be mistaken for other issues, such as heart problems or COPD.