"Tell Me About Uganda!"

The Country of Uganda

Uganda, located in East Africa, is a landlocked country, nicknamed “the Pearl of Africa,” by Britain’s former prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. A beautiful country, with magnificent landscapes, interesting wildlife, and friendly cultures, it is truly 'a pearl'. Uganda has many unique regions, including areas of swamps, lakes, rivers, mountains and semi-arid lands. Uganda borders Lake Victoria, the world’s largest lake, which is also the source of the Nile River.

History

For many years, the people of Uganda have endured extreme suffering. Idi Amin ruled as a dictator throughout the '70s, causing the death of 800,000 to 2 million people. Civil wars, intertribal warfare, drought, floods, and famines followed. The Teso people rebelled against the government, after the government failed to protect them from the onslaught of Karamojong warriors who came to raid cattle during the 80's. Thousands of families lost their animals, and thousands of people lost their lives in the resuling insurgency. Continuing the violence, the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) rebels became active in 1988, terrorizing the northern districts: abducting children, dismembering people and slaughtering anyone who resisted. Finally in 2006,  the LRA were chased into South Sudan, DR Congo and CAR. Many IDP camps (Internally Displaced People) had been set up to care for the refugees that fled the terrors of Kony's LRA. Slowly, these communities are recovering. Currently, South Sudanese refugees are flooding into northern Uganda, fleeing the tribal warfare and genecide in South Sudan.

People of Uganda
Uganda is home to many different ethnic groups/tribes, none of whom form a majority of the population. The Buganda, in central Uganda and the Banyankole, in western Uganda are the most influential tribes. English is the official language, but there are at least 40 tribal languages that are regularly spoken in the country. The most widely spoken regional language is Luganda, while Swahili is the most popular trade language and is also used commonly by the army and military.

Uganda, with 34,856,000 people, has a very young population and a high birth rate, and a median age of 15 years. The  majority of Uganda’s population (84 percent) call themselves Christians: Catholicism being 42%, Anglicans 36%, Pentecostals 5%, Seventh Day Adventists 1.5%. Muslims are 12%. Many of those who call themselves Christians are still practicing their Traditional African Religion, including sacrificing to their ancestors and using witchcraft. Those who are born again have generally left those practices. There are a few Hindu and some members from other religions as well.

Village Life
Almost 80% of Ugandans work on family farms or subsistance farms. They grow maize, sorghum, bananas, beans and greens. Some grow cash crops like cotton, tea, and coffee. They rarely have surplus food to sell to provide for other necessities like clothing, childrens's education and health care. People in the larger cities have much more disposable income, and the middle class is growing in the urban centers.

Most Ugandans live in villages, building houses of mud and waddle, with grass thatched huts, though there an increasing number of houses with corrugated tin roofs these days. Families stay together in an extended family system where multiple generations of relatives often live in the same house or compound. They care for one another and look after the weak or young. There is a very strong sense of community and raising children is every one’s responsibility. Polygamy is still common in Uganda where one man can marry more than one wife, but this can lead to poverty, as some families have very many children.

The Challenges
Orphans and widows are among the hardest hit by poverty, war, famine and sickness, as they sometimes are left to fend for themselves—either on the streets, with grandparents or in IDP camps. Children are in desperate need of educational opportunities to help them escape the cycle of poverty and open up a brighter future.

Adequate health care is rare and access to medical facilities is limited and costly. Conditions such as malnutrition, malaria, typhoid, hepatitis, pneumonia and TB are not uncommon. Treatable illnesses take thousands of lives weekly. Psychological and emotional stresses can affect all ages. Unresolved trauma resulting from horrific war-time experiences haunts adults and children alike. 

Spiritual challenges are also common. Addiction to alcohol drags many families into poverty. The traditional religions of the area teach fear and demand apeasement of evil spirits, with an angry god ready to inflict punishment on those who disregard him. Witchdoctors require significant sums of money to remove curses and to counter the effects of witchcraft on families.

Tribal warfare is still present in parts of Karamoja, Kenya and South Sudan. This brings insecurity, with the flow of guns and munitions through the area.