Uganda, as a guest in this country you will be offered grasshopper as a “delicacy”, the power shuts down all the time and the milk sells in plastic bags (very easy to pour from… ahem). “African time”, which means that people can come 1-3 hours later than the agreed time. No traffic rules are followed which becomes a chaos that must be experienced to understand how crazy it is and much else that is so far from what we are used to in Sweden.
But still it’s a country that is absolutely wonderful with rich of welcoming and hospitable people, happy smiles, always talkative, lives in the present and is designated as the “Pearl of Africa” for its magnificent scenery! And how cool is it that suddenly there may come a giraffe or a zebra crossing the road if you are in the right place! That alone is worth coming here if you want to visit an amazing African country!
There is many safaris in the various national parks around Uganda. There you can see lions, giraffes, leopards, hippos, crocodiles, zebras, elephants and other fantastic animals and even experience its incredible natural beauty. Here you can also see the endangered mountain gorilla, which is nearly extinct. There are only 750 left in the world, and can only be found in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo.
Uganda is a beautiful country located in the heart of Africa, with at least 80 miles to the nearest coast, and the area is about half the size of Sweden with its 38 million inhabitants. The world’s second largest lake, Lake Victoria is in Uganda and parts of Kenya and Tanzania. Other neighboring countries are Rwanda, South Sudan and Congo.
Uganda has a tropical climate, but because the country is at a high altitude the temperatures are lower than in other countries around the equator. The average temperature is around 20-25 degrees year round. The country usually gets plenty of rain. There are two rainy seasons in which the first is April-May and the second is Okt -Nov.
Although Uganda is a fantastic fertile land, many people live in severe poverty. After independence in 1962, they were one of Africa’s richest countries. But in less than a decade disappeared prosperity because of mismanagement and egotistical dictators, especially when Idi Amin, who ruled the country for many years. Another reason is that the land in many places is used in a wrong and outdated way.
Poverty is so strong and is rated as one of the poorest countries, where almost half the population lives on less than $1 / day.
The country is the highest in the world with young people where half the population is under the age of 14!! (51%) This is one of the consequences of that Uganda was one of the worst AIDS-ravaged countries in the world. All Ugandans know someone affected by HIV. But Uganda is also the first country in Africa that succeeded in combating the epidemic effectively. Is now at 7%
Average life expectancy is 54 years and infant mortality is 45 children / 1000th
80% are Christians, most of whom are Catholics, 10% Muslims, 10% other religions.
Around 40 languages are spoken in the country, although English is the official language. Unfortunately, there are still many who do not know English in the poorer parts, because they never been in school or gone to a school in the countryside who have not had good enough English speaking teachers.
Ugandans love meat stews, but the “meat” is not just meat – there is also the animal’s liver, stomach, intestinal, tongue, etc. The Ugandan chef throws away nothing! The most common food for most Ugandans is “pocho” wich is a kind of corn flour boiled while stirring. This is served together with beans that are rich in protein. Another classic food here is matoke which is a green banana which also cooked up and becomes a kind of mashed potatoes. Does not taste so much and unfortunately the Ugandan cuisine don’t use many spices, mostly only salt, tomato and onion. But otherwise, they have the best bananas, pineapples, mangos and avocados!
Main exports are coffee, fish, gold & tea. Uganda is also the world’s second largest producer of bananas!!!
There are estimated to be approximately 10 000 street children across Uganda. Just in Kampala it is estimated about 5000 street children. Poverty, conflict and weak laws have made Uganda a country where nearly one in five adults have problems with alcohol and drug problems are increasing. Young people are particularly vulnerable and many have lost one or both parents to AIDS.
But you can make a difference for some of these children! For $28 / month, you can help to change a child’s future!
