Located in East Africa, Uganda has been a country that has been torn apart throughout the years by various tyrants, wars, and diseases.  There are still are reports of terrible acts of torture, mutilation, rape, kidnapping and killing committed against the children and citizens of Uganda by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).  The documentary film “Invisible Children” has brought international attention to the horrible conditions many of these children have had to endure to avoid being taken by the LRA.  Over the past ten years Uganda and many other African nations have been getting even more international attention because of the AIDS and Malaria crisis. 

Many have known about the large problem with the number of orphans that Uganda is facing each year due to the numerous wars and HIV/AIDS.  In fact, 1 in 12 Ugandans are orphans.  Although this issue has been addressed by many different organizations, one being the “Invisible Children” campaign, there are still many orphans who have gone overlooked and unwanted.  This will continue to happen until a compromise is found between the LRA and the Ugandan government.  But even after they reach a compromise there will still be many child soldiers who will have no home to return to.  They will be hurting both physically and emotionally, this in and of itself will be another crisis that Uganda will face in the next ten years.

 

Despite the struggles that Uganda has faced, it has also been one of the leading countries in all of Africa to see one of the best national responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 1986 the Ugandan government came together and created strategies and policies to slow down the infectious spread of AIDS, and so far it seems to have worked. 

Uganda is bordered by Kenya, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania.  It is a small landlocked country sharing a large portion of Lake Victoria with Kenya and Tanzania.  Many of the larger cities are near Lake Victoria, including the capitol Kampala, and the city I will be going to Jinja.  With Lake Victoria being so near by this often draws many tourists to the area to experience the famous white water rafting in the source of the Nile. 

 

 

Although Uganda is one of the smallest African countries it is known worldwide for its immense beauty and diverse landscape.  In Uganda you can find the source of the Nile, the Ruwenzori Mountains, which is the home for the endangered mountain gorillas, along with numerous lakes and waterfalls. 

 

There are many different dialects used in Uganda, but one of the main languages is Swahili.  English is being taught in the schools regularly and English has become one of the dominant languages there. 

Uganda has also been one of the leading African countries to move in a real Christian movement.  There have been numerous revivals and outbreaks of God’s miraculous work.  But with the latest outbreak of the civil war in Sudan and the flooding in of refugees Uganda has begun to see more diverse religious groups, some of these religions being Muslim, Catholic, and Tribal.  Now even though many Ugandan’s consider themselves to be called Christians there are some who mix their Christian practices and still fall back on many of the traditional Tribal practices, for example the need that many feel to please their ancestors.