|
|
|
 |
 Then and now
Uganda
Uganda is part of East Africa, and covers a large chunk of Lake Victoria. It borders Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Congo and Sudan. Although since 1962 independent from the United Kingdom, English is still the most important language in the country. Swahili was chosen as lingua franca, but is not widely spoken. Since 1986, the President has been Yoweri Museveni. Uganda is poor, even for sub-Saharan standards; the International Monetary Fund estimated its per capita income at around $300 per year, well below the $600 per year average of the region. Uganda's open approach to HIV/Aids has causes prevalence of the disease to drop from 18.5% in the early '90's to 5% today.
Nature
Uganda has an incredibly varied landscape, with mountains on its eastern and western borders, and savannahs, rain forests and deserts in between. A substantial part of the country is covered by National Parks, such as Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Kibale, Kidepo and Ruwenzori. Apart from the more abundant lions, elephants and giraffes, the mountain gorilla's are a perfectly good reason to visit Uganda, if nothing else!
Demography
Ethnolinguistically, Uganda is divided in the Bantu and Nilotic regions. The Bantu area covers the south, including 'Buganda', the economically important region around Kampala. Counterpart Travels placements are usually in the Mukono district, also part of Buganda. The language in this region is 'Luganda', although English is widely spoken. By far the largest religion in Uganda is Christianity (84%), with roughly half of its followers Anglican, and the other half Catholic. Another 12% of people is muslim.
Safety
Since the violent days of Idi Amin (president 1971 – 1979)
many things have changed. Uganda is now one of the safest countries in
Africa, with incredibly friendly and welcoming people. Crime rates are
low, and one can safely walk around the country’s capital,
Kampala. The most dangerous aspect of Uganda is undoubtedly the roads,
which are extremely busy and lack regulation. Driving standards are
low, and match the quality of the roads. The North of Uganda is not
currently advisable for tourist travel, although the situation is far
calmer than it has been before. Counterpart travels operates
solely in the South of Uganda, which has been very stable for decades.
Websites
For up to date information about safety in Uganda, check the travel
advice of your foreign office. For Dutch people, this website can be
found here.
For the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, click here.
Mukono
Below is a map of the Mukono district, where most of the volunteers through Counterpart Travels work. The district borders the suburbs of Kampala, lies on the shores of Lake Victoria in the South and ends just before the small town of Jinja in the East. Tens of small islands are part of the district. The district is especially famous for its many traditional healers. You can click the (-) below to see more of Uganda or its position in the worls.
Show larger map
|
|
Counterpart
Travels
| 
