Uganda |
by Claire, Emmie, Kelly
|
Uganda is located in Africa. Its capital is Kampala which is located at 0° 18' N, 32° 34' E. Uganda is South from Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia. It is southeast from Morocco and east from Liberia and North from South Africa too. In the Southern part of Uganda is Lake Victoria.
Population:The estimated population in Uganda currently is about 41 million according to country meters. It states that there were about 2 thousand births this year and about 407,500 deaths.
Most Practiced Languages:Bantu, Nilotic, Central Sudanic, English, Ganda/Luganda and Swahili.
· Bantu is a major branch of the Niger-Congo language family spoken by most populations in Africa · Nilotic languages, also called Great Lakes languages, group of related languages spoken in a relatively contiguous area from northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and western Ethiopia southward across Uganda and Kenya into northern Tanzania. · Central Sudanic languages, a group of more than 30 languages that form a sub branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. The Central Sudanic languages are spoken in the Central African Republic, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. · English language, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family that is closely related to Frisian, German, and Dutch languages. English originated in England and is now widely spoken on six continents. It is the primary language of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and some small island nations in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is also an official language of India, the Philippines, Singapore, and many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa. · The Ganda language, Luganda, is the major language of Uganda, spoken by five million Ganda and other people principally in Southern Uganda, including the capital Kampala. · The Swahili language is also called kiSwahili or Kiswahili. Bantu language spoken on the east coast of Africa in an area extending from Lamu Island, Kenya, in the north to the southern border of Tanzania in the south. Major Religions:Uganda's religious heritage is split up into three parts, the indigenous religions, or in other words, the religions that originate there and occur naturally in. The other religions include Islam and Christianity. Most of the population, about four-fifths of the population is Christian, which is divided between Roman Catholics and Protestants. There are other Christian denominations such as, Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Presbyterians. About one-tenth of the population is Muslim and the rest of Africa is Islam and Christianity. Those two religions have been combined together with the indigenous religions to create religious trends. Click here to learn more.
|
General Geography & Environment:Uganda is located in eastern Africa, west of Kenya, south of South Sudan, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and north of Rwanda and Tanzania. Uganda's weather is generally hot and sunny with fresh breezes. Uganda has a tropical climate, with temperatures ranging from 70- 77°F, except for the mountain areas, which are much cooler; the top of Mount Elgon is often covered with snow. The hottest months are December to February.
Uganda does have lots of water, however it is mostly undrinkable. Nearly one-fifth of the total area, of 44,000 square kilometers, is open water or swampland. Most of the country lies in the watershed of the Nile River. Major Ethnicities:Group % Group %
Baganda 16.2 Bagisu 5.1 Iteso 8.1 Acholi 4.4 Basoga 7.7 Lugbara 3.6 Banyankore 8 Banyoro 2.9 Banyarwanda 5.8 Batoro 3.2 Bakiga 7.1 Karamojong 2 Lango 5.6 Others (est.) 20.3 20.3 Popular Music:Music plays a very important role (along with other traditions) for many people in Uganda. Over the past few years, the usage of music has increased and is usually used to convey a message, and encourage social and economic change for their community.
One popular music genre is called Kadongo Kamu which means "One Guitar" in Luganda. Luganda is one of the local languages in Uganda. This style of music is usually best enjoyed by localists and can always entertain a group of people. Since Kadongo Kamu is so popular, other genres started forming from it, making Kadongo Kamu the most influential genre. In the early 1960s, when Uganda was declared an independent state, a pioneer named Fred Masagazi was the first musician to play a bass guitar and sing. The founders of this genre were Christophe Sebaguka and Elly Wamala and they played in musical events when they were celebrating the independence of Uganda. Other musicians also followed them in their footsteps. Although all of these musicians have passed, sadly, Kadongo Kamu is still widely played in Uganda. If you want to learn more click here. Another genre that is also very popular in Uganda is called Kidandali. This style of music is inspired by Afrobeat or "band music". Like Kadongo Kamu, the roots of this genre is traced back all the way when Uganda was declared independent. It was influenced by soukous and Congolese styles of music. One of the first bands to do this type of music was called Afrigo Band and they released their first album in 1994. They were also the first group in Uganda to release music on CD. |
Uganda & Water:
Some problems with the water supply is that they don’t have a source of clean water, and when they do have water, it's usually filled with harmful bacteria, such as Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella typhi. Also in the water are parasites. These microorganisms include Cyclospora cayetanensis and Giardia lamblia. The bacteria causes water related diseases that could lead to death if not treated in an amount of time. Such diseases include Cholera, Cyclosporiasis, Giardiasis and Typhoid fever. Common symptoms of waterborne diseases include diarrhea, loss of appetite, vomiting, stomach aches and cramps, nausea, weight loss and high fevers. These can be especially dangerous to the elderly and young, their immune systems are often not strong enough.
Without water, communities cannot grow, thrive, and develop. If there is not a source of clean water, there are many ways it could affect an entire society or community. When there is a lack of clean water, there are more deaths, which leads to a smaller population. It could also lead to starvation because most food or crops need water to grow. Children especially girls drop out of school to fetch water, this time could be spent learning to make an educational contribution to their community. They walk for hours to collect about five gallons of water, and that water is not necessarily clean. It's contained with microorganisms that cause illness and sometimes death.
Without water, communities cannot grow, thrive, and develop. If there is not a source of clean water, there are many ways it could affect an entire society or community. When there is a lack of clean water, there are more deaths, which leads to a smaller population. It could also lead to starvation because most food or crops need water to grow. Children especially girls drop out of school to fetch water, this time could be spent learning to make an educational contribution to their community. They walk for hours to collect about five gallons of water, and that water is not necessarily clean. It's contained with microorganisms that cause illness and sometimes death.
Many different organizations are helping to build clean water systems that are easier to access and to bring better sanitation for people of all ages. Some organizations include, The Water Project, Water Aid, Drop in the Bucket, H2O for Life, and many more! Different organizations that are involved in helping people in developing countries, take the time to support them and build water wells that are closer. They build these water wells so that not as much people have to drink toxic water and so that the they don't have to walk as long to find clean water. We have this problem because not enough people are contributing, but I think we should have more people like these in the organizations and that this global issue shouldn' t be ignored.
|
Photographs are courtesy of the following websites:
commons.wikimedia.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_issues_in_developing_countries
commons.wikimedia.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_issues_in_developing_countries