Uganda : My Adopted Home Country by Pragna Sree Gollapalli

I am thrilled to write this article about Uganda until I realized that nowhere else is a better place to live in a blessed country with abundant natural resources and plenty of wildlife.

Uganda became independent on October 9 1962. H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is the president of Uganda and ruling Uganda for 35 years till date.

Uganda is a beautiful landlocked country located in East Africa surrounded by the second largest lake “Lake Victoria”. I live in Kampala which is the capital city of Uganda. Though it is not a developed country, Uganda has its own charisma bordering on beautiful landscapes - with an average of 1.6 million tourists visiting Uganda every year till the pandemic started. Uganda’s population is diversified into many ethinic tribes of which four prominent indeginous groups: the Bantu, the Nilotics, the Nilo Hamites and the Hamites. The largest among these is the Bantu tribe. English and Swahili are the official languages in Uganda.Luganda is the most common language spoken. Christians make up 85.2% of Uganda’s population. Citizens here are very polite and caring. Greetings in Luganda is “Oliyotya” and is delivered by a bow or a nod with a huge smile.

In Uganda, men wear a kanzu and women wear a gomezi. Uganda is mostly sunny with an average temperature between 20-25 degrees celsius. The rainy season is from March till May and October till November. Dry seasons are from December to February and June to August.The love and affection for food in Uganda is amazing. Rolex earns the first spot for the most tasty dish. This street food is extremely famous here… it's actually a chapati wrapped filled with eggs, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, and peppers. Matoke, the national dish in Uganda, is a staple food made with bananas. Fried Grasshoppers are a sign of endearment because this cuisine is a delicacy in Uganda. Uganda’s economy is largely based on agriculture and it occupies some four-fifths of the working population. Their primary export is coffee. Uganda exports both Arabica and Robusta coffee. The education system in Uganda faces challenges in providing quality education and the basic needs of education. Only 1 in 4 children who start in primary school gets into secondary school because people here can't afford the basic necessities in life. The biggest challenge for Uganda is inadequate health resources. Uganda has five medical colleges and 29 nursing schools training people in Western medicine. Football is the national sport in Uganda. The Cranes is Uganda’s national football team. The primary form of transportation in Kampala is walking. You can also go by boda boda (bike transport) or by taking a bus. The equator passes through Uganda and is located 75 km south of Kampala, where you can watch cool equator water experiments.

The Crested crane is Uganda’s national bird, a mostly grey bird with white, red, and black. The crane’s most prominent feature is the golden crown of feathers on its head. Uganda is one of the best settings for the adventurous spirit seeking first-hand wildlife experience. There are five biggest national parks: Murchison, Paraa, Chobe, Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo. Murchison Falls national park is Uganda’s largest national park.

These are the reasons why I love my home country and I enjoy living in the Pearl of Africa from childhood.