Uganda Essay -- Uganda History, British Colony

Uganda 1. Historical background The country known as Uganda was once a British colony just like the majority of its neighbors in East Africa. It was initially intruded into by the Arab traders led by Speke and the British explorers led by Stanley in 1862 and 1875 respectively. They both paid homage to Mutesa who was the King (kabaka) of the Buganda. Uganda remained predominantly under the colony of the British until 1962 when they were granted internal self government by Britain (History World, 2011). Uganda is a country that covers 7,108 sq mi in area and a host of 33.3 million people found in East Africa. It is bordered by Congo on the West, Kenya on the East, Tanzania and Rwanda on the south and Sudan on the North. It enjoys the equator since it crosses through it and has three major weather areas; the fertile plateau, swampy lowlands and the desert regions. The famous Lake Victoria is found to the southern part of Uganda (The World Factbook, 2011). The topography of the population is such that the life expectancy is 52.9, the growth rate is pegged at 3.5%, the birth rate is 47.5/1000, the infant m ortality rate is 63.7/1000 and the density per sq mi is 392 people (Pearson Education, 2011). According to Encyclopedia of the Nations (2011), the economy of the nations is dependent on agriculture with 80% of the population relying on agriculture for employment and in turn produces 90% o f the export of the country. Uganda also has some deposits of copper, cobalt and the recently discovered oil, however, Uganda just like most of the African countries remain to be among the world’s poorest nations. Health background The Ugandan population is majorly consisting of poor people who live on a dollar or less per... ...es. Some of these are the ritual celebrations and festivals like in marriage rituals, weddings, christenings, birth rituals, death ceremonies and even commitments to the spirits and forefathers. There also rituals and celebrations that accompanied the harvests and even the droughts in order to appease the gods for rain. There are also other official dates that are observed in the calendar that are drawn from the Muslims and the Christians as well and more significantly those meant to celebrate the history of Uganda like the Martyrs’ Day on June 3rd, Heroes Day on June 9th and Independence Day on October 9th among others. Generally, the Ugandans are friendly and welcoming like the other East African countries where all one needs to know to get help is the word ‘Jambo’, in short, it doesn’t take too much energy to get help in the daily social life in Uganda.