TESS

Uganda is in East Africa, to the north and west of Lake Victoria, and is about the same size as Great Britain. Statistics are always changing: in 1990, Uganda had a population of about 18 million, but now, in 2011, the population is about 32 million. It is a beautiful country with a wide variety of landscapes and rich habitats. On the eastern border with Kenya is Mount Elgon; to the north is the new country of South Sudan; to the west is the western Rift Valley which is bordered by the Rwenzoris (Mountains of the Moon) and Congo (DRC); to the south is Tanzania and, in the south west, the Virunga volcanoes with Rwanda beyond. Much of the country is flat or rolling hills at an altitude of between 3500 and 6500 feet (1200m – 2000m). The upper reaches of the river Nile flow through the north and north west of Uganda, from its source in Lake Victoria through Lake Kyoga to Lake Albert and out into South Sudan. There are many other large lakes as well as hundreds of crater lakes, but the country, which is lush and fertile in the south, becomes drier as one travels north.

There are about 30 different main tribes in Uganda, each with their own language although English is the official language. The central and southern part of Uganda is populated by Bantu people. The dominant tribe, the Baganda, were the first to have significant dealings with the outside world - firstly Arab slave traders, then explorers (Speke, Grant and Stanley) followed by missionaries, traders, soldiers and colonial administrators. The effects of Western education and culture therefore made their impact on the Bantu tribes earlier than they did on the Nilotic and Nilo-Hamitic peoples who live in the northern half of the country. The early British administrators educated the Bantu tribes and trained them for "middle class" professional and "white collar" jobs whilst recruiting the police force and army from the northern tribes, thus sowing the seeds of later divisions and conflicts. Uganda was a Protectorate, never a colony. This meant that foreigners were not allowed to buy up and settle on large tracts of land as happened in the colonies and which led to so much antagonism and resentment from the indigenous people who lost their best land.

Uganda became independent of Britain in 1962, but has suffered years of oppression, several coups, civil war and unrest for much of the time since then, especially during the period between Amin taking power in 1971 until Museveni, with his guerrilla army (the National Resistance Army - the NRA), gained control of Uganda in a coup in 1986.

Museveni managed to bring peace and stability to most of Uganda, especially to the southern, western and central regions (known as "the western region", populated by Bantu tribes). There was a sense of hope at long last, although the economy was in ruins. Museveni's government was doing much to try and rebuild the country and economy against enormous odds, not least their debts to the West. But there was much hardship, as salaries in the 1980s and early 1990s, even for Government employees (including civil servants, teachers and nurses), were as little as £2.50 a month, with the cost of living not very much lower at the time than in the UK! HIV/AIDS was the latest scourge to hit the struggling country - something between 25%-40% were believed to be HIV positive in 1990.

However, the recovery was not experienced equally throughout Uganda. Although civil conflicts, rebel activity and raids in the north and northeast have wreaked havoc since the mid 1980s, there has also been an unequal distribution of resources, overseas aid and opportunities which has perpetuated the seeds of mistrust, division and prejudice sown by the British in the first 70 years of their governance of Uganda.

Uganda is about the 20th poorest country in the world - and Teso is one of the poorest and most marginalised areas of Uganda. Recent United Nations figures show that:

• life expectancy in Uganda is 52 compared with the world average of 67 and the UK figure of 79
• under 5 years infant mortality rates are 127/1000 births compared with the world average of 74/1000 and only 6 per 1000 in the UK

This is due to the prevalence of diseases such as malaria, TB, HIV /Aids and waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea and dysentery. Malaria, which causes severe anaemia and other complications, is still the biggest cause of death in Uganda, especially amongst children.