With only 11 days to raise about $1100 I want to post a blog a day about each country I’ll be going to. I want to share about the geography, history, potential ministry opportunities, some pictures, and why I’m excited about this particular place to make this experience seem a little less amorphous to all my cheerleaders who are saying, “good for her! Now… what does this look like?” Plus I have a bachelors degree in International Studies. I am a total nerd about these things. Don’t judge me for doing what I’m good at: reading statistics and generating reports.
My hopes are that each person reading this will give $11 to adopt or sponsor this country. Already including the money I have pledged, the Race will only cost about $28 a day. Giving $11 is huge. That’s almost half the cost of an entire day on the Race.
UGANDA
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Geography: Uganda is landlocked in Western Africa sandwiched between Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It touches Rwanda, Tanzania, and South Sudan and the Equator runs right through the bottom half of the country right above Lake Victoria (Africa’s largest lake and the main source of the Nile River. While we’re talking cool Lake Victoria facts, it’s also the largest tropical lake in the world and second only to Lake Superior for largest lake on this planet. It’s less than 300 feet deep at it’s deepest point, but just it’s surface area is over 26,000 square miles. I’m a total nerd for stats like that.2)
Size and Climate: Uganda is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Oregon. It’s mostly flat but surrounded by mountains on the country’s edges. The weather is mainly rainy with two dry seasons, December-February and June-August. I’ll be going there in September as the rain is just starting to creep in. I am currently taking a poll on whether or not investing in a rain jacket is a good idea since I’ll be mostly wet anyway 🙂
Language and People: English is the national language and is taught in schools and most commonly used. Uganda is a nation of nearly 36 million people, but mostly young people. Nearly 50% of the population is under the age of 14. As my favorite professor and one of my all-time hero’s taught me in college, statistics should always tell you something. If they don’t, then what does THAT tell you? If the country is nearly 50% populated with people under the age of 14, what does that tell you? That lots of people don’t make it to old age. In fact, the average age of a person in Uganda is 15.
Here’s the population pyramid for Uganda, which represents the number of people in the country by gender and age bracket. 
You see a huge population of young people, but look for example at how many 30-34 year old’s there are in relation to the number of infants. They outnumber them by almost triple. What does that tell you? That mothers are having lots of children very young and they aren’t living very long. What else does this tell you? It says that their population is growing rapidly, and it is! They have the 9th fastest population growth rate on the planet. However, they conversely have the 35th highest death rate on the planet. Each mother also has 6 children on average… and is 19 when she has her first child.
The average income per person in Uganda is $1800 a year. That’s about $5 of income per person, per day. Oh, and 25% of the population lives below the poverty line, which is $1.25 a day – or less.
Also about 80% of the country is either Roman Catholic or Protestant – which poses the challenge of many people knowing of Christ and Salvation but not owning it or surrendering their lives to follow Jesus.
I could go on and on about imports and exports, natural resources, opportunities and threats the country faces, etc., but I understand not everyone is as fascinated by these kinds of things as I am. I’ll spare you the pain, but understand this isn’t a completely well-rounded picture.
Why I’m Excited: In 95 days I will be on a plane to this place. Africa has never been a continent I’ve had a heart for until I started looking at the Race. My mentor told me “once you go, the dust of Africa never leaves your feet” and there’s been a part of me that’s wanted to go to this place ever since. I’m beginning to learn that i have less of a heart for Latin America and more of a heart for the nations. Maybe Latin America is just because that’s what I know and have grown to love so much. I’m thrilled to spend 3 months in a new culture on a completely different continent and get to be around this place so many of my friends have come to love.
Oh, and see above. Kids. Yeah I’m pretty excited about that part.
Help send me to love on the people of Uganda. I need about $800 to serve this month at $28 a day. Adopt Uganda. Invest in my journey to Uganda. Help me make a difference.
1– Image from http://www.globalresearch.ca/beyond-kony-2012-what-is-happening-in-uganda-america-s-invisible-military-agenda/29871
2 – http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/lakevictoria.htm
3 – all other information and statistics from the CIA World Factbook for Uganda.
