{UAH} Life surprisingly hard in Ugandan village that sits atop gold

Life surprisingly hard in Ugandan village that sits atop gold

(Photo: Mehmet Ali Poyraz)

April 11, 2015, Saturday/ 17:00:00/ MEHMET ALİ POYRAZ / UGANDA

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In the Ugandan village of Nebwala, not far from the city of Biguri, locals make a living by digging gold from the ground.

Though gold is, of course, expensive and luxurious, these Ugandans make only enough to buy food from the work they do.

Uganda is located on the equator, and has a tropical climate. Its land is filled with natural wealth, and it spends much of the year under rainfall. The Nile River that brings life to so much of the desert starts in Uganda. With abundant water and a hot, moist climate, Uganda is well-suited for agriculture. Still, most of the people in this former British colony live in poverty. Though it boasts a large area of land, water is distributed inefficiently under current agricultural policies. Agriculture alone does not provide everything it could for Ugandans.

Ugandan land is also rich in minerals, notably gold. The level of underground wealth in Uganda is especially high in areas along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Large gold mines run by big companies in Uganda make enormous profits, and contribute much to the country's economy. As for the smaller state-run mines in the country, these are overseen by villagers.

The villagers of Nebwala work within a cooperative, using shovels and pick-axes to dig for gold. But despite gold's noteworthy market values, these villagers make only an average of $150 to $200 a month from gold. They inspect this raw gold for flaws, then sell it to the state, in return for money that just allows them to scrape by on a day-to-day basis.

 

 

 

 

Keywords: photo story , village , gold

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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