{UAH} What is it like living in Uganda?
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5:28 AM |
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By Amelia Marie Dready-Bear, Living in Uganda since 2011.
Of course as anywhere else in the world, there will be drastic differences in life based on the income and budget of the person we are talking about.
I can only write about my experiences as a foreigner living in the beautiful Pearl of Africa. And note, my foreign life is much different from other foreigners as I have done my very best to not separate my life from native Ugandans and their tribulations.
My experience has been working as a community worker in various regions throughout the country, on my own expense (meaning I am not here in Uganda through an agency of any sort). The best paid job I have had in Uganda was at 500,000 Ugandan Shillings (pretty good for the average Ugandan salary), and the worst was 300,000 a month (still pretty good, considering many people are only making around 70,000 for difficult jobs like security guarding, street sweepers, garbage collectors, and in some schools, teachers.
One great thing about Uganda is that if you live in a village and know how to grow crops plus have access to land, you can greatly reduce your cost of living by growing your own crops and selling off the surplus. Many villagers own their tracts of land, and they do not have to pay property taxes, nor housing bills. This is because things are not bought on credit here. We build brick by brick in the most literal sense. It is a life of living within your limits, that is for sure.
The experience for people living in poverty is difficult, but not without its sunny days. I have found great resilience and creativity amongst my friends and family who live in poverty. The disparaging images the Western media so fondly paints of Africa are often misleading or isolated conditions. You are more likely to find a group of children of mixed ages and genders playing together in a ghetto than you would in say Upper Kololo (one of the most wealthy neighborhoods). The biggest challenges for people living in poverty would be access to healthcare, daily nutritious meals, school, and adequate housing. However, many people find ways of making a small amount of money that can get them through the day to the next one. While this is not a desired mode of life, and certainly is difficult and unpredictable, it is the attitude at which Ugandans thrive in these conditions that makes the suffering African myth so disgusting. These exaggerated images rob Ugandans of their true image which is one of hope and strength, the ability to look forward to the next day with a determination to make it better than yesterday. There are many impoverished Ugandans who are still making great strides of development in their communities. Maybe the Western idea that happiness can only be got through riches and possessions is being actively disproved here.
This is not to say that those living in poverty are living glamorous or easy lives at all. But they do get by, and they get by with a positive outlook. Of course, there are several people who are in the most horrible of conditions, and these people are usually plagued with illness or old age. They do live unbelievably painful and discomforting lives. These are side-effects of ill governance.
There is a growing upper middle class and upper class of middle aged and young people. They mostly live in the city, and I would say they live quirky versions of Western life. What I mean by this is that most of the niceties afforded to people living in Western worlds are available to this demographic, but usually with twists and turns or lack of quality and inflated prices. For instance, we have movie theaters, and you can watch a new blockbuster right in the heart of the city, but the power might go out in the middle of the action scene, and then you wait for the generators to start up. Or it may take 1 hour to get your food at a really nice restaurant, or it might be missing key ingredients. These are all the same side-effects of ill governance, but high life does exist in Uganda, and there are surprising numbers living it.
As for my personal experiences, finding jobs and then getting paid on time and the full amount of your pay check is a difficult game to play. This is sadly even more true for native Ugandans, who often get the short end of the stick...getting lesser pay for doing the same job as a German or not being offered a job at all, even though they are perfectly qualified, while an American traveler with no applicable qualifications is given the job. There is a lot of favoritism towards foreigners, and this is also a main source of the many problems being faced by skilled and professional Ugandan workforce. Many Ugandans face tribal discrimination (tribalism) when applying for jobs or getting help in government offices for official work. Bribery is a constant in the job market...so that effectively rules out all the people who do not have money to bribe the employer with. And once someone actually lands a job, salaries are often paid late, and only partial, meaning you might only get 30,000 out of your 70,000, etc. There is little regulation on pay-roll etiquette, so do not expect that reporting these issues to the Ministry of Labor will do any good. You might even need to put in a bribe there!
When it comes to safety, Uganda is blessed with general calm, but there is a lot of pick-pocketing that goes on. There is also a lot of other non-violent yet sneaky theft crime that takes place. We call these people "omubi" (thieves) or "omufere" (con-men), and they are EVERYWHERE, though they do not often pose an immediate threat to your safety. I have been robbed without even knowing it was happening thanks to a jolting taxi ride and a very talkative passenger...they fortunately missed my passport or else decided to be kind enough to not take it. But my 18,000 shillings and my broken smart phone were lost forever. The joke must have been on them because I am sure they expected several 100's of thousands of shillings and a fully functioning phone they could sell for a few couple more thousand shillings...oops. Violent crime is not rampant as it is in Western countries, especially the USA. These crimes are often isolated to particular groups who have rivalries, or in very sketchy, often impoverished neighborhoods, or perpetrated by someone who has a grudge against the victim, like land issues. A foreigner is not likely to come into these types of situations, and if they do, the best thing to do is to give up your possessions and be glad it was Makindye and not the Bronx. You will most likely get away unscathed but certainly shaken. For Ugandans, it is usually people who are walking home from work very late at night in known bad-z0nes. My friends and family and I make it a point to always walk with a group when we must walk in these areas at night, and if that is not possible, make sure we leave before dark, or else find another place to stay for the night. My husband did get mugged in Makindye, but this was when he was walking home from watching a football match in a pub, at 2am, alone, on a small back road. (He, and WE, learned our lesson very quick from that!). Overall, Uganda is a safe place to live.
As for food, we have every fresh veggie and fruit you could imagine! Nakasero market is my most favorite place to buy produce. I personally love the haggling and talking to produce sellers to hear about how they get by on their small business income. This goes back to the issue of poverty. Many of these workers make less than 50,000 a month, but they still manage to eat meals, send their kids to school, and throw huge weddings! The resourcefulness and creativity of Uganda's blue-collar workers is inspiring. They are often the most amicable and high-spirited people in the country. Back to food....if you are looking for packaged foods, we have many large supermarkets to offer, as well as smaller stores, all selling imported packaged foods as well as Ugandan versions. There is a fantastic banana juice made in Kawempe that I go nuts over, and no one can pass up a pack of fresh and crunchy duddies (deep fried dough nuggets). Even if you go outside of central Uganda, alllll the way up to Moroto, you can still find supermarkets and open produce markets to get all the food you want. Restaurants are also in abundance, both "local" food and international cuisine.
Health care is a touchy issue...the haves get it easily, the have nots often go without. The quality of care is of course in direct collation with the amount you pay...there are top notch "international" hospitals, and then there are plywood clinics...
The government does a fantastic job of creating wild goose chases to obtain their supposed free vaccines and other services. Each county and most sub-counties have government owned, operated, staffed, and stocked health centers, but the catch is that medicines usually run out within the first week or two of them being delivered, and so for the rest of the month, there are no drugs, or there might be no doctor, or the nurses might not be there because they haven't been paid for three months. So the best bet is to go to private clinics. Again, these vary according to price. And the more remote you get, the less chance of finding an upper class clinic will become. However, I must state that the majority of my medical care has come out of plywood, villager affordable clinics, and I have been totally fine. My only two experiences in higher class clinics both resulted in malpractice issues and schemes to get even MORE money out of me than the standard charges. So I would say, blind your eyes to the exterior and material presentation of the small clinics. They are true life savers, have a LOT more experience do to their higher volume of patients, and have humble and caring staff. *Note* Always request to see that a new, packaged needle is used, no matter the class of clinic/hospital you are in!!!!!
Schools are also varied by financial input....the more you pay, the more you get. Though there are some really great village schools whose teachers are fiercely dedicated to giving their pupils the best education possible, regardless of the conditions the classrooms may be in. There are many "international schools" popular with the expat and upper class Ugandan population, but expect to pay BIG BUCKS, even according to Western standards. The middle class and upper middle class send their kids to "prestigious" colleges that usually demand around 1 million to 2 million shillings per term. The average Ugandan family that can afford to send their kids to high school will usually pay around 500,000-800,000 per term. As for universities, Uganda has many, as well as private professional schools offering IT and medical courses. Tuition is again based upon quality.
For entertainment, Uganda has something for everyone, though it usually entails spending a wad of cash. For people living in the ghetto, breakdancing, football, music, and various table games make up the day. Dance halls are in a plethora, both in upper and lower class neighborhoods, and even in tucked away villages. In Kampala, the classes mix beautifully in various free events at the National Theater and private or community owned art or dance studios. For the upper class, there is swimming, golf, concerts, safari, museums and galleries, and social events.
As for weather, Uganda is a stable place, with moderate fluctuations. The temperature varies according to the region and elevation, but there are few extremes of heat or cold. Most of the country stays between the 70's to 80's. Eastern and Northern Uganda can reach the 90's and low 100's on particularly dry and sunny days during the dry season. And we have wet seasons which are typical monsoon rains. Look up the weather for the area you wish to visit and know the seasonal changes.
Transportation is a wonderful hot mess, but rest assured that you can get ANYWHERE you want to go. There are various modes of private and public transportation, the most common being taxis (big vans with folding chairs, usually ranging in fare from 500 to 2,000 shillings, depending on the distance you wish to travel), bodabodas (motorcycle taxis for quick trips through traffic and to off the main road destinations, and costas or buses for long hauls, ranging from 10,000 to 40,000, covering a HUGE distance. A bonus to the buses is that they usually have flat screen tv's installed at the front and show a variety of Ugandan music videos and Nigerian or Ugandan films. What a great way to absorb some culture! Walking is also a reasonable and viable option. I am a huge fan of walking as far as my legs can take it, and then hopping into a taxi or getting a boda if I have not already reached the place. Due to the great weather and wide sidewalks or walking paths (or sides of the road), foot travel is a major mode of transportation. It also provides one with social interaction and a better view of what roadside shops have to offer.
Overall, Uganda is a great place to live, so long as you can find a way to get some income. The people are friendly, the weather is pleasant, the experience is worth a life time. For native Ugandans, there is a fierce love for their country, despite its smoke and mirrors. The absolute best way to know what life in Uganda is like is to of course live it yourself. Visa processing is simple. Show up at the air port with a tentative itinerary and pay the $100 for a tourist visa, and voila, there you are!
--
-- Of course as anywhere else in the world, there will be drastic differences in life based on the income and budget of the person we are talking about.
I can only write about my experiences as a foreigner living in the beautiful Pearl of Africa. And note, my foreign life is much different from other foreigners as I have done my very best to not separate my life from native Ugandans and their tribulations.
My experience has been working as a community worker in various regions throughout the country, on my own expense (meaning I am not here in Uganda through an agency of any sort). The best paid job I have had in Uganda was at 500,000 Ugandan Shillings (pretty good for the average Ugandan salary), and the worst was 300,000 a month (still pretty good, considering many people are only making around 70,000 for difficult jobs like security guarding, street sweepers, garbage collectors, and in some schools, teachers.
One great thing about Uganda is that if you live in a village and know how to grow crops plus have access to land, you can greatly reduce your cost of living by growing your own crops and selling off the surplus. Many villagers own their tracts of land, and they do not have to pay property taxes, nor housing bills. This is because things are not bought on credit here. We build brick by brick in the most literal sense. It is a life of living within your limits, that is for sure.
The experience for people living in poverty is difficult, but not without its sunny days. I have found great resilience and creativity amongst my friends and family who live in poverty. The disparaging images the Western media so fondly paints of Africa are often misleading or isolated conditions. You are more likely to find a group of children of mixed ages and genders playing together in a ghetto than you would in say Upper Kololo (one of the most wealthy neighborhoods). The biggest challenges for people living in poverty would be access to healthcare, daily nutritious meals, school, and adequate housing. However, many people find ways of making a small amount of money that can get them through the day to the next one. While this is not a desired mode of life, and certainly is difficult and unpredictable, it is the attitude at which Ugandans thrive in these conditions that makes the suffering African myth so disgusting. These exaggerated images rob Ugandans of their true image which is one of hope and strength, the ability to look forward to the next day with a determination to make it better than yesterday. There are many impoverished Ugandans who are still making great strides of development in their communities. Maybe the Western idea that happiness can only be got through riches and possessions is being actively disproved here.
This is not to say that those living in poverty are living glamorous or easy lives at all. But they do get by, and they get by with a positive outlook. Of course, there are several people who are in the most horrible of conditions, and these people are usually plagued with illness or old age. They do live unbelievably painful and discomforting lives. These are side-effects of ill governance.
There is a growing upper middle class and upper class of middle aged and young people. They mostly live in the city, and I would say they live quirky versions of Western life. What I mean by this is that most of the niceties afforded to people living in Western worlds are available to this demographic, but usually with twists and turns or lack of quality and inflated prices. For instance, we have movie theaters, and you can watch a new blockbuster right in the heart of the city, but the power might go out in the middle of the action scene, and then you wait for the generators to start up. Or it may take 1 hour to get your food at a really nice restaurant, or it might be missing key ingredients. These are all the same side-effects of ill governance, but high life does exist in Uganda, and there are surprising numbers living it.
As for my personal experiences, finding jobs and then getting paid on time and the full amount of your pay check is a difficult game to play. This is sadly even more true for native Ugandans, who often get the short end of the stick...getting lesser pay for doing the same job as a German or not being offered a job at all, even though they are perfectly qualified, while an American traveler with no applicable qualifications is given the job. There is a lot of favoritism towards foreigners, and this is also a main source of the many problems being faced by skilled and professional Ugandan workforce. Many Ugandans face tribal discrimination (tribalism) when applying for jobs or getting help in government offices for official work. Bribery is a constant in the job market...so that effectively rules out all the people who do not have money to bribe the employer with. And once someone actually lands a job, salaries are often paid late, and only partial, meaning you might only get 30,000 out of your 70,000, etc. There is little regulation on pay-roll etiquette, so do not expect that reporting these issues to the Ministry of Labor will do any good. You might even need to put in a bribe there!
When it comes to safety, Uganda is blessed with general calm, but there is a lot of pick-pocketing that goes on. There is also a lot of other non-violent yet sneaky theft crime that takes place. We call these people "omubi" (thieves) or "omufere" (con-men), and they are EVERYWHERE, though they do not often pose an immediate threat to your safety. I have been robbed without even knowing it was happening thanks to a jolting taxi ride and a very talkative passenger...they fortunately missed my passport or else decided to be kind enough to not take it. But my 18,000 shillings and my broken smart phone were lost forever. The joke must have been on them because I am sure they expected several 100's of thousands of shillings and a fully functioning phone they could sell for a few couple more thousand shillings...oops. Violent crime is not rampant as it is in Western countries, especially the USA. These crimes are often isolated to particular groups who have rivalries, or in very sketchy, often impoverished neighborhoods, or perpetrated by someone who has a grudge against the victim, like land issues. A foreigner is not likely to come into these types of situations, and if they do, the best thing to do is to give up your possessions and be glad it was Makindye and not the Bronx. You will most likely get away unscathed but certainly shaken. For Ugandans, it is usually people who are walking home from work very late at night in known bad-z0nes. My friends and family and I make it a point to always walk with a group when we must walk in these areas at night, and if that is not possible, make sure we leave before dark, or else find another place to stay for the night. My husband did get mugged in Makindye, but this was when he was walking home from watching a football match in a pub, at 2am, alone, on a small back road. (He, and WE, learned our lesson very quick from that!). Overall, Uganda is a safe place to live.
As for food, we have every fresh veggie and fruit you could imagine! Nakasero market is my most favorite place to buy produce. I personally love the haggling and talking to produce sellers to hear about how they get by on their small business income. This goes back to the issue of poverty. Many of these workers make less than 50,000 a month, but they still manage to eat meals, send their kids to school, and throw huge weddings! The resourcefulness and creativity of Uganda's blue-collar workers is inspiring. They are often the most amicable and high-spirited people in the country. Back to food....if you are looking for packaged foods, we have many large supermarkets to offer, as well as smaller stores, all selling imported packaged foods as well as Ugandan versions. There is a fantastic banana juice made in Kawempe that I go nuts over, and no one can pass up a pack of fresh and crunchy duddies (deep fried dough nuggets). Even if you go outside of central Uganda, alllll the way up to Moroto, you can still find supermarkets and open produce markets to get all the food you want. Restaurants are also in abundance, both "local" food and international cuisine.
Health care is a touchy issue...the haves get it easily, the have nots often go without. The quality of care is of course in direct collation with the amount you pay...there are top notch "international" hospitals, and then there are plywood clinics...
The government does a fantastic job of creating wild goose chases to obtain their supposed free vaccines and other services. Each county and most sub-counties have government owned, operated, staffed, and stocked health centers, but the catch is that medicines usually run out within the first week or two of them being delivered, and so for the rest of the month, there are no drugs, or there might be no doctor, or the nurses might not be there because they haven't been paid for three months. So the best bet is to go to private clinics. Again, these vary according to price. And the more remote you get, the less chance of finding an upper class clinic will become. However, I must state that the majority of my medical care has come out of plywood, villager affordable clinics, and I have been totally fine. My only two experiences in higher class clinics both resulted in malpractice issues and schemes to get even MORE money out of me than the standard charges. So I would say, blind your eyes to the exterior and material presentation of the small clinics. They are true life savers, have a LOT more experience do to their higher volume of patients, and have humble and caring staff. *Note* Always request to see that a new, packaged needle is used, no matter the class of clinic/hospital you are in!!!!!
Schools are also varied by financial input....the more you pay, the more you get. Though there are some really great village schools whose teachers are fiercely dedicated to giving their pupils the best education possible, regardless of the conditions the classrooms may be in. There are many "international schools" popular with the expat and upper class Ugandan population, but expect to pay BIG BUCKS, even according to Western standards. The middle class and upper middle class send their kids to "prestigious" colleges that usually demand around 1 million to 2 million shillings per term. The average Ugandan family that can afford to send their kids to high school will usually pay around 500,000-800,000 per term. As for universities, Uganda has many, as well as private professional schools offering IT and medical courses. Tuition is again based upon quality.
For entertainment, Uganda has something for everyone, though it usually entails spending a wad of cash. For people living in the ghetto, breakdancing, football, music, and various table games make up the day. Dance halls are in a plethora, both in upper and lower class neighborhoods, and even in tucked away villages. In Kampala, the classes mix beautifully in various free events at the National Theater and private or community owned art or dance studios. For the upper class, there is swimming, golf, concerts, safari, museums and galleries, and social events.
As for weather, Uganda is a stable place, with moderate fluctuations. The temperature varies according to the region and elevation, but there are few extremes of heat or cold. Most of the country stays between the 70's to 80's. Eastern and Northern Uganda can reach the 90's and low 100's on particularly dry and sunny days during the dry season. And we have wet seasons which are typical monsoon rains. Look up the weather for the area you wish to visit and know the seasonal changes.
Transportation is a wonderful hot mess, but rest assured that you can get ANYWHERE you want to go. There are various modes of private and public transportation, the most common being taxis (big vans with folding chairs, usually ranging in fare from 500 to 2,000 shillings, depending on the distance you wish to travel), bodabodas (motorcycle taxis for quick trips through traffic and to off the main road destinations, and costas or buses for long hauls, ranging from 10,000 to 40,000, covering a HUGE distance. A bonus to the buses is that they usually have flat screen tv's installed at the front and show a variety of Ugandan music videos and Nigerian or Ugandan films. What a great way to absorb some culture! Walking is also a reasonable and viable option. I am a huge fan of walking as far as my legs can take it, and then hopping into a taxi or getting a boda if I have not already reached the place. Due to the great weather and wide sidewalks or walking paths (or sides of the road), foot travel is a major mode of transportation. It also provides one with social interaction and a better view of what roadside shops have to offer.
Overall, Uganda is a great place to live, so long as you can find a way to get some income. The people are friendly, the weather is pleasant, the experience is worth a life time. For native Ugandans, there is a fierce love for their country, despite its smoke and mirrors. The absolute best way to know what life in Uganda is like is to of course live it yourself. Visa processing is simple. Show up at the air port with a tentative itinerary and pay the $100 for a tourist visa, and voila, there you are!
"War is nothing but a continuation of political intercourse, with a mixture of other means. Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."
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