Uganda is located on the northwestern part of Africa's Largest lake, Lake Visctoria. Its geographical location makes it a melting pot for western, southern, eastern and northern African cultures. The county has more than 40 languages. Uganda is only 240,000 sq km and houses close to 30 million people. The former British colony got independent in 1962 and has managed to beat the ึof civil strife to develop.
With its reliable rainfall and rich soils, Uganda is the highest per capita production of bananas in the world. Coffee and fish and cut flowers are the major foreign exchange earners. Agriculture, the traditional backbone of Uganda's economy (employs about 80% of the active population), contributes to debt service.
The massive sugar and textile industries of the 1960s are reviving, along with the large tea estates long neglected.
Horticulture and floriculture are receiving increased investment as air-cargo becomes a viable means of' transport.
Uganda is home to mountain gorillas and many brides species. Its location between the eastern African mountain ranges make is home to mountain gorillas and many primate species. Uganda is home to more than 3000 bird species and has many famous bird watching spots like Lutembe bay on Lake Victoria, Mabira forest and the royal Mile in Budongo forest reserve.Other attractions including; the source of the Nile, Murchison falls where the Nile River flows into a 5 meter wide gorge, Mountains of the moon must have contributed to Winston Churchill description of Uganda as the Pearl of Africa.
The Nile flows from Lake Victoria at what was Rippon Falls and into Lake Kyoga. Still the Victoria Nile, it cuts a raucous passage west across Karuma Falls and through the narrow pillars of Murchison Falls towards Lake Albert. Finally the Albert Nile meanders along a slow, wide corridor into Southern Sudan. To the far west of Uganda, on the Zaire border, the snow covered Rwenzori Mountains (or Mountains of the Moon as Ptolemy called them) rise into almost permanent equatorial mists. The mountain slopes have their own strange successive worlds of vegetation, each with its own characteristic flora.
In the extreme south-west are the Mufumbira volcanoes, a chain of imposing cones that rise out of the lava plain f the western rift. The tropical hardwood rainforests of Western Uganda such as Maramagambo, Budongo and Bwindi evoke adventure and wonder. Kampala, the modern capital, is the centre of most economic activity. It is steadily being rebuilt after systematic looting and destruction during the changes of government.
The city infrastructure has been restored and new office towers, hotels, stadiums and shopping malls are appearing almost monthly. Entebbe, the former administrative capital, is still very picturesque, though rundown and neglected. The century old botanical gardens are being restored to their former splendour.
Tourism and increased commercial agriculture will gradually redress the balance, as they have elsewhere in Africa. Uganda is rich with culture and artistic talent, Ugandans are lively actors and public speakers. Hardly a night passes without the rhythmic sounds of traditional dancing or, in Kampala, modern disco music. The overriding impression of Uganda is of its happy people. Hardship and war are not forgotten, but they are in the past, to be recalled in silent prayers and thoughts for absent friends..