About Uganda

The Rakai District of Uganda has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world with a number of dramatic vistas throughout the district. The Rakai District is located in the south central region of Uganda. Rakai borders Masaka to the north, Mabarara to the east, and the country of Tanzania to the South. Rakai has borne the brunt of bad leadership, corruption, civil wars, wars in neighboring countries, and now AIDS. The Rakai District has suffered over the years due to conflicts and civil strife. Much of this tension and abuse has been caused by internal factors, such as leaders Amin and Obote, but external factors have also played a key role in the suffering of the people of this country, as in the case of Rwanda and Tanzania.

Kabaka, king of Buganda (the largest tribe in Uganda), ruled until the Obote invasion of 1966. Shortly after this invasion, soldiers of terror were unleashed in Buganda. The Kabaka owned a palace in Lukunyu near the border of Tanzania, so it was feared he might escape Uganda. Because of this Rakai was occupied by the unruly, raping, and murdering soldiers of the regime.

In the 1970’s there were many battles along the Ugandan-Tanzanian border. These battles, led by Idi Amin’s soldiers, were horrendous. Amin was finally repulsed from Tanzania all the way back to Mwanza. The battles caused great damage to life and property. Ugandans were left with memories of torture, rape, and murder.

During this time, former President Obote failed in an attempt to oust Idi Amin. His attempt resulted in terror for the civilians in the district. The Mutukula Prison is well known in the Rakai District as a death spot of many Ugandans. Many civilians were forced to witness Amin’s soldiers piercing a human’s liver with a knife bayonet with blood leaking off the knife. Some of Amin’s victims were 14 and 15 year old Acholis and Langos (two smaller tribes within Uganda), recruited by Obote and his men to fight his war.

In 1980, worsening an already bad situation, the scourge of AIDS (then known as SLIM) emerged in Rakai District. The first AIDS patients were noticed at Kasensero landing site in Kabuuto. In 1982, HIV was finally recognized. Along with the rise of HIV/AIDS, from 1980 until 1986, the Panda Gari, a youth terror organization, raped and killed many of the citizens of Rakai. Living in Rakai at this time was hellish, and it was also this way in some other parts of Uganda.

In 1990, the civil war in Rwanda brought to Rakai decomposing bodies on the River Kagera. The situation became very serious as the people of the Rakai District worked many days and weeks burying more than 10,000 rotten Rwandan bodies. These people had been either shot or hacked to death by the militia in Rwanda. In some cases babies were tied to the mother before she was shot and dumped into the river, allowing the militia to save ammunition. Some of the bodies reached the shoreline of Lake Victoria. All of this happened in the hot months between April and July of 1994. Any photo we could show you could not reveal the true horror and incredible stench of this scene.

Now we come to the problem of orphans whose parents have died of AIDS! Currently more than 50,000 orphans live in Rakai alone. These children must do for themselves once their parents die. Many homes in the Rakai District are “child-head-of-household”. The struggle to survive results in an inability to attend school, an inability to grow crops properly to sustain life, and an inability to obtain basic medical care when needed. In a child-run home, no one is there to provide support for the emotions left after the parent dies, and no one is there to guide the child into adulthood. HUGS needs your help to save these young lives and provide them at least a modest standard of living.

For more information on the country of Uganda, please visit the following websites:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1069181.stm
http://www.buganda.com
http://allafrica.com/uganda

Click here to read more about the impact of the AIDS orphan crisis in Africa.

Click here to read more about the looming humanitarian crisis in Uganda.