Poverty in Uganda
Many people around the world have are living in poverty. Poverty is where one is living without the basic necessities they need to support themselves. Uganda is a country in Africa where it is divided into three main area, swampy lowlands, fertile plateau, and desert region. More than one half of Uganda’s population suffers through poverty. With the suffrage of poverty about two fifths of the population cannot get to safe access of water. Poverty has caused issues throughout Uganda by affecting the lives of people, children being held in a civil war, and also has organizations that help Uganda come toward a better and safer place for families.
Poverty in Uganda affects the many lives of people that live there. For example, parents choose to go without medical care for their families in order to afford and keep their children in school. Education is considered the only way out of poverty for children and their families. For one being in school and being educated can make them successful in life and change the way they live. There are only four doctors and twenty-eight nurses per 100,000 people! As a lack of medical care, more than one in three children under the age of five suffer from stunting, growth development, as a result of inadequate nutrition. Many children get sick and are diseased because many people cannot find safe and clean water. Therefore, many people go day-by-day living hard lives from the issues poverty has.
In addition, the Civil War that had occurred in Uganda was going on for twenty-three years. The war had been between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Because the LRA needed more soldiers to join the army, they had abducted many children and began training them to become soldiers for the LRA. More than 90% of the army consisted of the abducted children from Uganda. The government had taken 1.8 million people from Uganda into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps to provide protection from the army. Here, they faced poverty because the camps were overcrowded; there was little food and water, and diseases started taking over. Over the years about 800,000 people have returned home in a better place comparing to the camps they have lived in. This shows that even away from their homes and being protected by the government people still are living in poverty.
Families and communities are still suffering from poverty in Uganda as each day passes by us and there are many ways to help those in need. For example, Sponsor a Child in Uganda is an organization by World Vision in which anyone can sponsor a child in need and help them gain necessities. Many families have been taken care by this organization because those who sponsor donate each month to more than one person. By sponsoring many people’s lives can change by taking five minutes to sponsor. Water Aid is another organization that helps the people from Uganda gain access to safe water. Everyone around the world should have the right to have clean water to drink from even the poorest countries. With technology around they can have clean water to drink from and start a healthy life. Invisible children is an organization that you can donate to help rebuild schools that were destroyed by war and they also help by giving them equipment they need such as books. They also tell stories about war- affected children and make documentaries. These are people that are willing to change the way Ugandans live and make a difference with the help of volunteers, students, and supporters. All these organizations help Uganda face poverty and anyone can make a difference in one’s life.
In conclusion, Uganda is one of many countries where people living there suffer from poverty. Whether it is their lives that are affected by poverty by not having resourses and needs they need to have in life to survive, or being taken to fight and living in a worse place of poverty, everyone has the chance to change a child’s life, family,community, or country. Many people turn the other way because they are focused on problems that affected them directly. It only takes a few minutes to view and learn about the organizations and also help the people suffering through poverty.
By: Natalie Marquez, Melanie Brizola, Maria Legenhausen
