Africa Speaks

There is hope for life in Africa mebers (by Nabawanuka Magaret)

2007-03-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

I believe that in three years to come, the lives of life in Africa members will improve if we continue to work together and being creative. This is because I have seen much efforts put by the director of life in Africa to see that life in Africa members earn some thing to help them with their families. If I see every last Saturday of the month members come with a lot of stuff to sell it is really good as we get some thing to go with for our children.

Africa is very rich in creativeness and also have the potential but what we always lack is the market! We can produce good things and end up not getting where to sell. The once communication technology which was a problem, I believe is no more. The internet is doing best to link us with the western world but still the rate of selling African products is still low. I still don’t know how the sells of African products can be improved?

The Burden We Carry:

2007-01-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

The Burden we carry (By ABURA KAMILO)

The people of Northern Uganda quietly take up the burdens of a new day. Children walk to school with exercise books in their hand while on the other side rage the flames of armed conflict.

Since 1986, a rebel group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has waged war in the bush of Northern Uganda it is an insurgency movement characterized by merciless violence, a conflict that claims civilians as victims and leaves a trail of suffering and death behind.

To trace the roots of the current war in Acholi land is to work through a tangle of economic, social, and cultural pieces of Uganda’s History. What remains at present is a story of consistent insecurity and untold loss.

The Acholi live in the shadow of an ill-defined rebel cause led by Joseph Kony, under whose command the LRA has grown into a vehicle for gross violation of human right.

In order to fuel their war and fortify their troops, LRA have made it their practice to abduct children and to train them as soldiers. The children are taken from their home and schools and pressed into the life of brutality and perpetual dangers. They are used in a heavy combat with Ugandan government soldiers and are forced to commit atrocities against their own people girls as young as 12 years are given to rebel commanders as “Wives” and many have now given birth in the LRA stronghold in the bush. The merciless treatment of these child soldiers is not only a tool of battle, but also to strip them of sensibility and the will to survive.

Mourning families and communities are left in the wake of the LRA, stripped of their youth and their promise of a future. The rebel has burned the entire villages; compelling thousands to move into the camps for internally displace people (IDP). Here the Acholi wrestle with despair apathy and the rapid spread of diseases. AIDS has taken a firm and devastating hold in the crowded conditions of the IDP camps, where makeshift huts are now surrounded by permanent graves.

Beyond the limit of towns and camps stretch fertile expanses of green, land now spotted with fallow field, charred nut and abandoned compounds. It was a place once peaceful and free now hunted by fear and tortured memory.

LRA activities goes in wave in northern Uganda while thousands of children remain captive, some have managed to escape and to return home for these children the scars of battle run deep and heal slowly. For the families and communities that welcome them, the celebration of homecoming is mixed with the pain of all that was lost.

The life of Acholi for over past 20 years has been colored by war and losses. Every life has been impacted by war and people of Northern Uganda have defined themselves of sorrow

The land has been beset by hardship for years their children taken by the LRA and theirs cattle stolen by the Karamojong, a neighboring tribe. Insecurity has torn at the fibers of a cohesive society; leaving people empty handed and frozen by sense of futility.

What a believable Acholi cultural traditions!

2006-11-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

I believe that, the acholi cultural and traditions are naturally rich and are one of the best tribes around the country. The ‘Rwot’ who is their tradition leader commands a lot of respect and controls all the activities with number of advises called the lumembers. The leader works very closely with the healers who in this
Case is like doctors in hospitals treating all kinds of illnesses and performs rituals to control calamity in nature. They further work closely with the tradition court to decide cases against lawbreakers in society such that wrong doers are punished to protect the community.

The elders, who are like the golden library, with all kinds of information, teachings, and sense of direction, strongly advice the rwot in conflict resolution whereby reconciliation is possibly organized between different clans, in this process they, arrange compensation and forgiveness such that life goes on peacefully.

Peace prediction ( By Kyomukama Molly)

2006-08-13T01:23:00.000-07:00

I believe by the end of five years we shall have a peaceful country Uganda. The twenty years civil wars is enough for the Uganda government, rebel leader and perhaps the rebel supportive countries. It is evidenced that if a sister country collaborates with the rebels always it is hard to negotiate peace in the country. I believe that rebel leader Konys’ move to Congo was because he was loosing confidence in the government of Sudan. And Congo where he is now is just like from frying pan to fire! so theacceptance of ceasefire by the government may restore peace in the north.

It is not understandable why this war has taken long but the truth is the so called organization of African unity are not very smart to their aims and objectives. They always meet and chart but don’t walk the talk, which is the sole cause of civil wars in Africa. But whom to blame since there is no democracy in Africa?

Where there is unity there is development(By Gaster Lwanga

2006-06-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

I believe in unity among the people and the community at large because, this helps people to overcome
problems that would have stopped them from achieving whatever they want for example; if one wanted to save money for something and yet you earn a small salary you can unite with other people to form a group which pools resources together and in the long run you can get what you want.

I do not believe in disunity because, as we all know "united we stand and divided we fall."
I would like to encourage all the life in Africa members to come together and work for the betterness
of our community so that we can prosper and get all we need and this makes me to wonder How can disunity be minimised?

Social life of Acholi people: (By Bomboko George)

2006-05-14T12:31:00.000-07:00

I believe that the Acholi people are so organized hospitable generous and socially so advanced. This is seen in their leadership like the ‘Rwot’ the Acholi cultural leader who accommodate visitors, cares and feeds them which is very rear in the tradition of other tribes in Ugandan. The whole community is linked up in the structure of leadership which starts right from the head of a family, clan leaders and other member who is elected chairman of all the clan leaders called “Rwot”

Socially, men are known for the various cultural endowments such as dances, communal work such as digging or the harvest of crops. The norms which guide normal values among the youths, married people, men and women. The respect that is accorded to each and every one no wonder big or small every one is to respect the social valve of the community.

These values have been in force since but now things seem to have changed so much. Especially now that the IDP camps are the only forceful homesteads available. All the glory of the rich culture and tradition which was our pride eroded due to influence of the two decades of Joseph Kony war in Acholi land. What shall we the Acholi, Ugandans and the international community do in order to perfect our traditional ways of lives?

Life in Africa Member: Albert Walozi:

2006-05-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

The painful wounds of HIV(By Atim monica

2006-04-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

I believe all would agree with me the damage that has been caused by this unpredictable disease. It’s actually sad that it has come to stay, it does not look like it’s about to go any where a tall. Being victim this circumstance, I sometimes feel that life is so meaningless, because if I look back at the kind of life we have had since our parents died, it’s really hard to see anything good in this world! This does not only apply to me it’s almost throughout Africa.

Many children are facing this situation: well, what still looks like mystery to me is, whether this is an ailment for punishment from above or it’s a man made one as others say or it’s just a natural sickness? But still what I don’t understand is why a solution for cure hasn’t been found up to now? This then makes me think that, this thing was made to clear some race of people! For may be particular reason.

However, this seems to be irreversible, but with it now a lot can be done to minimize its spread and much more care for those already having it. Here in Uganda, a lot of praises has been given to the government for their participation but in it, I still see a lot of loopholes because I don’t know the kind of sensitization given to army men, could this also be an intended situation?

Because for example in the north, most of these officers are sick and they have infected most of the girls around the camps! They do have the money and looking at the financial situation in these camps, girls run to them as their greener pastures, and you find that nobody at all cares about the out come of unsafe sex.

And for the children who are orphans as a result of HIV, nothing much is being done and so many are left to become street children and the so called government has turned a deaf ear to set up homes that can absorb such children. Even the NGOs who are said to be doing something, just take very few of them. Can’t some body come out more especially to set up homes for such children? So that they can again have a loving environments to grow up?

Political parties are personal in Uganda (by Mary Lalam)

2006-04-02T04:28:00.000-07:00

I believe we are in a country where political parties are seen as personal property. Right from the time Uganda got inpendence that gave birth to uganda peoples' congress, Democratic party which has never ever even ruled this country. This is because of the rise of many political parties, people have become prostitutes in politics by crossing from one party to another which shows no Democrasy atall! Once some comes with party leadership, he remains the president for it and for good. Even if a person is in exile or as old as one can see still he is the boss.

Its hard to understand how many political parties we shall have because whoever gets political misunderstanding the only bussiness is to be a party president! I have always seen with the western world where there are only tow political parties ie one for the republicans and the other for the Democratis. Though there were many factional groups during the era of Napoloen but atleast now there is unity to fight for a common problem. When shall we have a party not basing on personal gains?