Uganda is one of the loveliest countries in Africa. Many people who visit Uganda end up relocating to Uganda or making return visits. This relatively small country was nicknamed the Pearl of Africa by Sir Winston Churchill in 1902. Here are some reasons why I love Uganda;

Uganda is the adventure capital of East Africa

In Uganda, adventure junkies can experience some of the best adrenaline highs! In the Eatern part of the country exists Jinja Town, a home to adrenaline adventures. There are lots of heart pounding experiences that you can dare try out in the city. Jinja is home to one of the world’s best white water rafting experiences, it is a magnet for rafting enthusiasts where you can plunge down grade five rapids, kayak or try the white-knuckle jet boat ride. Those who prefer a different kind of adventure can opt for bungee jumping, quad biking or horse riding in the communities along the Nile. There fore on your next Uganda safari adventure, don’t miss to include Jinja in your itinerary.

The second deepest Lake (Bunyonyi)

This second deepest lake in Africa is found in Uganda which is surrounded by terraced hills and its 29 islands. In the local language of Rukiga, Bunyonyi means a ‘place of many little birds’. The lake is safe for swimming or you can hire a canoe to take out for a paddle. The popular activity on this lake is to take a canoe ride to explore several islands with in Lake Bunyonyi each having its own story. This ride is about 2 hours but the most popular island is the “Punishment Island” where it is believed that women who could produce children outside the official marriage would be dumped. They would be left to starve and die but sometimes they would be rescued and married by fishermen. Its formation makes one to yarn to visit the Lake. Unlike other lakes that were formed from volcanicity, faulting and warping, Lake Bunyonyi is a sub result of lava damning. It is believed that magma from a nearby hill blocked a river channel which later caused the reversal of the water to form a lake. The point where lava blocked the river channel can be seen on main road from Kabale to Kisoro district.

The mountains

People interested in hiking and trekking can visit the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, known as ‘Mountains of the Moon’ with the highest peak in Uganda that is snow capped. With stunning views, National Geographical selected the Rwenzori Mountains as one of the world’s best hikes one can use.

You can also take on Mount Elgon, one of the oldest volcanic mountains in Africa. It offers beautiful views, numerous caves, hot springs, and cascading waterfalls that enchant you as you enjoy a climb up to the Wagagai Peak and the Caldera. You can also hike the dramatic Virunga Volcanoes where the borders of Uganda, Congo and Rwanda converge.

Kampala city

You need to visit the capital city to experience the hustle and bustle of the famous taxi ranks, including the central taxi rank where you can find a taxi to any area in the city and beyond. Close to a football field in size, every inch of the park is crammed with taxis; which in Africa are actually mini vans. Apart from the taxi ranks, Kampala is a relaxed city with an unhurried pace and is surrounded by seven hills that form the Kampala. Namely, Old Kampala, Namirembe, Rubaga, Mengo, Mulago, Kibuli, Kasubi and so on. Take the time to walk around and experience the busy markets, restaurants and friendly people through a city tour.

Cultural diversity

Uganda is made up of a number of ethnic groups from the central and south, east, west, and north, each with its own language, distinctive customs and norms. There are over 50 languages are spoken in Uganda. It’s this cultural diversity that offers curious travelers an authentic and enjoyable experience. Despite the fact that it is a nation with diverse cultures, Ugandans are some of the friendliest and most welcoming people you can wish to meet compared to other people. The locals will greet you with smiles wherever you will step in this welcoming and beautiful country. You will never feel isolation as long as you are in Uganda.

Uganda’s climate and weather

The country’s elevation and location on the equator gives it near perfect weather all year round. Uganda has two main seasons, that is; the dry and wet seasons. The wet has less sun and the dry has less rain with moderate temperatures across seasons. During the rainy season, it rains often for a short while and the sun comes out shortly after, and in the dry season there is less rain and the temperatures go a little bit higher. This type of weather is favorable for flora and fauna in Uganda.

The forests

On top of all, Uganda to some of the best areas is comprised of lush forests and jungles in Africa. These tropical rain forests, such as Imaramagambo Forest, Budongo Forest, Mabira Forest, Bwindi Impenetrable forest, Semuliki Forest and Kalinzu Forest; are rich in biodiversity with more than 1,000 flowering plant species and almost 200 different types of trees, many of which are endemic. They are also home to an incredible variety of birds, butterflies and mammal species including some of the rarest animals on the planet thus the pearl of Africa.

The unique wildlife

Although Uganda is home to the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, and elephant) it also boasts unique wildlife such as tree-climbing lions and the Nile crocodile. Uganda is a must on any birder’s bucket list, with over 1,000 bird species, including some of the very rarest, such as the shoebill, the great blue turaco, Shelley’s crimsonwing, and many more. Indeed, Uganda’s wetlands and savannah are great habitats for some of the world’s most spectacular birds and wildlife. Murchsion Falls National park Uganda’s largest park, has an amazing boat cruise on the Nile, offering great birdlife, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, buffalos and several antelope as they come to drink at the water and also the boat trip brings you to the bottom of the Murchison Falls. Queen Elizabeth National Park is also well-known as a medley of wonders because of its rich biodiversity and the fantastic opportunities to spot the elusive leopard or the famous tree-climbing lions of Ishasha.

Mountain gorillas

Uganda is lucky to be the home of the famous endangered mountain gorillas, and it has the highest population of mountain gorillas in the world. They can’t be found anywhere else on earth but in the Virunga that is shared by Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These gentle giants can be found in two of Uganda’s national parks: Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Thus Uganda being a unique destination for tourism. Tracking these gentle giants is an experience like no other as you watch them feed and groom each other or view the young ones play.

Geography

Much of the south of the country is heavily influenced by one of the world’s biggest lake, Lake Victoria that contains many islands. Most important cities are located in the south, near this lake, including the capital Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe. Lake Kyoga is in the centre of the country and is surrounded by extensive marshy areas.

However much it is landlocked, Uganda contains many large lakes apart from Victoria and Kyoga. These are Lake Albert, Edward and Lake George. This clearly indicates that Uganda lies almost within the Nile basin. The Victoria Nile drains from Lake Victoria into Lake Kyoga and into Lake Albert on the Congolese border.

Ugandan cuisines

Uganda’s food is as rich as its culture because each tribe has its own staple food. A proper Ugandan meal is a celebration in itself and some meals are prepared as early as the day before in order to be served at lunch. Then there is the street food, the most notable being the rolex. While a Rolex is a timepiece in most countries, in Uganda it’s a popular street food that can be eaten any time of the day. It’s an omlette that is rolled with a chapatti and some onions plus tomatoes costing 1500/=.

Protected areas

Lastly, Uganda has over 60 protected areas including ten National Parks, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Rwenzori Mountain National Park, Kibale National Park, idepo Valley National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Mountain Elgon National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Semuliki National Park. All these are protected to act as a habitat for wildlife.

This article first appeared on the Ugandan Web and has been revised with alterations by the editor.

Lina Zedriga Waru, an accomplished activist and a self-described “mother and war-widow”, believes the involvement of women in peace building is vital to both securing a women sensitive agenda in peace negotiations, and in securing peace as a whole. Women, she says, think “with their hearts and not with their stomachs.”

In 2006, she was part of a women’s movement, known as the Women’s Peace Coalition, that came together to march to Juba after finding that women were not adequately involved in the peace talks between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the government of Uganda.

The discussions began in July 2006, but were stalled when LRA leader Joseph Kony pulled out in 2008. The comprehensive Juba Peace Agreement, although unsigned, gave birth to Agenda Item No. 3, which has proved crucial in the setting up of transitional justice mechanisms to deal with the numerous post-conflict issues faced in Uganda.

In spite of the mixed success of the talks, Juba was noted for its lack of involvement of women at the discussion table. Statistics by UN Women’s Women’s Participation in Peace Negotiations report shows that only a fraction of the negotiation delegates included women (a factor which it notes may have influenced the agenda for discussion). This is not unique to Uganda, and reflects much of the growing concern surrounding the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 of 2000 which calls for the greater involvement of women in repatriation and resettlement, rehabilitation, reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction.

We realised there was no woman on the government delegation

“[Before the peace talks began], we realised there was no woman on the government delegation. So we tried to meet with the stakeholders – such as the members of the Uganda peace team but we were told that ‘the issue of women will wait. They don’t have to be at the table.’ But we knew as women that we needed to be at the table, we needed our issues to be enshrined in the agreements. So we decided to mobilise outside of northern Uganda.

After we mobilised, we approached (UN Goodwill Ambassador and former Member of Parliament) Honourable Phoebe Asiyo from Kenya to be our ambassador because we wanted to say that this is a regional war and everybody must take the responsibility to protect. She was able to bring a peace torch from the DRC, with a team of women from DRC and Rwanda, and we marched through the streets of Kampala. We delivered this peace torch with commitments in the Parliament of Uganda. We kept vigil.

After that we staged a one week march to northern Uganda, to Kitgum, with the Peace Torch. We had a stopover in Corner Kamdini, to wait for the women from West Nile and Karamoja. By the time we reached Kitgum the caravan had actually blocked all the roads. It was described by one of the journalists who came with us as the ‘19th Century Pied Piper’.”

The president flew to see us

“It was so powerful that when we reached Gulu, the President himself, who had refused to see us, decided to fly to Gulu to meet us. We were very strategic as we sent for him women he didn’t know and not the leaders. The fact that we came from beyond, women demanding that this war must end and demanding that peace must be given a chance, was very powerful. And then the District leaders all came to support us. Gulu received us from Ciro Leno with a band and we were singing war songs and we went to radio. Kony himself called and said, ‘How many women are ready? I can have all of them on my team.’ On radio! That was very powerful.

We delivered the Peace Torch in Juba with the Women’s Protocol for Peace which made demands about how we wanted the peace agreement. When we look at the agreement, Juba Agenda Item No. 3, Clause 10 and 11 specifically has a provision for inclusion of women’s issues and children, but specifically for UN Security Council Resolution 1325. They just got it! The other outcome was that we got a slot for a woman, Santa Okot, formerly MP for Pader. We also got a request from Riek Machar, who was then the mediator, to have women as technical advisors to identify critical issues and engender the process.

What we felt we lost was the proposal that there should be a truth and reconciliation commission set up. There are people out there hurting and they would like to be included. We would also like women from the internally displaced person’s camps to be part. They can be given translators. You don’t need to go to a classroom to understand the issue of how you contribute to the core issue of reconciliation.”

Country-wide consultations

“One of the things we did and we did right, was the fact that we did country-wide consultations. We documented what people were saying at the regional level, national level, IDP camp level. So we had evidence and our movement was driven by the grassroots. We did a rapid assessment of really what the key issues that people want to see and how do the communities felt about this war. People were so fed up.

[The responses from the different regions were] consistent because we had our evidence that the dead bodies were not only from here. People were being buried silently everywhere.”

“I have learned from women’s movements that if you do not involve men, the thing will not succeed. The men will treat only involving women with suspicion and sabotage it. They will say, ‘You leave your UN Security Council Resolution at the gate.’ So we started the men engage program. We have to really engage them as the change makers and as the advocates. They are not the problem – it’s the society, the system. We have to work together to deconstruct as a team.”

Women take decisions with the heart

“Women take decisions with the heart, not with the stomach. We are socialised to use ‘needle logic’ in conflict resolution. When there is a tear in a cloth and you use the needle it mends, but if you use the knife – like some of these justice mechanisms, you are wrong, she is right – you will still go on hurting and we will not be coming together to constructively engage. We will still continue to want to tear ourselves apart. You will plan revenge wherever you are. We need to employ that needle logic and women are so good in doing it.

“If women are excluded from discussions that would involve them, or that people are not willing to listen to them, what strategies should they employ at their own level to achieve their objective?

We have been culturally socialised to believe we are less human. We must have women personally master that their decision is right and that it is good. They need to feel confident, assertive, and personally important. The perception that women are sexual objects and are workers should be demystified. It is being demystified, because the way we are raising our children we are not raising them with discrimination. We [also] need to document the lives of women who are successful. We also need to make sure we encourage and set up support mechanisms to encourage them and not divide their families.”

I am not a victim, I am a stakeholder

“I am not a victim, I am a stakeholder. The issue of victim hood makes you powerless. It makes you inhuman, it is degrading and it is cruel. We are very powerful. And I say nothing about us without us, because anything about me without me is not for me. It is not within what I want and it is not within my minimum standards. [As a person] you need to make sure are confident and carve out your own identity. This makes you feel powerful! Yes, because victim hood makes you powerless.”