How exciting to have the chance to open your heart enough to allow a distant land to sweep you away. Keep in mind that all the while you will be inundated by an alluring culture unlike anything you have ever known, that has somehow survived hideous atrocities and maintained much of their traditional roots. Comparing and contrasting an American community that’s located in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains with a major city in Uganda, East Africa can be enlightening and life-changing. The obvious differences, such as climate, basic socialization customs, and communication in general are rousing, but to incorporate the subtler practices that increase cultural divides are worth a more engaging assessment and understanding.
In most of Africa, success is measured through the number of accrued family members. The larger the family, the better your chances of survival. Here in Uganda, polygamy is legal and gracefully accepted as the norm. If a man has three wives instead of just one, he can produce many more children, and perhaps receive better care when he is old. With that said, it is a known fact and fairly accepted that this country in general is considered to be “a man’s world.” No, women here know nothing about chivalry, and often trail behind the man when walking. There are no opening of doors or opportunities for the woman to be placed first. However, it’s the woman who must earn school fees for the kids. It’s the woman who literally carries the load.
Here efforts to maintain order and extreme cleanliness are never-ending. When these folks clean, they go deep. Gardens are kept immaculate, as workers use reeds to brush away fallen leaf litter and produce a ground covering of well-swept earth and grass. Most hotels are maintained by female housecleaning crews that scrub floors on their hands and knees, six days a week. Each room is dusted and polished every day, and the bathrooms are left spotless. Too, the people themselves are usually clean and appropriately dressed for the occasion. That alone remains outstanding, for clothes are washed by hand in the front of a cottage, a maze of individual cement enclosures, or mud huts called home.
Speakers for Africa, a Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports students in Uganda with educational materials, school supplies, food and athletic programs.
Penny Randell
+1 (360) 441-5351 phone
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