My Country, Culture, and History
Most people have not had a chance to know their country's history especially when they don't live in their home countries. I am fortunate enough to know even the pioneers of the land presently known as Uganda. Uganda lies on the equator, east of Africa, bordering Kenya in the east, Tanzania in the south, The Dominican Republic of Congo in the west and Sudan in the north. According to my fifteen years of adventure in Uganda, I will say it is a very good place to be which I am proud to call home.
My family's origin is traced way back from one of the earliest migrations in Africa, the Bantu migration. The Bantu people are believed to have migrated from the Niger Basin in West Africa by 1000 A.D. Due to a big increase in population, the Bantu faced problems like diseases, famine, lack of land and civil wars between families and clans. These and other factors forced people to move including some of the youth who moved just for adventure and to explore other lands. The Bantu people moved in search of fertile land to grow crops since they were mainly agriculturalists. They migrated in small groups as families or clans rather than communities. Migrations were slow and continuous covering many areas and generations moving from place to place (African mecca saffaries).
East Africa was the ideal place for settlement though some continued south searching for larger domains to graze their livestock and hunt for food. East Africa had abundant water including Lake Tanganyika, the deepest in Africa and Lake Victoria, the biggest in Africa. The River Nile also carried water to other parts of East Africa. These water bodies boosted trade and fishing.
The Bantu that settled north of Lake Victoria, present...
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...Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania to major in Law. Education in Uganda is regarded as a weapon which is used to fight against the changing world. It is a vital resource for development and a status ladder among citizens (Kakooza).
Works Cited
AfricanMecca. Tribal Immigration To The EastAfrican Region. 20 Oct 2004 http://www.africanmeccasafaris.com/africa/history/migrationofafrican
Columbia Encyclipedia: Buganda. 2003 Columbia University Press. 20 Oct 2004http://www.bartleby.com/65/ba/Baganda/html
Encatra.msn.com. MSN Learning and research - Uganda. 20 Oct 2004 http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761566572&pn=2&s=13Kakooza, Robert.Education in Uganda. 20 Oct 2004http://www.21cs.org/magazine/ugan
educ.htm
My Uganda: Buganda Kingdom 2001. 20 Oct 2004 http://www.myuganda.co.ug/categories/about/people_culture/mornachies/buganda/index.htm
The Church believed that through Baptism you are cleansed and that you are free from original sin but the council announced that we can be cleansed through baptism but we can not fully be cleansed because once you have been Baptised you are still under the temptation of sinning. This issue was important to the council, they affirmed and readdressed this matter and as a church community we now all follow this new church law as it is stated in the Tridentine Creed. “I embrace an receive all and every one of the things which have been defined and declared in the holy Council of Trent concerning original sin and
Ellen Charry says that we as Christians are weak and forgetful when called to do other things, yet “The grace conveyed to the believer in sacraments is the presence of God symbolized by water, oil or food, from which the believer takes strength and comfort.” Sacraments are a way for us to refocus on our beliefs, understand the grace of God given to us, and a way for us to refocus our lives. The basis behind a sacrament is that Jesus is the One True Sacrament. For an action to be considered a sacrament, it must be a practice clearly instituted by Christ and the apostles, show the reality of the Word, the work of the Spirit, and has an element of faithful response. By understanding the basics of a sacrament, we can partake communion and baptism more fully. Partaking in a sacrament is a visible sign of our faith for God, and learning the truth in the church, bible, and the
African society used bodies of water such as the Nile, the Red Sea, and many more to transport goods across the continent and generate profit. For example, the city of “Aksum reached its height between 325-360. Aksum’s location made it an important international trading center.” After analyzing the map of trade routes in Document 1, it is clear Aksum was strategically built to have ties to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. These two bodies of water give the city the freedom to import and export goods. Additionally, this work of trade did not come without reward. Cities who succeeded in the business became overly wealthy and had surpluses of gold and other riches. A king, Mansa Mansa, who expanded the Mali kingdom to be twice the size of Ghana, was not afraid to show his wealth as he showered other cities in riches out of generosity. In Cairo, Egypt, “there was no person, officer of the court, or holder of any office of the Sultanate who did not receive a sum of gold from him.” This is just one of the many examples of wealth in african cities and empires. What is impressive is the fact that before European trade became an influence, African people had already created a successful and very profitable system of
Sacraments are a major part of the Catholic faith. The Latin word sacramentum means a sign of the sacred. Then seven sacraments are ceremonies that we as Catholics do to experience Gods saving presence. Sacraments are both signs and instruments of God’s grace. Baptism is one of the sacraments; it is usually the first as it is the first step into the journey of being a Catholic. It doesn’t matter if you are an adult or child this sacrament takes away original sin. The Eucharist is known to the common as communion. It is the body and blood of Christ from the last supper. The first communion is celebrations were a person takes the Eucharist for the first time. It is where we are nourished and closer to God spiritually. Reconciliation is another Catholic sacrament where we confess our sins. Confirmation is a Catholic sacrament of an educated mature Catholic. It is where we confirm our faith, known as the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Marriage known as Holy Matrimony is a sign where two people become one. Holy orders are when a priest is ordained and vows to carry on the Catholic tradition by using the sacraments. Anointing of the sick is the last sacrament or last rites. It is for people who our dying or mentally sickness.
A Culture of My Own The smell of the ocean, palm trees, and the sound of the salsa beats in the distance, characteristics of a beautiful culture. But is that really what my culture is? As a Cuban in America, culture is much different than that of an island native. My culture, or should I say, the culture that my family has molded into our own, is a spectacular one.
Ethiopia is located in the Eastern region of Africa. According to the Embassy of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ethiopia lies between the geographical coordinates of 3’ and 14. 8’ latitude and 33’ and 48’ longitude. Ethiopia encompasses a majority of the area known as the Horn of Africa. The CIA World Factbook states that Ethiopia is approximately 1,104,300 square kilometers (686,180 miles). To give a better perspective of the sheer size of this country, it is about twice the size of the state of Texas.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, culture is defined as tradition or a way of life. It is also a defining principle in how we live our life and the type of people we become. The Salish Indians of the Montana and Celie, the main character of the book The Color Purple, are two examples of cultures that made them who they are. Celie is a poor, black, woman growing up in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-twentieth century. The men have constantly put her down, through beatings and rape, for being a woman with no talent at all. Her husband’s lover comes to town and gives Celie a chance to see a culture where a woman can stand up for herself and teaches her that love is possible. The Salish on the other hand have a culture that has gone on through the ages and still is a part of each person today despite the obstacles they have had to face. Culture does shape us because from birth it is what tells us our ideals, laws, and morals that we live by each day.
This can be understood when we take into account the corruption that happens in Lower economically developed countries. In LEDCS education is a sector which needs more focus an article which focuses on this issue describes the education in LEDC as shocking as ‘Out of 128 million school-aged children, 17 million will never attend school’ And ‘37 million African children will learn so little while in they are in school that they will not be much better off than those kids who never attend school.’ From the shocking figures we can see that education in Africa needs major adjustments in order to achieve successful
The overriding challenge Uganda faces today is the curse of poverty. Poverty, ‘the lack of something”(“Poverty.”), something can be materials, knowledge, or anything one justifies as necessary to living. Associated with poverty is the question of what causes poverty and how to stop poverty? The poverty rate in Uganda has declined from the year 2002 from the year 2009, which shows the percent of residents living in poverty has decreasing. Yet, the year is 2014 and the poverty rate could have drastically changed over the course of five years. One could assume the poverty rate would continue to decrease, which would be astounding and beneficial, but does poverty ever decrease enough to an acceptable level or even nonexistence? Poverty is a complex issue that continues to puzzle people from all across the globe. Poverty could possible be a question that is never truly answered.
Sacraments are the means, which Christians partake in the mystery of Christ through symbolic actions. Alister E. McGrath described the Sacraments as “Outward signs of the visible grace of God”. Consequently, since the beginning of Christianity, Christians have practiced many different sacraments. However, Western theologians limited the sacraments to include the ones that Christ instituted. As a result, the Sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders and Matrimony became traditional in the West. Accordingly, Baptism and the Eucharist are highly esteemed because of references in the Gospel of Matthew, the Thirty-Nine articles of the Church of England and they are differentiated as the two Sacraments ordained by God. Although, the Sacraments vary from one denomination to the next the Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Wesleyan and Radical Reformers all practice the Sacraments of Baptism and, the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper). The Quakers and the Salvation Army are
Gaining their independence in October 1962, Uganda shares borders with Sudan in the north, Kenya to the east, Tanzania and Rwanda to the south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. There exists a wide variety of flora and fauna in the region with rainforests, vegetation is heaviest in the south and typically becomes wooded savanna in central and northern Uganda. Dry acacia woodland, dotted with the occasional candelabra and euphorbia and interspersed with grassland, occurs in the south. The steppes and thickets of the northeast represent the driest regions of Uganda (Uganda 2010). In the Lake Victoria region and the western highlands, forest covering has been replaced by elephant grass and forest remnants because of human incursions. The medium-elevation forests contain a rich variety of species. The high-elevation forests of Mount Elgon ...
What made me into the person I am today? I have asked myself this question many times before, yet it all leads back to the same concept. In fact, I came to the conclusion that it is simply a summarization of our developing years. For example, some of our biggest influences, especially in those years, are our parents and friends. Our parents help shape us into the people we are today and, in most cases, we share the same values as them. In addition, our friends are also part of the reason we are who we are. They are the first group of people we interact with and whether we mean to or not, we try to imitate them as much as we can. As a result, the three values of my personal culture that make me into who I am are respect, work ethic, and joy.
My heritage culture is what has shaped me into who I am today. I am a Caucasian female who is twenty-three years old. I am a granddaughter, daughter, sister, and friend. I am a Christian, and more specifically a Baptist. I attend Musella Baptist Church in Musella, Georgia. My ethnicity is a blend of Cherokee and English. Along with my family and who I am particular experiences have opened my eyes to the other cultures’ practices. Additionally, witnessing the diverse cultures has allowed me to become a more accepting of others’ differences. Through my own family’s culture, beliefs, and experiences I have become more aware of the diversity that surrounds me.
The African continent is rich with natural and intellectual resources. Northern Africa has rich oil deposits that, once discovered, have made billions of dollars. Sub-Sahara Africa is rich with deposits of precious minerals such as gold and diamonds. Throughout much of history Africa has been thought of as a rich land. But the Africa we know today as being plagued by famine, poverty and war came about at a much later date.
A dusty, one-room schoolhouse on the edge of a village. An overworked teacher trying to manage a room full of boisterous children. Students sharing schoolbooks that are in perpetual short supply, crammed in rows of battered desks. Children worn out after long treks to school, stomachs rumbling with hunger. Others who vanish for weeks on end, helping their parents with the year-end harvest. Still others who never come back, lacking the money to pay for school uniforms and school supplies. Such is the daily dilemma faced by many young people in the developing world as they seek to obtain that most precious of all commodities, an education.