If you sponsor a child, you should have received our "A Day in the Life of a Family in Uganda" in the mail! It walks you through their day, and it's full of fun facts. If you didn't receive one, click here.
One of the many jobs that men do in Uganda is brick making! Bricks are used for the traditional huts in the villages and for buildings in the city.
During rainy seasons (March - May & September - December,) they dig up soil and fetch water to make a mixture. They mix it with their feet until it is a thick, muddy texture. Everything gets covered with banana leaves until the dry season.
Using a metal “cookie cutter” type of cut out, they cut the bricks into rectangles. The bricks are then piled into a tunnel shape where they dry for 1-2 weeks. Finally, a fire is lit inside of the tunnel to heat the bricks. Brick makers manually load the bricks into trucks by throwing stacks of bricks to 3-4 other men in short distances.
Are you curious what a small business looks like in Uganda? There are so many different ways the families in Uganda make a living.
One of the most common things to sell in Uganda is food! Individuals sell fruit, vegetables and cooked food. You will see these "stores" along the road and in the market. Most spend the day in their gardens and then, they open their shop that evening!
Matooke
Matooke is similar to mashed potatoes, but it is a plantain! The green bananas are peeled, boiled and mashed. This is their main food source.
Posho
Posho is another main food source for most people in Uganda! It is cornmeal that is cooked with water to create a porridge. Typically, it's served with beans and some type of sauce.
Fruit
Uganda has some of the best fruit you will ever taste - bananas, papaya, watermelon, pineapple, mangos and so much more... Because of Ugandas weather conditions and fertile soil, many different types of fruit can be grown year-round.
Meat is only eaten on weekends or festive days. They sometimes will eat it on Sundays since that is a resting day and they can "enjoy their meal". Typically, it is only served once a month!
In the village, it is rare to buy food because most grow it themselves! If they do need to purchase food, they don’t have too long of a distance to walk since there are businesses EVERYWHERE.
Uganda is slightly smaller than the U.S. state, Oregon, but it's population is around 45 million!
Most of the children have more responsibilities than the parents. They help clean, fetch water and cook dinner (especially the older children.) The parents mainly focus on laundry and their gardens.
Uganda has the world's youngest population! The median age is about 16.
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