Week 7: Uganda - The Pearl of Africa

Hujambo (Hello!) from Uganda. I was sad to miss Extended Day this week because I was sick. But, luckily, Erica Luetzow (Will's mom) came to the rescue and led the group to East Africa for our Uganda adventure.

Many people know Uganda for its amazing animals. People come from all over the world to go on safari and see the elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, chimpanzees, hippos, crocodiles and more!

But, the people of Uganda are just as interesting! The class played a game to learn about the day-to-day life of the Ugandan people. Here are some things we learned:

• In Uganda, 40% of people have no clean water. Millions of children in rural parts of Uganda often miss school because they must spend the time collecting water for their families.
• Because gasoline and cars are expensive, many people get around on bicycles and motorcycles. There are even motorcycle taxis called "boda-boda."
• In Uganda, schools are not free. Parents must pay tuition plus money for books and uniforms. Often, extended families will all pitch in to raise the money needed for school.
  
• The most popular sport in Uganda is soccer -- but they call it football.

The people of Uganda do not have a lot of money - about half the population live on less than $1.25 per day. But, they have creative ways to work with what they have. The class did a craft from Uganda to highlight this: beads made out of old magazines. If you'd like to try this at home, see familyfun.go.com/crafts/paper-beads-664236/ for instructions.

I can't believe that next week is our last Extended Day class. I've had such fun traveling with you all. Looking forward to learning next week about Australia and having a last-day-of-class celebration.