The Bwindi Region

The volunteering projects are based in the Bwindi area of south-western Uganda. It is a beautiful rural area around 300 miles (8 hours in our vehicles) from Kampala, the capital. The nearest town on the tourist map is Rukungiri. It is a mountainous zone, 6,000 feet above sea level. The altitude keeps the temperature comfortable by African standards, an average of 18-28 degrees centigrade.The remoteness makes life a real challenge for the villagers. They are far from facilities that we take for granted, including electricity and water. The local children have to carry water from the valleys up to their homes and are expected to bring a jerry-can of water and a bundle of firewood before running off to school three or four miles away every morning.

Population	205,248
Population 0-5	43,747
Population 0-14	103,197
Population 65+	6,640
Sex ratio (males per 100 females)	93.4
Dependency ratio	114/100
Crude birth rate	55/1,000
Crude death rate	172/1,000
Infant mortality rate	122/1,000
Under five mortality	206/1,000
Maternal mortality	700/100,000
Life expectancy	48.9 yrs
Child malnutrition	60.2%
Population growth rate	2.31%

Source: Kanungu District Information Portal

The local community

Most local people have never spoken to a westerner and many children have never seen a non-African. This means that local people and particularly children are very excited, enthusiastic and fascinated by visitors. It makes teaching both inspiring and rewarding. Combined with the fact that education is not taken for granted, this means that pupils are keen to learn and relish the opportunity of having a westerner teaching them. Volunteers receive enthusiastic and appreciative support from teachers and staff working full time with the charities. Sometimes school teachers invite volunteers to dinner at their homes. This is a very fulfilling experience which we encourage, as we think it gives an even greater insight into how people live in rural communities in Africa. We encourage it by offering once a month to pay for the food for a different teacher from each school to invite the volunteers teaching at their school to join them for a family meal.

Poverty in Area

Over half of the population are under the age of 14 with over 60% of children being malnourished. Up to 50% of people are illiterate and the fertility rate is over 8 children/ woman. Over 85% of the population live on less that 1 US dollar each day and most people survive by subsistence farming. Education is the only way to break the vicious cycle of poverty. HIV/AIDS and unemployment are special challenges and school dropouts are most vulnerable.

Geography:	Uganda is a land-locked country lying on the equator in central Africa. It shares borders with Sudan, DRCongo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya. 20% of the country is covered by inland lakes. The rest ranges through tropical rain forest to savannah with mountains on the western border.
Climate:	The climate is tropical
Area:	197,058,000 sq km
Population:	30 million
Capital City:	Kampala (population 1.3 million)
People:	Over 20 tribes. Baganda (17%), Banyankole (8%), Basoga (8%), Iteso (8%), Acholi and Langi. Small Asian and European communities.
Languages:	English is the official language. Swahili and Luganda widely spoken.
Religions:	Christianity, with a sizeable Muslim minority.
Currency:	Uganda shilling (USH)
Head of State:	President Yoweri Museveni (elected February 2006)
Prime Minister:	Professor Apolo Nsibambi
Life expectancy:	52
Infant mortality:	66 deaths per 1,000 live births
Illiteracy rate:	30%
Population under 15:	more than half
Poverty:	35% below poverty line

Source: Foreign & Commonwealth Office