Cities & Villages

By Myles Gnaster

When viewing the towns and cities of ventral Uganda my first reaction was to try to relate it to life back home and see the similarity so I could be less culture shocked. Even though there are some similarities I have come to reality with the differences, such as the trash everywhere.

Back home it is similar but the amount and commonality of it was much more here, also the reasons behind it are different. One of the main things I had to contend with especially on the ways back and forth from Bombo Town was the children sometimes naked or half naked on the side of the road during school hours. A majority of the time the parents weren’t present. This is something I rarely see in the US.

But overall I do really see that this place needs a lot of help as I observe more like the items that are commonly sold and the stores such as the sports betting. I learned the deep systemic issues and how many times it’s tied back to government corruption.

Overall I will never forget the things I’ve seen on the roads here, the looks on people’s faces or the state of their yards and houses. I hope one day I return with a better understanding of the reason why things are the way they are and how I can help change it.