1. At 241,038 sq km, Uganda is slightly smaller than Oregon. A good portion of that is water.
2. The biggest export is coffee! We enjoy it every morning and can testify to its delicious flavor.
3. President Museveni has been in office since January 1986 - wow! The State House (like the American White House) is just down the road and up the hill from our house.
4. The highest mountain in Uganda is 16,763 feet, Mount Stanley. Apparently we even have snow here, though I've never seen it. We have been able to hike around a few crater lakes though.
5. We have about 36 million people living here, and our family was just interviewed by the Census. That was an interesting morning - two ladies in Census aprons came and asked us about our religion, our computers, and our mail among other things.
6. According to the Ethnologue, Uganda has 41 languages. The reason we live here is to help bring God's living Word to people in their own languages.
7. Uganda is one of three countries (Kenya and Tanzania are the other 2) blessed to share Lake Victoria - the second largest fresh water lake in the world. Many Ugandans work as fishermen to support themselves and their families. Every week I cook Nile Perch from Lake Vic, and it has the highest content of Omega-3 fatty acids found in any fish. Unfortunately Lake Vic also has the parasite bilharzia, so we don't swim in it.
Tessa and Jack on the shores of Lake Victoria (before Cooper came along)
8. Here's a kicker: according to a recent edition of National Geographic, grasshoppers are 40% more expensive than beef in Uganda! Cheers to Uganda for eating "alternative" protein!
Tessa's arm has a protein-packed visitor
9. Uganda has the third highest birth rate in the world, following Niger and Mali. 49% of the population is under the age of 15. Life expectancy is 54 years. UNESCO cites the literacy rate at 65%.
10. Entebbe, where we live, is just a smidge above the Equator, but since we also sit at 3,800 feet elevation, we have a fantastic climate. On the thermometer we're basically between the 60's and 80's all year round - yep, we're spoiled. Another nice thing is that because of our location the sunrise and sunset are basically the same through the year too, getting light a bit before 7am and darkish around 7pm. There are about 80,000 other folks living with us on this peninsula jutting into Lake Victoria. That's just enough to have a lot of diversity, but not enough to have much traffic; a perfect combination.
We love where we live and are thankful that the Lord has brought us here! Come visit us and enjoy some great people, beautiful geography, and amazing animals.
* Some statistics, facts, and photos gleaned from:
http://www.ethnologue.com/country/ug/default/***EDITION***
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html
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