80% of Uganda is engaged in agriculture. The healthy economy of the 1960s was crippled in 1972 by the expulsion of the Asian business community, and then virtually destroyed by tyranny and wars. It has steadily improved since 1992. Under previous government regimes there were restrictions on persecuted Christians, but there is now freedom of religion.
In 1918, as a group of AIM missionaries made their way to Congo from Kenya, they were held up in Uganda waiting for one of their members to recover from severe sickness. Whilst there the Church Mission Society (CMS) asked them to help feed those facing starvation during a famine that year as CMS had a shortage of personnel. Following this, the group was then asked to stay and help reach out to the people west of the Nile, where CMS were yet to share the love of Jesus.
So, AIM settled in Arua and baptised the first 26 new believers. Although the church in that area got off to a slow start, 40 years later, thousands had been baptised, hundreds of churches were in existence, and Ugandan Christians were being ordained as pastors in the West Nile area.
Now, in the 21st century, a 2002 census showed that approximately 80% of the country’s population said they were Christian. As a result, the work of AIM is directed towards encouraging believers to live their whole lives in a biblical way. We work together to share the love of God with those we come across and look to engage the unreached within Uganda, in neighbouring countries and throughout the world. Those who come to work with AIM in Uganda do so alongside Ugandans in many different situations, from youth work to hospital work, schools, hospitals, orphanages, businesses and farms.
The Apostle John had an amazing vision of the risen Christ in all his glory. But not many of us have seen a vision of God as John did. Instead, we can be tempted to project our understanding of the world onto how we view God. Caroline Bell talks about how moving to Moroto, Uganda, has shaped how she sees God and his character.
Like most of the world, schools in Uganda have been impacted by Covid-19. Ugandan schools have not been fully open since March 2020 (although international schools are now happening online and will probably soon be reopening on campus in some form). Those taking exams this school year returned in October, but many children who really need school are still not allowed to attend.
‘Look up at the sky and count the stars…so shall your off-spring be’ (Genesis 15:5). Time and again in the long years that followed, Abraham would have been reminded every time he looked up at the night sky of this promise from God.
A Rolex is classic Ugandan street food, sold at roadside stalls across Kampala and other urban towns. Vendors shouting ‘rolled eggs’ often sounded like they were saying ‘Rolex’, and the name has stuck! Why make this tasty Ugandan street food for breakfast?
In Uganda, grasshoppers are a delicacy in many communities, and are usually served boiled or deep fried. Insects are a really nutritious food. If you had to design a bug to eat, what would it look and taste like?
We interview Sam and Derrick about what role there is for western missionaries to play on the mission field in Africa
