THINK OF YOUR LIFE

Think of any essential resources you take for granted in a western (first world) country like England and how you would cope without them - clean water, electricity, telephones, the local doctor, the health service, comfortable homes, shopping centres, credit cards, free schooling for your children, ample food, a good diet, and everything else that surrounds you.

Now think how you would cope if they were taken away from you. Not by your choice but by the actions of your country's leaders.

They threaten your life. They take away what wealth you have. They destroy your years of hard work. They wipe out whole communities and businesses. They ruin the infrastructure that you rely on for your daily life. They leave you destitute and unable to cope with the basics of living, let alone any possibility of generating a bright future. That's what happened to so many ordinary people in Uganda not so long ago.

And then your country becomes the worldwide centre for the HIV virus and AIDS, decimating even further a desolate and weakened population. You suddenly find you have at least 1,500,000 orphans to deal with. And you have no additional resources to cope with them.

The current government of Uganda is accepted as a positive, reforming body dedicated to enabling the people of Uganda to work toward a better, brighter future. But they cannot achieve this alone. They need us to partner with them in whatever way we can - whether in national, local or individual projects.

So, what is life like in Uganda?