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oezcerkesm | Reporter's Log

Garbage Parade

Twice a year in Hoima, a town in the northwest of Uganda, they have a parade that goes through the streets and collects plastic garbage from the ground. The town is full of plastic bottles and other things. The problem is: it is totally dry. And when it is raining, the water just flows away and doesn´t reach the roots of the trees. This problem has been well known for years. But because of the extreme dry season the problem is getting bigger and bigger. The government tried to solve the problem. But now the bishop of the Kampala region found a way to make the people more responsible. The religious leaders in the country have a huge impact on the Ugandans. The bishop for example encourages couples to plant a tree before they get married. And guess what – it is working.

Date

February 15, 2011

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oezcerkesm | Reporter's Log

Will there be a democracy in Uganda?

This week there are national elections in Uganda. Many people I asked about the elections told me that democracy does not work in Uganda. "What we need is a new strong dictator", a woman told me. "The people just make the wrong decisions, they don´t know what is good for the country". I travelled to the countryside near the border to the Congo. Many people in Uganda live in small villages like the one you see in the video above. Many of them are disappointed – they don't have jobs. For the past two years there has also been an extreme drought. The crime rate is rising fast. The people that I asked in the villages hope for a law-and-order president. Many say that Som daid Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator from the 1970s was not so bad. Having the freedom and democracy movements in northern Africa in mind I was kind of shocked and surprised. Are the people expecting demonstrations and riots during the election week? 'Yes', many said. Because they are quite sure that the results of the elections are going to be rigged. I'm wondering: What do they want? Free and democratic elections and a new dictator? What are they going to demonstrate for?

Date

February 14, 2011

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oezcerkesm | Ideas

It is all about climate change

GLOBAL IDEAS Reporter Manuel Özcerkes is filming in Uganda for his new report on climate education. Here he will meet the singer Angella Katatumba and a few more of the British Council Climate Champions.

In Uganda a lot of people are talking about climate change, there are campaigns to equip the people with knowledge. Even in school climate change is a major topic. But sometimes climate change is responsible for things I would never expect. The student in the clip explains that there is a flood in the UK and a man with his bicycle would eventually die in the water. And suddenly she shows the picture of a sad lady in Germany. She is not happy about the snow that is caused by the climate change. That lady with the sad face is the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 30 Minutes later I asked her if she knows who that sad lady was? She did not. She just did researches in the Internet. Well, sometimes the world wide web is not the right source for researches about the effect of the global warming or the reason why Angela Merkel seem to be so sad, I guess.

Date

February 10, 2011

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Klaus Esterluß | Ideas

Green Call: Angella Katatumba wants to stir up the youth

Angella Katatumba is the International climate change icon in Uganda, appointed by the British Council. The idea of the song and the appointment of course is to make climate change an exciting topic to the young people.

Here's a short interview with Angella featured at the Pied Magazine, an african eco online mag.

More detailed informations are available at musicuganda.com, a pretty interesting website that claims to be Ugandas leading music and entertainment website.

Date

January 18, 2011

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