1. I continue being a support worker, between 30-40 hours per week.
2. I wrote my support letter after receiving my budget for returning long term to Uganda.
3. I just put close to 250 snail mail letters in the mail, with my support letters inside and stuffed church mailboxes
4. I have 10 homework assignments, due by January 18th - some involve reading books and other involve interviewing immigrants. I completed one paper already - a Country Assignment. Here I some interesting facts that I learned:
Karen’s Ugandan Overview Assignment
This was an insightful assignment, as I have gained a deeper appreciation for where I will be heading. Uganda is a poor country, with 35% living below the poverty line. It’s next door neighbour, Rwanda, is even poorer, with 60% below the poverty line. These two were the poorest of all the countries I studied, with Uganda’s GDP being $312.04 and Rwanda’s being $269.74. I also looked at Cameroon, which is on the same continent. The population is half way between Rwanda and Uganda, but it has a much higher GDP, at $1098.31. Religions were mainly Catholic and Protestant in Rwanda and Uganda, but in Cameroon, the Indigenous beliefs topped the charts.
The African countries had the worst transportation statistics, with 2-4 vehicles per 100 people, where as it goes up from there around the world. India has 12/100, Ecuador has 44/100, Ukraine has 98/100, Canada (which I studied because that is where I am from) has 563/100 and USA shockingly has 765/100.
All of the countries have a debt, but I found it surprising that Ecuador had such a high national income, at 13+ billion dollars. Age Distributions primarily show a pyramid pattern, but the Ukraine, USA, and Canada show a more box-like looking pattern, with the ages starting to even out or even decrease. I also noticed that Ukraine has more women than men, and in India the life expectancy is a lot higher.
I was surprised to see how much agriculture each country produces. There is a lot of diversity between crops. I was shocked to see that the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide, but I guess that shouldn’t be surprising when one notices the number of vehicles. Both Canada and the US are very high producers in acid rain and air pollution.
I found it sad that deforestation, soil erosion, desertification and overgrazing were seen in all of the countries except for in North America. Small populations in large areas verses large populations in small areas and illegal exporting might explain some of these insights. I also found it sad that Yemen, at 15.1%, and Rwanda, at 35.7%, have people living for under $1/day.
I have gained a greater understanding of how hard Ugandan’s and Rwandans struggle to survive or even do their work. I will pray that Christianity will become the major religion in Uganda (and all the countries!) and that those of us who are called to serve will be strong and courageous in our faith.
I will also pray for the many babies who are born that will not make it past the first couple of years of their lives, due to sickness, disease, and war. I will pray for peace to reign, for governments to be honest and civil. I will give thanks for serving in a more democratic country, and I will pray for those who are serving in Yemen under Turkish Islamic law.
I am glad that God calls us each to different countries and I see the need to pray for the whole world because problems abound everywhere. Border disputes, missiles, religious conflicts, and more fill people’s time, but I long for the day when we will all be worshipping the King of kings!
... well, that's enough of a break for me... I must get back to work!!
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