Uganda | Kiva

Stories tagged with Uganda

Apr 4, 2013 Uganda

As a life-long foodie one of my burning questions before coming to Uganda was “what is the food like?” After two and half months in Kampala I’ve had my share of Ugandan food both in the city and in the village.

Most offices have subsidized lunches which can cost as little as 1,000 UGX ($0.40) but most are probably around 2,000 to 3,000 UGX ($0.80 to $1.20). A bargain either way! The typical meal is made up of at least 2 types of starch, a protein, and vegetable.

Sadly, I’ve discovered that seasoning or spice is non-existent in Ugandan... Continue Reading >

Mar 3, 2013 Uganda

This past weekend I discovered what Kampalans do to escape the hustle & bustle of the city….they go to Jinja! Like any cosmopolitan city it's typical for its residents to fly the coop for the weekend to popular, more relaxing destinations. Many people visit family outside the city or go on trips with friends to surrounding areas. Traffic jams are a daily headache for anyone living or working in Kampala and it’s not uncommon to sit in them for hours at a time, but they are especially bad on Fridays as endless streams of cars and buses pour out of Kampala.
... Continue Reading >

Mar 3, 2013 Uganda

As a Kiva lender, I would often find myself looking at the slew of pictures and video on Kiva’s website and wondering about the moment the images were captured. This past week I was able to experience firsthand when Ryan, Kiva’s Video Production Manager, and Liz, Kiva’s Media Fellow, visited Kampala for several days to capture images from two of Kiva’s partner organizations I am working with in Uganda: Solar Sister & Grameen Foundation.

Kiva loans for both organizations work as business-in-a-box models whereby the... Continue Reading >

Dec 12, 2012 Costa Rica, Uganda

The Ticos Who Touched My Heart By Jane Imai

just some of the lovely Ticos I met during my fellowship

It never ceases to amaze me how you can connect with people who are completely different from you. Maybe you don’t speak the same first language. Maybe you grew up on opposite sides of the world, or you were born in different decades. But somehow, despite all your differences—and perhaps against all odds—you find commonalities. And what’s more, sometimes you realize that below the surface, maybe you’re not actually all...

Dec 12, 2012 Uganda

Solar Sister and Kiva: Helping Women Entrepreneurs to Bring Solar Light to Rural Uganda By Laura Sellmansberger

Laura Sellmansberger | KF19 | Uganda

Roughly 1.6 billion people in the world do not have access to reliable electricity. Lack of power is a complex issue that results in countless other problems, and it is both a cause and an effect of unremitting poverty. Without light, children are unable to do their homework and study. Midwives must perform deliveries in the dark. Children, especially girls, often spend hours a day collecting firewood to be used for light and heat instead of going to school. Mothers are forced to cook with kerosene,...

Dec 12, 2012 Uganda

The Rolex that You Can Eat (…and it tastes oh so good) By Laura Sellmansberger

Laura Sellmansberger | KF19 | Uganda

Uganda offers its visitors a wide variety of foods to sample, but many would agree that the most delicious of these is the rolex. What is a rolex, you ask? I have heard many people describe the Ugandan rolex as something similar to the “breakfast burrito,” a peculiar food item that can be found at a number of American fast food chains. For purposes of basic mental imagery, this description may not be too far off; however, I personally believe that this comparison fails to give the rolex the credit that it deserves. That...

Nov 11, 2012 Uganda

Grameen Foundation and Kiva: Partnering to Bring Life-Changing Agricultural Information to Rural Communities in Uganda By Laura Sellmansberger

Laura Sellmansberger | KF19 | Uganda

CKWs in Masaka practice using their new equipment (photo credit Ravi Agarwal)

Kiva recognizes the unique power of the interest-free capital it provides through its lenders. The zero-interest aspect of Kiva’s loans enables its partners to act boldly and to try new things, to go the extra mile to reach new groups of people, and to fund loans that Kiva characterizes as highly catalytic. Kiva uses the term ...

Oct 10, 2012 Uganda

Boda-Bodas: Kampala’s Most Efficient Form of Transportation, for Better or for Worse By Laura Sellmansberger

Laura Sellmansberger | KF19 | Uganda

If you’ve never been to East Africa, you may not have heard the term “boda-boda” before. A boda-boda, or “boda,” as it is more commonly referred to, is a type of motorcycle taxi driven in East Africa, and more increasingly, throughout other parts of the continent as well. To say that there are a lot of boda-bodas in Kampala would be an understatement. Boda-bodas are everywhere in this city.

Bodas in downtown...