Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Karamoja Drive By

A couple of weeks ago we went to Karamoja for some needs assessment. Before leaving we heard all the rumors (some true, some not) from Ugandans such as, "oh that place is so very hot", "you should fear the Karamojong, the are very dangerous" and "don't look at their cattle."
Traditionally, every aspect of Karamojong life has revolved around their cattle. It is common knowledge among the Karamojong that all the cattle in the world belong to them and therefore they are entitled to anyones cattle. Frequently violence flares up as cattle raiders steal cattle from neigboring Karamojong and even ethnic groups beyond.
During one of our needs assessment, we asked what development projects would work well in Karamoja. One man stated that we should "start a piggery, because people can't run with pigs"