Working in Uganda
About Jinja
Uganda is a landlocked East African country. Countries that border it are: Sudan to the North, Kenya to the East, Democratic Republic of Uganda to the West, and Tanzania and Rwanda to the South. Despite being located along the Equator (the Equator passes through Uganda twice), Uganda has a mild, equatorial climate, mainly because of its high altitude. The capital city of Uganda is Kampala. There are other smaller towns, including Entebbe where the international airport is, and Jinja, an industrial town.
Situated eighty kilometers from Kampala, Jinja is a small town at the source of River Nile. It is the second largest town in Uganda, and historically, was the biggest industrial town. Jinja has a golf course and health club, and a few restaurants that serve Indian food and other cuisines. Despite the above, socially, the life in Jinja is not very vibrant. It has Hindu and Sikh temples and Mosques within town. Jinja is slowly developing and due to the high demand of power throughout the country and most of the power being hydroelectric being supplied from dam(s) in Jinja, there is frequent load shedding. There are various supermarkets in Jinja, owned by Indians, which sell Indian food stuff and other commodities of day to day sustainability. The cost of living in Jinja is less than that in Kampala.
Basic facilities e.g. health, education, banking are available, even though not the best and most advanced. Most African banks have branches in Jinja. There is basic medical facility available. There are primary and secondary schools in Jinja, although the standard of education is not comparable to big cities. Overall, it is a small, quiet town and perhaps, the biggest advantage is the size of Jinja - to get to any place does not take more than five to ten minutes.
