Buganda is located in the southern central region of Uganda, along the shores of Lake Victoria touching the source of the great river Nile, along the equator right in the heart of Africa. Buganda is home to the nation's political and commercial capital, Kampala; as well as the country's main international airport, Entebbe.

The people of Buganda are referred to as Baganda (the singular form is Muganda), their language is referred to as Luganda and they refer to their customs as Kiganda customs. Sometimes the generic term Ganda is used for all the above (especially by foreign scholars).

'Uganda' (a Kiswahili word for 'Land of the Ganda') was the name used by the Arab and Swahili traders on the East African coast to refer to the Kingdom of Buganda. These traders first arrived in Buganda in the mid-nineteenth century in search of slaves, ivory, as well as other merchandise. When the European colonialists eventually extended their hegemony over Buganda and the surrounding territories at the end of the nineteenth century, they used the Kiswahili term Uganda to refer to the new colony.
Today, Uganda is made up of almost 40 different ethnic groups with Baganda being the largest group constituting almost 20% of the total population of 28 million. On his visit to the country, the late Winston Churchill was so captivated by its beauty that he called it the "Pearl of Africa."

Custom and traditions are central in the lives of the Baganda. They are socially organised under 54 patriarchal clans and trace their biological descent through the father’s line. Buganda's clan system is central to its culture. A clan represents a group of people who can trace their lineage to a common ancestor in some distant past. In the customs of Buganda, lineage is passed down along patrilineal lines. The clan essentially forms a large extended family and all members of a given clan regard each other as brothers and sisters regardless of how far removed from one another in terms of actual blood ties. Each clan has a totem, and it is forbidden to eat one’s associated totem. Marriage between people of the same clan is a taboo and is prohibited. The Kabaka, who takes on his mother’s clan is the only exception.
The Baganda took great care to trace their ancestry through this clan structure. A formal introduction of a muganda includes his own names, the names of his father and paternal grandfather, as well as a description of the family's lineage within the clan that it belongs to. The clan has a hierarchical structure with the clan leader at the top (owakasolya), followed by successive subdivisions called the ssiga, mutuba, lunyiriri and finally at the bottom the individual family unit (enju). Every Muganda was required to know where he falls within each of these subdivisions and anyone who could not relate his ancestry fully was suspect of not being a true Muganda.

THE KABAKA: A SYMBOL OF POWER AND DEVELOPMENT
Kabaka is the title of the king of Buganda. According to the traditions of the Baganda they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and the other material. The spiritual, or supernatural, king is represented by the Royal Drums. The drums are regalia called Mujaguzo and, as they always exist, the Buganda at any time will always have a king. Mujaguzo, like any other king, has his own palace, officials, servants and palace guards. The material, human, prince has to perform special cultural rites on the Royal Drums before he can be declared king of the Kingdom of Buganda. Upon the birth of a royal prince or princess, the Royal Drums are sounded by drummers specially selected from a specified clan as a means of informing the subjects of the kingdom of the birth of new member of the royal family. The same Royal Drums are sounded upon the death of a reigning king to officially announce the death of the material king. According to Buganda culture, a king does not die but gets lost in the forest. Inside the royal tomb, for example the Kasubi Tombs and the Wamala Tombs, one is shown the entrance of the forest. It is taboo to look beyond the entrance.
Until 1966 when monarchy was abolished in Uganda, The Kabaka was a unifying factor of all the people of Buganda. The Kabaka (Mutesa II) went into exile where he later died in 1969. The years of political turmoil and civil strife in Uganda, and particularly in the Buganda (1966 – 1986), led to the collapse of the infrastructure, social services and the decay of morals and values. Buganda, like many other areas that had traditional and cultural institutions, lost her Kingdom status as well as her cherished cultural development, guidance and leadership. Traditional values including hard work were seriously affected. This coupled with the brain drain that ensued, crippled the economy causing hunger, poverty, disease, ignorance, crime, and despair among the majority of the society.

Since the restoration of the Kingdom in 1993, The Kabaka is held in high esteem and commands great respect and authority among the Baganda (and among all Ugandans). The King uses his authority to mobilize people for development to ensure that the people of Buganda are united and are engaged in hard and productive work to uplift their social and economic well being. The years after the restoration of Kabakaship have had significant impact on the unity and social economic development of Buganda. The long forgotten “Bulungi Bwansi” (self-help spirit) is slowly returning to the people because of the Kabaka’s encouragement.

LIFE IN MORDERN DAY BWEYOGERERE
The Baganda in Bweyogerere have been at the cross-roads. The Kings palace is in the neighborhood at Kireka and is a constant reminder of their traditional values and customs. The annual celebrations at Namugongo Shrine, a historical site of martyrdom by a past Buganda King, are a constant reminder of the values of in catholic religion. Alongside this, there is a mushroom of Pentecostal churches that bring in with them new values and customs. With the capital city in close proximity and as Bweyogerere is a major communication route, the transfer of modern traditions and customs to the village can be described as astronomic. Constant intermarriages and in-migration have diluted the tradition and customs of the Baganda in this village.

With the ensuing peace and the accompanying accelerated socio-economic growth, the Baganda of Bweyogerere can no longer rely on agriculture as their source of livelihood. In past times, men contributed to household wellbeing through fishing, animal husbandry, hunting and working alongside women in agricultural food production. Women have been and still carry on with their role of handling labour intensive activities such as food preparation and house keeping. However, in Bweyogerere, land has been converted into residential and commercial plots by new settlers from other tribes. Although the domestic chores of women have not changed, men’s roles have now changed as many are contributing to the well being of their households through modern sector jobs such as: civil servants in government, workers in NGOs and private companies, employees in Hotels and industries or small scale business holders.

Traditional communal events that were used for passing on values and customs to the young generation have disappeared. The original social cohesion of the community has weakened and individualism is beginning to take root due to western social and cultural influences and the development of a capitalistic economy.

But there is an upcoming population of youths from the low income class, mainly from the indigenous Baganda in the village and job seekers from the poverty stricken rural parts of the country who are jobless and are increasingly trapped in the vicious circle of poverty. Among these, a significant number of male youths are engaged in the business of illicit drugs, robbery and other sorts of crime as well as early marriages.

On the other hand Female youths are out of circulation, probably marrying off early, joining the sex trade, baby sitting or simply assisting in domestic cores. The female youths are disadvantaged in terms of access to education and productive resources (land, employment and incomes) and are under represented in social groups where peer decisions are made.

For the male youths, leisure activities include sports, watching films and singing usually in the evening. Female youths play netball but on a limited scale.

ABOUT ME
I am Civil Engineer with 17 years' NGO experience in development and management of community based water and sanitation and other health projects that address needs of disadvantaged communities. Extensive experience in the use of participatory development approaches. Specialist skills and knowledge in strategic thinking and management, health research methods for development, results-based management methods, integrating gender into project planning and implementation. A Trainer of Trainer in logical framework analysis together with participatory learning and action, practical skills in participatory monitoring and evaluation. Have essential knowledge on core funding strategies. Able to link issues on environmental sustainability with poverty reduction. Have essential skills in teambuilding at the workplace and effective project leadership acquired from short courses and able to set up efficient project management systems. Excellent at preparing quality reports and development of proposals that reflect community needs.

WHAT WE ARE DOING TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION IN MY COMMUNITY
We have established a community-based organization whose aim is to work with other community based groups to identify, develop and implement interventions that will help them to escape poverty. In Bweyogerere, we are identifying and supporting youth groups to address the problem of poor waste management and access to unsafe water. We will also assist the youths to seek for ways of turning waste into incomes. These groups will be supported to address other development concerns.