Holidays and Celebrations
The nation of Uganda celebrates twelve national holidays. During these days, all government and public learning institutions are closed. In most cases, most businesses also close to celebrations.
Death and Burial
The people of Uganda (Baganda) attach many superstitions to death. The superstitions vary with the tribe, but their similarity index shows them to be quite similar. It should be noted that some of the superstitions have faded to an extent. Death is feared, and the remains of a dead person are usually buried after five days since the occurrence of death. The burial is followed by thirty days of mourning (generally one month), after which there is a break of ten days, which ushers in the okay Columbia1. During the days of mourning, the neighbors and relatives are not allowed to engage in any form of manual work: this is meant to be a consolation signal to the deceased’s relatives (Barlas and Lin 74).
Education and Healthcare
The Ugandan education system has four stages: the nursery school level, the primary school level, secondary school level and the university and tertiary institution levels. The nursery school level also called kindergarten is the pre-school level; children attend nursery schools at the age of three years. The duration of a nursery school level is three years. The next level is the primary school which takes a duration of seven years followed by the secondary school level in the duration of six years and lastly, the university level whose duration depends on the degree being pursued (Kavuma 1). There are international schools, which do not necessarily adhere to the Ugandan education system.
Uganda healthcare is under the management of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uganda. The ministry runs a number of programs, departments, and projects aimed at raising the standards of healthcare in Uganda. There are also institutions, which are affiliated to this ministry. Public hospitals are divided into national referral, regional referral, and general hospitals (Ministry of Health 1).
Value System
Uganda people are very kind and welcoming. They have high regard for a family. Men are generally accepted as the heads of their respective families. Visitors are positively viewed especially in a family setup, and they are to be well-fed and treated well during visitation. On the other hand, government institutions have encroached with corruption. Payment of bribes to have a way through is common among the Uganda public officials.
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Power Distance Index
The power distance index is averagely at 64 indicating that the Uganda people prefer hierarchies in their social system (Twinoburyo 1).
Individualism
The Ugandans generally prefer being collective and this shows that their individualism score should be very low. This is in line with the East Africa score of 27 (Uganda is a member state of East Africa).
Masculinity
Ugandan males are generally assertive though women are coming up and have occupied various government offices (Twinoburyo 1).
Uncertainty avoidance
The East Africa score is 52, and this indicates that the Ugandans generally are not very strict or keen on changing situations around them (Twinoburyo 1).
Long-term orientation
The Ugandans are very long term oriented. Their score in the East Africa community is at 25 (Twinoburyo 1).
Works Cited
Barlas, Robert, and Lin, Yong. Uganda. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2010. Print.
Kavuma, Richard. “Explainer: The education system in Uganda.” The Guardian 8 February 2010. Print.
Ministry of Health. About us. Ministry of Health Republic of Uganda, 2012. Web.
Twinoburyo, Stephen. Uganda, explained by our Cultural Dimensions. Word Press, 2012. Web.
Footnotes
- This is a funeral rite carried out after ten days since the end of the one month mourning period. In this funeral rite, children are formally identified as belonging to the clan and given clan names (this is the reason why many Uganda people have more than two names).