Gulu

Gulu is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District in Uganda, located at 2˚46'00N 32˚16'00E, on the metre gauge railway from Tororo to Pakwach. It is the second-largest town by population in the country, with a population of 119,430 (2002 census). The town is served by Gulu Airport.

Overview

The town is home to a government military base for operations against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. Before the cessation of hostilities between the government troops and the LRA, up to 15,000 children, known as "night commuters", were fleeing into the town for safety every evening. There are three hospitals providing services to the town: St. Mary's Hospital Lacor, Gulu Regional Referral Hospital and Gulu Independent Hospital.

Gulu is the base of several radio stations including Choice FM which broadcasts daily to an estimated 5,000,000 to 6,000,000 listeners each evening. Other radio stations in Gulu include Mega FM 102.1, Radio Four 89.4, King FM 90.2, Childcare International 91.5 & 98.9, Norah Radio 92.1,UBC Radio 102.1 &103.1 and Radio Maria 105.7.

Gulu is the economic capital of Northern Uganda. The last 21 years have been war ridden, with many attacks by the LRA. However, since the spring of 2007, there has been relative peace since Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, moved to Garamba National Forest, in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as reported in the press.. These times of tranquility have brought much needed peace to the area and the town of Gulu is beginning to thrive economically again.

There are still many Internally Displaced Peoples' camps (IDP) throughout the area, where an estimated 1 million people are still living. Peace has also brought a lot of help from the International community in terms of Non-Government Organizations. These NGOs are helping the community in various ways by providing food, medical help and rehabilitation centers for formerly abducted children. The NGOs have also created many jobs in the area. Gulu is the home of Gulu University, which has a wide range of programs ranging from agriculture to medicine, business management and conflict resolution.

The Acholi people are the main inhabitants of Gulu Town (80%). The majority are Christians. There are a range of spoken languages including Luo (sometimes spelled Lwo), Swahili, English and Luganda to name a few.

See also

* Gulu Walk

External links

* [http://www.gulu.go.ug/# Gulu Information Portal]

Notes and references

* http://www.ucc.co.ug/RadioAndTVBroadcastingStations.pdf

* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/UG/30/Gulu.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 1077m (Red dots are railways)]