The East African Community consists of:
The East African Community is a regional organization established to help improve economic, political, and living standards through integration and cooperation between these five countries. I focus on Tanzania and Rwanda for the moment but as I continue to travel around the region and learn more I hope to include all five countries. The lingua franca of the region is Swahili. English is also spoken widely as Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda were major British colonies. There are hundreds of other local languages spoken throughout the region as well. There are similarities culturally such as dress, food staples, and some traditions but there are important historical and cultural differences as well. For example each of these countries was impacted by colonialism and structural adjustment but not each of them has had a dictator or civil war. There is large-scale poverty across this region which leads to issues in education, health, political empowerment, and economic opportunity. There are also some of the largest HIV/AIDS rates in the world found in this region. Yet despite the tremendous barriers there is also a force of hope and progress. Individuals all over the region are working to make their community better through international and local collaboration. East Africa is an exciting place to study and travel to because of the growth and changes going on right under foot. |