Cell Phones

I’ve often heard conversations about…well, truthfully I may have been the initiator of conversations about cell phones being a luxury. People in the United States, who can hardly afford food and gladly take government assistance, still manage to own cell phones and this somehow seems counterintuitive. Cell phones are/were a luxury not a necessity.

Because of some advance research about Uganda, I was aware of the popularity of cell phones here as a main form of communication. But my question was the same. How can people who truly have nothing prioritize the expense of a cell phone?

When asking about the importance of cell phones, two issues were pointed out. First, work here is scarce and not organized in a 9-5 manner like in the U.S. Plus, people don’t spend time in their homes given the types of homes most have and given the climate. Therefore, those who do have work (which is typically some kind of temporary job) may have an immediate need for assistance from additional workers and the only way to reach them is by phone. So phones are a lifeline to work.

Second, and this is my own observation, other than Entebbe road there are no road names or signs. Once leaving that main road, the subdivisions twist and turn and wind according to the whims of those who build there. Often visitors will call when they reach a designated landmark and the host will meet them at the main road.

In and of themselves, these two reasons seem to support the real need for a cell phone in Uganda.