Prayer Walk
Through Moroto Town
(1)

Moroto is a town of about ten thousand people in east-central Moroto District. It is the governmental seat of the district and the largest population center of Karamoja. The town lies just to the west of the Moroto Mountains and is only about twenty miles from the border with Kenya to the east.

Moroto is about 350 miles northeast from Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The trip by road takes most of a day in good conditions, and longer during the rainy season. Road travel to Moroto is very hazardous due to the possibility of ambush along the way. Travelers are the frequent targets of Karamojong gunmen who lie in wait hidden in the bush, ready to stop any unarmed vehicles. Some areas are more prone than others to this violence, but no place is totally safe.

The Main Drag

Moroto town has daily electric service (usually 7pm to 11pm), several unpaved streets, telephone land-lines by UTL and cell service by MTN, but no running water. Moroto has some small businesses which are growing, including three hotels, recently built.

Moroto is roughly divided into various neighborhoods and trading centers. We come into town from the east, and walk down the "main drag." In the picture above, the dark building near the center and to the left of the tree is a liquor establishment. As in other parts of the world, dependence on alcohol to "take the edge off" of life can be a major difficulty to overcome.

Moroto Hospital

Taking a right turn, and traveling south, we pass by the hospital in Moroto. Although by outside standards this medical facility is quite modest, it is one of only a few such hospitals in the entire Karamoja region. Many Karamojong would have to travel days by foot in order to be treated here for serious medical conditions.

This hospital is a rare place of healing and medical help for those wounded by the violence associated with cattle-raiding and ambush. In years past, 60% of the conditions treated here have been spear wounds, and currently a large portion are bullet wounds.

Hospital care has improved greatly in the new millennium. Now, health care is government-sponsored.

Camp Swahili Chini

Continuing our walk to the south, we come to a trading center known as "Camp Swahili Chini," named for the common African trading language frequently spoken here. The name "Chini" is a Swahili word meaning "down." The people living in this area are not exclusively Karamojong, but a conglomerate of tribes.

The main market in Moroto town is here in Camp Swahili, and it is also known as the "slum" area of Moroto. The spirit drunkenness is powerful here--even over children. The drinking and brewing here has made the area even worse than it would be otherwise--it has become a filthy, stinking place that is very unpleasant to visit, but probably has the greatest needs

"Camp Swahili Chini," and other areas around Moroto town show a strong Islam influence, as demonstrated by this photo of a sign for the Muslim Primary School in this neighborhood. The Muslim Mosque is also near here. Mohammedanism is a frequent barrier to the Good News in Karamoja, as it is in other parts of Africa and the rest of the world. Prayer will be a key weapon in penetrating its walls.