Ben Oyat: My Hometown
Ben was born in Sudan but grew up in Uganda. He says it's a beautiful country but very different from Winnipeg.
Audio (1:18)
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Ben Oyat
Age: 18
Community: Uganda (Ben was born in Sudan)
Languages:
Acholi, Arabic, English
Hobbies: Playing checkers, basketball, and reading.
Favourite cultural artists: Lucky Bosmic Otim
Favourite traditional foods: Ugali
Country/Culture Information
(from the 2008 CIA World Factbook)
Name: Uganda
Population: 30,262,610 (July 2007 est.)
Capital: Kampala
Languages: English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Area: 236, 040 km2
Economy – Export commodities: coffee, fish, tea, cotton, flowers, horticultural products; gold
Government: Republic
Flag of Uganda
Ben Oyat: My Culture
Ben doesn’t see too many differences between Ugandans and Canadians.
Here, he talks about the important values for Ugandans: community, family, food, and language.
Audio (2:37)
Ben Oyat: Bridging Cultures
Ben sees many similarities between the Aboriginal and African cultures.
Audio (0:49)
He also thinks a difficult adjustment for new immigrants is communication, especially if they’re not fluent in English.
Audio (0:20)
Ben Oyat: All About Me
Ben talks about what he’s most proud of.
Audio (0:43)
He likes to dance, and his dancing style, including Ding Ding,
makes him stand out from most Winnipegers.
Audio (1:47)