Sample activity of integration – Oral literature

We Ugandans know how to talk. Talking and learning through stories is part of our heritage and a long oral tradition passed down over generations. We easily greet one another and start up a conversation with a stranger. This is not the case in some other parts of the world I have visited, where people sit in silence for hours, not saying a word to each other! I feel sad that things are changing. Online chats and social media sites are causing us to communicate without speaking. When we have been away and have stories to tell, we do not tell them. We just send photos via a chat application. When we want to give someone advice, we send them a meme. When we want to know about a place and its past, we do not ask or listen to our elders. We use our phones and the Internet. Summary of key concepts In this chapter, you have learnt to: I am concerned that our oral heritage is dying. How will future children learn what behaviour is will we know about the past? Will acceptable in our society? How older and younger generations still communicate? How will we tell all our stories?

1. Identify the problem mentioned in the article.

2. Write a letter to the author of the article. In your letter, suggest ways in which the Ugandan oral tradition can be preserved. Include practical ideas about how we can keep communicating through stories and speech, rather than online.