The Journey To TARADISE

My ancestral home (Baria Village in Ojapi Parish, Ajira Subcounty) is roughly one hour by car or motorcycle (about 6,000 to Nyadri or around 15,000 UGX all the way in Twenty23) northwards from Arua City; gone with the wind. Ojapi used to be one of the seven Tara Subcounty parishes before Ajira Subcounty broke away from the Kololo Village-based Headquarters; the original Tara wards got their identity from Ajua's great-grandchildren namely: Ojapi, Ajulepi, Yidu (Pajama Area), Oliapi (Oliyepi), Aruwe, Rendu and Vura. Villages in Ojapi Parish include Aliamu, Baria, Erivu, Nacara, Oliapi, Onayi and Palida while neighbouring parishes according to Land Conflict Mapping Tool (LCMT) include Anivu, Ombavu, Pajama and Vura which hosts the Tara headquarters. I'm from the Grasshopper Clan of Lugbara. Maracha (not the place in Ayivu but District north of Arua City) rocks my world like Taradise; JESUS is the Way...

The main route to Tara from Manibe Roundabout on Rhino Camp Road (Arua) is via Oreku; across River Enyau to Lokira Godo at the Ayivu border with Maracha; through Robu, across River Imve, Okokoro Junction, Kijomoro, across River Oluffe where the remains of the old bridge are still visible like a heritage site that can be metamorphosed into a Graffiti Art canvas or other creative venue and people bathe in the river as it flows to Miriadua Falls; Koyi (that has a statue of Po the Kung-fu Panda striking a one leg standing-kick pose) to Ovujo City (Cico, St. Joseph's Maracha Hospital and Cathedral plus Big Brother Maracha), Nyoro (that has Rokoze Crater Lake which I wish was fittingly christened Lake Maracha), across River Ayi to Nyadri City (NYC)...

To get home, you branch right off the Koboko Highway from any of two points: either the shortcut bypass near Nyadri Market and across River Aliro or further ahead on the Koboko Highway and through Azipi, Loinya, across a river bridge plus via Karongo (which was part of Tara too from days gone by) while viewing interesting rock formations on both sides including two mountains namely Mt. Wati (one of West Nile's Highest Points) in Terego and Mt. Liru in Koboko; climb up to Ajira where the subcounty administration block is before reaching Ojapi Primary School and Uliapi Church of Uganda...

Suffer patiently!

Enjoy the Maracha View!

Frankly my dear, I do care!

EDUCATION

We are all related, even since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden plus through intermarriages. I've always wished that there was a calculative technology system that documents plus possibly links Clan members and everyone else all over the world like a huge Matrix: Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), Electoral Commission plus NIRA limit data collected in UG; Facebook tried with relationship lists on account profiles, then WhatsApp groups took it to another level but some people do not own smartphones while others have already departed from Earth and cannot chatback (Necromancy is prohibited). However, do they cease to exist and vanish into oblivion from the clan, forgotten by those left behind? No way! When American Senator Barack Obama was running for Presidency, I saw an African Woman Magazine Issue 24 (probably September 2008) article (Society: A Visit with Grandma Obama, Page 72-73) that showed a photo of him with his Kenyan cousins in Kogelo Village and asked myself why we should know other families by correct faces more than our own. Of course, I know very many relatives, but there are others I honestly don't, including the departed. Why should I cram the names given to multiples of fictional relatives created by William Shakespeare while studying Literature in Ugandan secondary schools to pass exams and fail to name my own extended family in the correct pattern? Is that what Education is about or was that just a foundation? As a result, I embarked on a personal research journey with the guidance of my parents (like Adi [Lugbara legends], Familia Pati [Family Tree], Froots [Fruits & roots] or www.Ancestry.com) and found some of my ancestors who are resting in Lado (West Nile) plus much much more. Here is my Genealogy that can link me to so many other relatives (literally everywhere):

11th Generation: Nayia, oku [Lugbara Translate: wife] Odrudru (from Aliba Ojepi in Ayivu [Elafia ma awizi])

10th: Angusara (considered the forefather of Ojapi Baria Clan), oku Oninurua (from Wandi)

9th: Oyoroa, oku Bacia (from Onzoro)

8th: Olevua, oku Ayizeru (from Katri)

7th: Oguze, oku Curua (from Alarapi)

6th: Onangu, oku Oninirua (from Logbira)

5th (Great great great grandfather): Maru, oku Okualuru (from Rendu - Wandi people in Maracha)

4th (Great great grandfather): Ari, oku Aweru (from Lugu)

3rd (Great grandfather): Galia Asendu, oku Tabacia (from Luja in Koyi)

2nd (A'bi [Grandfather]): Petero Dobo Enaa, oku Esita Yitiru (from Vura Parish in Tara)

1st (Ati [Father]): James Oguzua Dramani, oku Elizabeth Ndezo (from Aliba Ojepi in Ayivu)...

The last time I met my paternal grandmother, she looked frail and walked using a stick with a bent back. Tears formed in my eyes and silently in my spirit, I asked GOD to give her more strength. She was the last and only connection I had to my ancestors; some people meet their great grandparents but for me, I never saw any of my grandfathers. I always referred to grandma as Ita, didn't know her fullname until later. I gifted her a portrait of herself I had inked at home on Mt. Wati Road (Arua) and she tucked it inside her Bible. She could still recognise me even with her partial blindness, "Dhi Oguzua dri [This one is for Oguzua]..." Oguzua is the name my dad was called in Ojapi. When Ita died on 1st December 2004 at 98 years old, noone told me until I read an email from my big brother concerning the loss at the UCU Tech Park in Mukono a week later. I was sad inside during that sunset, but didn't cry, just spent the early night with the campus classmate I wanted to marry; didn't even tell her that I was grieving but used her company to console myself. Unfortunately, it turned out to be my Least Successful Semester on campus out of six in terms of academic performance (Got 3.8 GPA during that period) though I had dedicated my exams to my grandma: Introduction to Radio Production was my Worst Performed Course Unit (56 percent, - C) throughout my uni career. Ita accepted JESUS in the 1920s when the Whiteman preached in Maracha and her legacy lives on through her descendants; she was from Tara Proper...

Ojapi (Points Of Interest)

Human establishments in Ojapi Parish include Ojapi Primary School which suffered the 1991 Air Raid from two Sudanese planes, Ojapi Catholic Church,<ref>[https://www.dioceseofarua.org/Tara2022.php Diocese of Arua - Tara Sub-Parish Is Now A Full Parish. "Be Vigilant And Continue Growing In Love, Faith And Hope." Says Bishop Sabino (12 March 2022)]</ref> Uliapi Church of Uganda in Nacara Village, government offices, markets and others.

Hills viewable in Ojapi anticlockwise from Mt. Liru in the north include Kodro, Gala, Kadri, Adrofiya, Njeke (or Njakai), Orani, Luturujo and Adada. Mt. Wati is in the east. Adventurers and tourists write their names on the rocks and take small ones as souvenirs plus for research purposes. Red monkeys, rock badgers, porcupines and other interesting animals can be found near some of these rocks.

Despite all these rocks, the farmlands are very productive and agriculture is the predominant economic activity. Crops grown include maize, cassava, [[Bambara groundnut|ground nut]], [[Soybean|soya]], coffee and beans and tobacco, locally regarded as ''Assets'', grown as a major cash crop. Animals are al reared including cows, goats, sheep, guineafowls, chicken plus pigs. On market days like at Ajira, people sell foodstuffs and other household items as the sun sets. The grasshopper is a staple food and Emblem of Maracha, the Lugbara clan in Ojapi.

A large number of parish members are farmers<ref>[https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/shs230m-nusaf-projects-commissioned-in-maracha-1860282 Monitor - Nusaf Projects Commissioned In Maracha (Wednesday 20 November 2019)]</ref> though you will also find teachers, priests,<ref>[https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1094113/arua-priest-defilement New Vision - Arua Priest On Defilement (by Dawin Dawa, 31 October 2004)]</ref> engineers, politicians, businesspeople and other professionals.<ref>[https://www.mountainlifemedia.ca/2016/05/bitten/ Mountain Life (Live It Up) - Bitten: Heading Deep Into Africa To Fight Malaria by Todd Lawson]</ref>

What will make Arua attractive?

Every locality has its ish [issues, e'yo], but problem solving manages each of them. How did you deal with bullies in school; were you really afraid of them? Either you sought help from teachers plus true friends, stood up for yourself and faced off with the pricks or silently waited for fate to torment them (metaphorically like a street garbage grinder or refuse compactor truck when they climb inside to hide or rest); life is karma like a 40 day cycle (though a cement mixer can be a less fatal lesson). Bullying opens the door to hatred, aggression and violence. There are two types of bullying: Verbal like mocking, ridiculing, teasing, insulting, degrading, taunting, slandering (defaming), gossiping about, criticising or name-calling eg addressing a disabled girl as "Half Kilo" and Physical which is more painful plus involves hitting, shoving, slapping, cutting, punching, slamming, damaging property, stealing belongings, etc. Do not murder, rape nor rob (These three grave crimes resonate with the 6th, 7th and 8th Commandments from Moses): Thieves including armed robbers and pickpockets think they are very daringly clever and powerful like community bullies behind Adriko Factory plus on Rhino Camp Road but Arua lynch mobs do not care; they enforce their own justice as crowd vigilantes. According to www.justicecentres.go.ug, Mob Justice is an offence in itself because it is not authorised by Ugandan Law and violates human rights; the accused are not given a chance to defend their case through a fair trial. However, when corruption in Police and Courts of Law sets criminals free, it annoys people who resort to beating up wrongdoers themselves.

For the many beautiful young mothers in Arua, instead of jailing them, try to consider the possibility that they were either defiled or forced into marriage even though it could have been their personal romantic choice too: pubertal feelings start at any age. Children are a blessing from GOD, not unwanted offspring. Ending teenage pregnancy as a campaign is unachievable (Reducing it due to health complications is sustainable but adolescents are capable of motherhood); even Mary probably gave birth to JESUS at 14 (Jewish maidens were marriageable by that age) while Peruvian Lina Medina gave birth to a healthy 2.7 kilogram son named Gerardo when she was only 5 years 7 months and 21 days old (World Medical Record). Early marriage with parental consent is not entirely a disgrace especially when it gets better and better like wine; the Ugandan age limit is 18 but six countries namely Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan (even at 10 years) and Yemen allow marriage below that. In Tanzania, marriage at 12 is allowed but consummation is at 15 years. Meanwhile, China requires women to be 20. Every woman has her own timezone, not all of them can give birth at 90 years like Sarah in the Bible). A school girl in Arua was asked what she wanted to be in future and she replied, "Become a member of Mothers Union!" Who said being a mother is less weighty plus less honourable than getting academic papers or school certification? I once overheard two women arguing and the one with more degrees (Masters plus PhD) dissed the other with only a Diploma that her brideprice was less than hers. Come to think of it, enjawulo [the difference is] zero! Being a mother is graduation to another level and in Lugbara culture entails a cow for each child born. Education is not only acquired in school; dropouts can read books in the library or online at home: Learning never ends. Besides, GOD provides (With HIM, no creation lacks food or necessities), age is just a number and a degree is only a paper; even graduates have financial struggles. 

Arua does not have a very big lake nearby (only rivers), but you can find plenty of fish in the different markets, from the small affordable silverfish locally called ngenjia to angara (salty fish) and nang nang snacks from Pakwach to the amazing government-guarded, highly valued export-only Mputa [Nile Perch aka Goliath Baramundi] harvested down south (in Murchison Falls or Kabalega National Park and Bantuland). Growing up in Jinja, I had my own fair share of the delicacy (Some kids we played with even smelled like fish throughout because their parents sold byenyanja). Wait until tomorrow, ola nya mputa si [eating cassava with Nile Perch]; roger that Terah Fish, five loaves and two fish! Sudanese fish is also transported to the Arua Central Market, as well as tinned ocean varieties like sardines. Fish always live in water, but smell funny. My favourite fish used to be fried tilapia in Bantuland, but oi from Obongi (Yumbe side) is also something else... 

Hotels near Arua

The summarised list below contains a few of the many hotels (accommodation, conference, parking or eating places) you might find near the Heart of West Nile:

Arua Hill Hotel is a haven for sports fans...

Bayan Hotel in Yumbe is a classic venue...

Borderlands on Oluko Road will baptise you with hospitality...

Capital One is a happening venue that lights up the Arua nightsky; I guess Franco (Congolese musician) or Batman would love it...

Christus Centre in Ediofe is not only a guesthouse but has a restaurant too...

Coco Palm is a venue for events to remember when you visit Arua...

Desert Breeze Hotel in Osu Village is still upper echelon even if awarded only 3-stars; Arua Hill SC footballers would chillax at the Desert Breeze swimming pool after UPL afternoon matches in Barifa (Forest) Playground...

Dreamland Kuluva is where you can live your dreams. It's described online as a 4.5-star hotel and has a swimming pool...

Eripak Resort hosts a lot of events near the great River Enyau, the biggest tributary of River Nile in West Nile. It also offers a swimming pool experience...

Golden Courts allows bookings via WhatsApp and email, so even if you are abroad, you can still get reservations. It may look small but is quite big in stature because of quality services; comfort guaranteed! Golden Courts Hotel is where I watched the final of the first FIFA World Cup on the African continent (2010); Fabregas to Iniesta...

Golf Club (at the NSSF Building) is another active place where sports lovers enjoy themselves. When golf or political events are held at the West Nile Golf Course, it takes centre stage...

Heritage Courts has hosted so many concerts including Jose Chameleone and Ebenezer shows. I used to go there for airtime and haircuts. Heritage Park, some meters ahead on the same road hosts many people too...

Hilltop originally owned by Jackson Atima sits at the top of Arua Hill. Fille Mutoni had a concert there, "You are my only! Never leave you lonely..."

Hotel Arua used to be Hotel California like The Eagles's classic song...

Hotel Pacific is the oldest hotel in Arua...

Jershem Hotel is beside Dorcus Inzikuru's government-given house...

Le Confidentiel adds a different colour to the Eruba skyline at night...

Le Tsuba Grand Hotel shines a pristine aura around the Anyafio hood near the Arua Presidential Suite; Archbishop Kazimba Mugalu of the Church of Uganda passed there one Saturday evening during his July 2023 visit to West Nile...

Oasis 24/7 and Bamboo on Enyau Road bring an Eastern touch to the Northwestern locality...

Oasis Inn is a veteran in the industry...

Ripons Motel in the centre of town is a home away from home...

Rocks and Roots sits at the eastern foot of Arua Hill...

Royal Crane Resort, a sister to Tropical Suites, is near the Yellow Corner (Weatherhead Park Lane junction to Oluko)...

Santa Maria was where Queen Sheebah held her concert after Covid-19 lockdowns...

Slumberland is not far from the Arua Hill roundabout...

The Village is a modern, recreational establishment smack in the middle of Kololo Village in Tara and offers DStv, cold drinks in a wide bar with comfy sofas. Also available are lodging facilities. Tourist attractions near The Village include Ofude Hills, Mount Liru and Wati, the highest mountain in West Nile...

Tropical Suites, formerly Hillview welcomes you to Arua City...

White Castle Ewuata changed the hospitality game by introducing a swimming pool in the area...

White Rhino used to be a 3-star pad during the days of Idi Amin...