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MAY 17th 2024  is "Wear Your Life Jacket To Work Day"

                          DIVERSITY AND BOATING SAFETY ; UGANDA VERSUS USA
I recently went back to one of my favorite Destinations for a short vacation and visit as it’s also my motherland; Uganda. As usual I kicked off by exploring and enjoying off the beaten path tours, because I ran a travel business, I love to discover and see new developments that have evolved especially in the tourism industry.One of the most significant tours I did were on the banks of the famous River Nile where I spent some days enjoying excursions along the river, I also took a visit to Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world.  Nature in Uganda is incredible, people are nice, and the weather is pretty whole year round. I really had a good time. As a US Coast Guard Auxillarist with good knowledge on boating Safety, I couldn’t help realize that there is very little or no water safety measures at all in some places. But I was amazed at how everyone works together humorously to promote the raw beauty of the country and try to ensure safety on the water. There is good number of multinational foreigners, who have
migrated to Uganda and invested in the Tourism industry. Investments include and are not limited to accommodations, water excursions, transportation and so on. I met a couple from Norway that operates a lodging business on the banks of the Nile, a team of people from the UK that operate tour excursions and water fun activities, a number of chines with local business, an Australian immigrate running horseback safari tours, a large number of locals from Uganda and neighboring countries of Africa also have booming business along the waters of the Nile and Lake Victoria.

Me and the local guide on our Canoe

As I was getting ready to do a private canoe tour on the Nile, I asked my guide who is the Canoe owner who operates a small transportation business with his canoe, why he didn’t suggest that I put on a life jacket or even put on one himself, he laughed it off in a calm respectful manner and told me the water is calm and that it’s a very short distance, clearly indicating that there was no need to put on a life Jacket. Actually he was right because the river was relatively calm. This got me thinking how conditional it is to wear a Life Jacket for safety! Popular operators on these
waters are the experts’ i.e. “Experts of the Nile” local tour guides and fishermen who rely on their own speculation to determine what the water is going to be like!!! Local guides are a big source
of information they are also aware and careful about the crocodiles; they keep track of their movements and ensure that they don’t meander into their habitants. By the way the Nile crocodile is the most dangerous crocodile on the African continent.

Me and a group of Nature lovers leisurely kayaking, paddle boarding and catching the sunset on the River

Navigating the Nile other water bodies in Uganda is relatively safer and perhaps very safe for tourists compared to the multitudes of local citizens especially those in remote communities that risk their lives on the waters everyday with no special knowledge or safety precaution yet they rely on the waters to survive.  Tourists get more safety attention than ordinary citizens, and have the means to keep up with water safety measures put in place.  For this reason, there are lots of fun
activities that take place on the waters without serious or fatal accidents. 

 River Nile Unlike the Nile, Lake Victoria is overly utilized by community at all levels and has had a larger number of fatal accidents and tragic incidences.  I felt obliged to share with you the diverse differences and approach to water safety in Uganda versus here in the United States. There is a magnitude of disparities that make water users specifically local communities of citizens of Uganda more vulnerable.  First of all it is estimated that about 5000 people die on Lake Victoria annually! What’s hard to imagine is that most fatal accidents that take place due to poor mechanical condition of vessels, negligence or Ignorance.  Most lake users cannot even swim! They lack life jackets because they are too expensive and those that are affordable by the most vulnerable people may not even compliant! Unlike here where life jackets are inspected and are readily available to masses, with flexible programs in place like the Life Jacket Loaner program, in Uganda it’s more like a luxury.  Lake Victoria which is surrounded by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, has lacked effective early warning systems to protect people that depend on it. Thousands of fishermen and small boat operators die on the lake each year. Locals get caught in deadly storms either because there is no weather warning or they do not receive the warning message.  It has just been very recently reported that weather forecasts are now being issued for the fishing community on Lake Victoria as part of a coordinated campaign to improve early warning systems and increase resilience to extreme weather in the largest freshwater body in Africa and the biggest inland fishery in the world.  Despite Uganda being a signatory to the marine law there is a big problem and big gap between the law and its implementation. There is little sensitization and minimal safety measures put in place. A major indicator of this and also cause of disaster is overloading especially for leisure boat users, It’s so bad that some boats have been reported to have loaded passengers twice the maximum limit of the vessel.  Inspection of vessels before sailing can also be under played because of corruption and the under staffing of official personnel.For example a vessel can be inspected by police before sail to ensure that everyone on board has a life jacket and that it’s not over loaded….which happens occasionally, but even then, chances are that when the boat sets sail and people start enjoying much, they tend to take the life jackets off. In some cases they get more people aboard who came in smaller boats to join the big party! A very sad and tragic example was of a boat that was taking passengers on a pleasure cruise along Lake Victoria, a popular weekend activity for young people in Kampala. This boat capsized close to shore, around 30 people lost their lives.As the death toll rose day by day people were saddened. It was said that this boat was in a poor condition; it had been grounded before it went out and that it did not have a valid license to operate that day! As the party got better, people aboard called in more of their friends to join, they were eating drinking alcohol beverages and just having a good time, when disaster called.

The boat set off to sail on that day. Images of people aboard posted on social media moments before the Tragedy

One reason many people died so close to shore was likely due to "intoxication,” said a police in charge of operations. He said that there were a good number of life jackets aboard the doomed vessel that passengers neglected to wear. But, that was not the only reason victims lost their lives!
Survivors also cited that they were not given any instructions on how to evacuate the sinking boat that instead they were merely told by the Party DJ on the mic’ to remain calm and to balance
the boat, as water was gashing in! People realized they were actually dying when it was too late.
They screamed and scrambled for help that alarmed nearby communities.  On another hand there is no proper protocol in place for rescue! Besides, police and Marine patrol don’t always respond with ultimate urgency or dedication, therefore nearby communities tend to take personal
initiative and role of “first responders “to help save lives. But without a standard protocol, rescue training or equipment, they are vulnerable and some end up losing their lives too. Like what happened in this case when first responders arrived.  The designated “trained” search and rescue does respond eventually at times in an unprepared manner i.e., without a medical crew to
help survivors! In this very incident some survivors were help out to the shore but without CPR or proper medical intervention. They did not access immediate medical attention in a critical stage of and they died after being rescued from the water! Onlookers were mourning and didn’t know what to do.On that fatal evening as it got darker and later the police force, UPDF Marines together with the community involved in intensive rescue that night managed to rescue 26 people’s with 13
bodies before suspending the rescue mission for that day! Even though they suspected about 100 people had boarded this boat! Just like here they joined forces to search and rescue but with insufficient resources and lack of training, their hands were tied. 

Live and fetal ‘First responders’ search and rescue in action Search operations resumed next day, obviously with no hope of finding survivors. Search and rescue capsized boat Just like the scenario of two men firemen that went missing in a small vessel in Florida, the coast guard along with other agencies did an all-out search that went on for days and stretched out for thousands of miles using a variety of resources, equipment and manpower. The search was finally called off on the fifth day when all hope was lost. Even with the most credible resources, a great rescue team and top technology a life can still be lost. It is paramount to carry out a broad range of boating safety precautions at all time and we should be prepared to serve in times of disaster which can hit any time. I really commend the US Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary for their due service, the efforts they pour in every single day, a good working environment they create, community outreaches and ensuring safety on the water. Thank you all for your service.