Posta!

Uganda Post Limited is a fine institution that was put in place in the colonial days. Its new 'corporate image' name is "Posta Uganda".

A Postbus, ready for the off.  I like the familiar colour!

Each of the older more well established towns have a post office and some host a post bank or even an internet centre. Post buses run from Kampala out to all the major towns where the Post Offices sort into post boxes that can be can be paid for and allocated, a precious post box key being entrusted to the owner. They carry passengers as a convenient complimentary business. There are no door to door post deliveries; most people do not get mail anyway. And in an age of mobile phones and increasing email use the Posta is feeling the squeeze.

Pader town, alas, is neither major nor old and the bus stops at Kitgum, nearly 2 hours away. From there, post for Pader is forwarded by other means. Or it was until April; then the owner of the rented building in Pader locked the door over a dispute and the Office was shut up (possibly with some items of post still inside).

Some Current Uganda Stamps

Since then our post has piled up in Kitgum with the other Pader mail. A few weeks ago week we managed to liberate ours from Kitgum Post Office and I was able to read some birthday cards as well as some real letters! Thank you R & M, S & R and S.Bi for taking the trouble to use snail mail. It is great to get it...eventually.

Since it does not look as though the Pader office is going to open again any time soon, we have decided to open a Kitgum PO Box. So if you are still dedicated to snail mail (and I hope you are) then our new address is:

Emmanuel International,

Pader Restoration Resource Centre,

P.O Box 12,

Kitgum,

UGANDA.

We think we will probably be able to pick it up from Kitgum at least once a month; which is better than the Pader lockout. But nothing urgent please!