Ojapi
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Ojapi is a parish in the northwestern subregion of Uganda. Originally part of Tara Subcounty, it was carved out to form Ajira Subcounty in the Maracha East Constituency, Maracha District.[1]
Villages in Ojapi Parish include Aliamu, Baria, Erivu, Nacara, Oliapi, Onayi, and Palida. Neighboring parishes include Anivu, Ombavu, Pajama, and Vura, which hosts the Tara headquarters.
Ojapi was part of Arua District until 2006, as evidenced by the Post Office Box numbers still in use.
Ojapi Air Raid (1991)
[edit]On September 20, 1991, at around 11:45 a.m., two mysterious Antonov planes flew from the Sudan-Uganda border and bombed Ojapi Primary School, Uliapi Church, and the surrounding neighborhood, causing serious damage and casualties. The attack resulted in deaths (including Charles Driwale, a student in P3, and the pregnant Mary Jackson), leg amputations (such as Isaac Azabo), back problems (for Fred Adriko), and other losses like destroyed houses (owned by Jackson Sadraka and Joel Otoma).[2] Michael Afimani witnessed five bombs being dropped, with two hitting a hill near the school and three on the premises. Jimmy Aluma, the Headteacher of Ojapi Primary School on that tragic day, also witnessed the bombing and had his child injured.[3] The survivors formed an umbrella organization called the Ojapi Air Raid Victims Compensation and Rehabilitation Association. In October 2014, under Chairman Philliam Debo, they wrote to the President of Uganda requesting compensation.
Points of interest
[edit]Human establishments in Ojapi Parish include Ojapi Primary School,[4] Ojapi Catholic Church,[5] St. John Church of Uganda (COU) Uliapi in Nacara Village, government offices, markets, and other sites.
Hills visible in Ojapi, viewed anticlockwise from Mt. Liru in the north, include Kodro, Gala, Kadri, Adrofiya, Njeke (or Njakai), Orani, Luturujo, and Adada. Mt. Wati is to the east. Adventurers and tourists often write their names on the rocks and take small pieces as souvenirs or for research purposes. Red monkeys, rock badgers, porcupines, and other interesting animals can be found near some of these rocks.
Despite the abundance of rocks, the farmlands are very productive, and agriculture is the predominant economic activity. Crops grown include maize, cassava, ground nut, soya, coffee, beans, and tobacco, which is locally regarded as an important cash crop. Animals reared include cows, goats, sheep, guineafowls, chickens, and pigs. On market days, such as those in Ajira, people sell foodstuffs and other household items as the sun sets. The grasshopper is a seasonal staple food and emblem of Maracha, the Lugbara clan in Ojapi.
There are also various streams, small rivers, and forests.
A large number of parish members[6] are farmers,[7] though you will also find teachers, priests,[8] engineers, politicians, businesspeople, and other professionals.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Polling Stations - 2021 General Election - Visible Polls". visiblepolls.org.
- ^ "Maracha bomb victims appeal to govt over pay". Monitor. July 19, 2020.
- ^ "UPDF revisits pay claims of 1991 bombing victims". Monitor. August 18, 2021.
- ^ Africa Local - Ojapi Primary School in Tara - Maracha
- ^ "Tara is now Full Parish- Arua Diocese". www.dioceseofarua.org.
- ^ UBOS - Population by Parish Census 2014 - Northern Region
- ^ "Shs230m Nusaf projects commissioned in Maracha". Monitor. September 11, 2020.
- ^ "Arua priest on defilement". New Vision.
- ^ "Bitten: Heading Deep into Africa to Fight Malaria - Mountain Life". www.mountainlifemedia.ca. May 18, 2016.