The official languages of Uganda are English and Luganda (some people also say Swahili but I can't quite tell). However, there are many different areas and tribes that speak their own languages, so there are tons of spoken languages around since people have migrated. In general, most people speak Luganda in order to interact if their first languages are less common. We have found, though, that many people also speak English, and those who don't all know hello or bye (some people use bye as hello, so it's clear they've just heard it but don't know what it means) and how are you i'm fine. Also, a lot of people understand even if they don't really speak.
The school we are working at, however, teaches all of the children English, which is how the girl wrote her note in English, and since the mothers all have children in the school, I think they all know some. Some of the mothers claim not to know English, but when the translators leave they randomly throw something out, like "Is this the right place to cut?" or "Does this blue go?" So even though a few of the ladies say they don't understand, they know more than they let on.
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