Little Boy in Boat on Lake Victoria Shore

Lake Victoria is huge. It's the second largest fresh water lake in the world, after Lake Superior in the United States. Remember the great lakes of the United States? Your teacher may have given you the word “HOMES” to help you remember the lakes. Each letter is the first letter of a lake: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. In East Africa, we also have a great lakes region. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda border Lake Victoria.

Lake Victoria is the source of the Nile River. As the “source,” waters flow from Lake Victoria north through African countries all the way to Egypt and into the Mediterranean Sea. Fishermen in Lake Victoria catch Nile Perch and Talapia. Hippos also live in the lake. Crocodiles are found around Tanzania and Uganda, but Kenya's portion of Lake Victoria, which is like a very large bay, does not have crocodiles (thank goodness!).

The boy in this boat lives near the lake and his father is probably a fisherman. He may grow up to be a fisherman, too. Cows roam around, eating grass, like the one in the picture, and it's possible this boy is in charge of watching over the cow.