Ron and Sally Jo Blog

This past week we went to the National Theatre to see “The Cow Needs a Wife” put on by KADS (Kampala Amateur Dramatics Society).  KADS began in the early 1960’s, stopped during the Amin era and started up again in the 1980’s.  This play had won third place in the 2010 BBC all-African performance playwriting competition.  It was a thoroughly African play – written by a Ugandan, African content and humor, and mostly Ugandan actors.  Summary of the story:  A young man must raise money to buy a cow so he can pay a bride price to his girlfriend’s family.  He enlists the help of his unscrupulous uncle, but immediately after buying his cow the prospective bride refuses to marry him.  The uncle insists he must find a replacement bride as he cannot have the cow without getting married!  Thus the title.

Yesterday we went with D (from our office), wife and 3 yr old son to a Cranes (Uganda National Team) important qualifying soccer match against Guinea Bissau.  Because of the traffic and the queues at the gate we got in at kick-off.  There were no seats to be had.  The stadium was packed, all entrances had people 3-4-5 deep, people hanging on the rails, etc. etc.  D said he had never seen it full before and later learned that people had camped there the night before and gotten in at 9 am to get a seat!  We ended up watching the game standing outside the stadium looking through a large tunnel where we could see the giant screen.  The Cranes won 2-0!

Saturday and Sunday we experienced a wide range of cultures. Saturday afternoon we attended a wedding at a Pentecostal church of two DRC persons—mostly in Swahili which we don’t hear much in Uganda.  We recognized the flow of the language and could understand some words learned 40 years ago.  Of course, it helps to know what is usually said at a Christian wedding!  We enjoyed the dancing of the attendants as they entered and left the church and during the service.  Previous MCC reps had helped the man (who was a DRC refugee) find a home in the North Carolina.  He is now a U.S. citizen.  He recently returned to marry his fiancée and they hope to return to the U.S. soon.  (We were the only Caucasians in the audience.)

Sunday we attended a Church of Uganda (Anglican) service near our home.  Again, we were the only Caucasians in the audience.  The 2 ½ – hour service was mostly in English with some Luganda songs.  About 30 minutes of the service was devoted to accepting public pledges to kick off their building project for a new 2000 seat sanctuary.  (We took no pictures.)

We then attended “MishMash,” a monthly cultural event held in an up-scale home featuring a variety of Uganda artists—sculptors, painters, potters, contemporary dancers, jewelers.  An organization helping single women earn a living also brought crafts to sell.  There were several activities for children including face-painting, balloon-sculpting, and “art lessons.”

To end the day we attended a classical concert featuring oboe, violins, vocalists, and pianists.  The concert featured French composers and was held at the Sheraton Hotel.  We heard some great Chopin! At the last two events we heard French, German, Luganda, British and American English, Arabic, Italian, Dutch—and probably other languages.  There is a large “expat” community in Uganda with many government programs and NGOs working here.

Mengo Hospital Aids Clinic in Kampala is one of MCC’s partners.  One Saturday a month the Clinic has children/adolescent activities.  These young people either have AIDS, are orphans because of AIDS, or have parents with AIDS.  The adolescents learn and take part in a discussion of how AIDS is spread, how to take care of oneself, how one can avoid AIDS, etc.  During the second half they learn a craft which they can use to earn money.  The day we attended, one of the girls taught others how to make baskets.  The younger children gather for stories, activities, and then some general playing.

Tea is served along with banana, boiled egg, and bread.  During the day parents and caretakers also meet to learn about caring for an Aids person and to support one another.

A highlight for the younger children on this particular day was the distributing of school supplies since school was beginning the following Monday.  Each child received a school bag, new shoes, 12 notebooks, and 12 pencils.  MCC gives the money for these supplies which are bought locally.  MCC also gives money for other supplies used during these Saturday activities, for the snack, and for some staff time.

An MCC partner organization, located in Kamuli, runs a program called Hope Never Runs Dry. It provides school fees and other support to school children affected by HIV/AIDS. In some cases the students themselves have HIV/AIDS and in other cases it is their parents or other caregivers.

We met with some of the volunteers who assist with Hope Never Runs Dry. We visited a technical school and two primary schools which are attended by some of the supported students.  We met some of the supported students and also with an MCC service worker who provides assistance to one of the primary schools. The MCCer is here on a one-year program called SALT (Serving and Learning Together) and lives with a host family.

Recently we spent time in Jinja, located at the “source of the Nile” — the place where water from Lake Victoria spills into the Nile River and begins its long journey north through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt. Near this entry point the river descends quickly through a series of falls and rapids that provide recreation opportunities for kayakers . We spent a night in a small hotel / guest house and enjoyed the view from our balcony. It is said that two of Uganda’s past presidents frequented this same guest house.

In Soroti we met with COU-TEDDO (Church of Uganda development offices).  MCC has helped with peace-building activities.  Several leaders are trained in peace building who then train others.  These “peace promoters” live in the communities and try to step in and mediate conflicts .  There can be conflict in families and land conflicts.  In this area there are also many conflicts between the Teso and the Karamajong ethnic groups because of cattle raiding.  There are peace promoters on both sides who work to bring these two peoples together to live in peace.  There have been some villages built where the two ethnic groups live together.  MCC has helped start some “peace gardens” to help with livelihoods.  Citrus and eucalyptus trees have been planted.

Concerned Parents Association (CPA) was formed in the middle 1990’s when the LRA abducted 139 school girls one night.  A staff member followed the girls and was able to obtain the release of 109 of them.  The other 30 were taken in to captivity where they were forced into marriages or taught to use guns against their will.  In the last 10 years 25 of the girls escaped or were released, 4 died, and 1 is still unaccounted for.  Parents of these girls formed CPA to work for the release of all children abducted and to help them resettle in their communities when they return.  This is not an easy task.

CPA members train others to help when conflicts arise among the girls, in families, and in the community. We met with a rural support group who were trained and continue to be supported by CPA.

St. Monica’s Vocational School is a girls’ school for those who were once abducted by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) and have since returned.  These girls bring with them horrific memories and need help adjusting to community life, including making a living.  Many also bring children born of their forced marriages.  Courses in catering, tailoring, designing, weaving are held.  There is a nursery and preschool for children( toddlers to 6 years of age) where our MCC service worker helps out.

One of the projects at the school is building a plastic water bottle house.  These bottles are numerous!  Sand is pounded in to the bottles; the bottles form the wall with a mixture of 10 parts sand to 1 part cement to hold the bottles in place.  The building is approximately 15 ft x 15 ft and will be used as a guest room.  It is nearly ready for the thatched roof.

Another project for the girls is making purses out of metal flip top rings, ie, the openers for soft drink cans.  They are beautiful and unique.  A sweater type garment was even created.

We stayed on the third floor of a hotel in Gulu with a good view of the middle of the town.

Stella Matutina is a girls four-year secondary school.  The Global Families program of MCC sponsors 26 girls.  We met and talked with the girls.  Their stories of family conflict and abuse were difficult to listen to.  Several years ago there was a special MCC donation to build a science block for the school.  There are now good biology, chemistry, and physics labs–and girls interested in science.  There was also some extra money to buy solar panels — a logical solution to lack of electricity in this land of sunshine.

We recently completed a 6-day trip visiting MCC workers and partners.  We’ve included a map here to show the route.  The next four entries will describe some of the people we met, activities being conducted, and scenery we saw.