Field Trip

Im back in Kampala...relaxing and reflecting on the first 3 months in the Congo. This time last week I was in the middle of my first field trip, which proved to be very eventful. Myself and Karin visted the town of Wamba, about 2ookm North of Isiro, to visit some Medair projects going on in that area. The roads were terrible, the car broke down, we got stuck and even managed to visit some Pygmy villages. This is where Medair's programmes have become a bit blurred between emergency and development programmes. We have constructed some health centres, helped to provide some medical kit and trained some of the medical staff. Wamba is not an insecure area, but is desperately poor.


The road from Isiro to Wamba. Not exactly the M1. Its about 200km. It took us 11 hours.

Crossing the Poko river. North Eastern Congo.

A pygmy village. About 20km north of Wamba. There are about 50,000 Pygmies living in the forest that surrounds Wamba. They try to live their traditional lives as much as possible, but they are extremely poor, their tribes have been ravaged by illnesses such as leprosy and terbuculosis. They are a forgotten people, ignored by the government, reached only by a few NGO`s, missionaries and some inspirational individuals.

Im at the back of this picture with 2 friends, Dr.Jose and Fr.Justin, a Catholic priest. Both reach out to the Pygmy community, with pastoral and medical care. Some of the health centres have even built small huts for the Pygmies, as they feel uncomfortable inside the normal hospital strutures. Its small acts of community like this that really give me hope for the Congo. Individuals reaching out in love to transform lives. Amazing.


The Pygmies still hunt with the bow and arrow, poisonned lethally at the tip. This picture was also supposed to give you some idea of their size. The health centre in Wamba, built by Medair.

Inevitably we got stuck on the way back home. It looks more like a river than a road.

In transit…

I’m hanging out in the Amsterdam airport, in transit to Uganda! In a few hours I will catch my plane to Bristol, UK to visit with my friend Tracey for a few days. Tracey & I worked together in Kaabong, Uganda with Medair during my first year there.

I’ve had a great send off from home and am looking forward to arriving back ‘home’ in Uganda again soon. I hope to have more pictures and stories for you again soon!

Come Let’s Dance stories #4: The Farm

From the Come, Let's Dance website:

Another dream of ours that just became reality is a farming micro-business! In September 2007, 20 acres of farmland was purchased in the village of Mwera. With Uganda’s rich, fertile soil, farming has a promising future! Our ultimate desire for the farm is to be able to grow food and house livestock in order to establish a self-sufficient resource for the Kid’s Home as well as multiple other programs where additional finances are needed.

Goals

1. Self- Sustainability on several levels
   
   
   • A perpetuating food source supporting the Kid’s Home
   • Growing food to feed the hungry in the community
     
     
2. Provide jobs and life-long skills for the Ugandan Management Team
   
   
3. Market/sell product and livestock
   
   
• Evaluate financial growth, taking the steps to become a self-sustainable micro-business.
  
  
4. Become a vocational/training center
   
   
   • Provide training and jobs for those who are unemployed and desperate for employment

Completed Farm Phases!

Phase I: Fencing off the entire 20 acres, build one bunk house, and secure a water source

Phase II: Test out the success of growing vegetables, and raising pigs and chickens on four acres of land

Phase III: September 2008, we worked with EmI (www.emiusa.org) testing and designing the farm.

In March of 2009 we are hosting a fundraiser to fund the program.

“The options are really endless when thinking of the farming opportunities in Uganda. A multitude of crops can be grown, there are a variety of ways to utilize the produce, and farm animals can fit seamlessly into the system… One thing is certain; Africans already know how to farm.” - Brian Ripely – MS in Animal Science/Management Systems

Drawing resources from experts both in the US and abroad

Engineering Ministries International
brings together architects, engineers, and design professionals who donate their services by putting together formal master plans for other organizations’ building projects.

Love Mercy staff from the branch in Kenya has been increasingly helpful with offering resources, expertise, and project outlines. With a successful organic fertilizer program in full swing, Love Mercy has been an integral part of envisioning the potential of the new 20 acres.

Kira Farm and Training Center has served as a realistic example and model for what can be done, and what we hope to accomplish. They secured 22.5 acres in Uganda where they formed a vocational training center for Ugandan young people.

Farmers of Mt. Elgon, Kenya is managed by Colorado native, Bill Yeager. He has established a network of farmers in the Mt. Elgon region of Kenya to produce organic onions in their rich, volcanic soil. They allow us to visit and glean advice, we’ve been grateful to learn from all their success, specifically in marketing our products.

Also check out this site for a brochure showing this process in the works!!!

My last weeks in the states

Lots of visiting with friends & family!

Riley & Micah (my former roomies)


Ryan & Maddy (niece & nephew)


Maddy Jane


Danielle, me & Kelli (friends from college)


Danielle & John

JT, Bekah & Kelli

Constance & I


Jen & I


Goodbyes at the Perk: Austin & I


Ashleigh & I


Debbie, me & Teri

Effects of the War, Isiro

Yesterday myself and my friend Karin managed to take some photos in the old rail station in Isiro. Built by the Belgians, amazingly, it was operational until 1996 when rebels completely destroyed and looted it. It has never been used since. Too far away from Kinshasa to matter, it has never been restored. You can imagine what it was like in its heyday. Now just another symbol of a shattered infrastructure

The railway. You can see the power cables. Completely overgrown and left in ruin.

More pictures of the rail lines. I was stood on the platform taking the photo, but even that has been overtaken by jungle.

Not sure what this was. Could have been a taxi, or a bus to transport passengers. Its lying in the grounds of the station.

One of the train carriages, in the old maintenance warehouse

Some of the old machinery sat in the workshop. Apparently still in resonable condition, but it cannot be used because there is no power or fuel. The guy with me used to work at the station, since 1972 so he told me. They have not been paid for years, but him and few others turn up every day to guard the equiment and show people like us around. Can`t imagine there are many visitors. I have to say i don`t understand why they turn up everday. He told me they went on strike a few years ago but they were completely ignored, so eventually they just came back, presumably as they were unable to find jobs anywhere else. Maybe they have some blind hope it will be restored one day. Crazy!!!

I think this was a generator. Now just left there, never used. What a waste!!! More transportation. Burnt out and left to rot. In the grounds of the station.

The old entrance to the rail station. You cant really see it here, but there were obvioulsy some gardens in front of the station. They are completely destroyed now.

One of the old buildings still standing at the station. 1000 employees used to work here apparently, they exported coffee, soap, fruit all over the Congo.

Old fuel tank.

The old ticket office. Abandoned.

The reality

The reality of working in Africa can be quite difficult. There is a steep learning curve, it can be challenging and exhausting. I remember, back in Manchester a few months ago, I was talking with family and some close friends, how I needed a fresh challenge, that God was calling me to something new, away from a secure, comfortable, happy environment at home to something more unknown in Africa.

mmm..be careful what you pray for? No Im joking, so far I`ve loved every minute of my time with Medair in the Congo. Through the ups and the downs, I have a great sense that im in the right place and God is really at work. There are definately challenges to working in this part of the world though. I am enjoying being stretched in many different directions.

The strongholds of poverty and dependency can mean that a lot of poeple are out for something. When they see a white face, they see dollar signs. You have to be very careful about you present yourself and the organisation you work for. Its very easy, with a Western mindset, to see the material needs here....money, clothes, school fees etc. There is a huge danger of setting a precedent if you decide to give some support to one individual. Even letting somebody use your internet can cause problems...before you know it you have the entire community asking if they can use your computer, at all times of the day. Its almost expected. Knowing how to manage these expectations is a skill I am still learning.

Then there is the problem of corruption. Its endemic in Congolese culture. Mobuto, when he was in power, said in a national newspaper "If you want to steal, steal a little in a nice way. But if you steal too much to become rich overnight, you'll be caught.". Mobutu was a notoriously corrupt leader, rumoured to have stolen over $5bn. There is a natural level of mistrust and suspicion in Congolese culture. Meeting with Congolese customs officials in recent weeks has been a testing experience. Naturally, the office in Isiro seems to have made up its own rules, they are completely different to the rules employed in Kinshsasa. We had a tricky situation, trying to prevent some of our motorbikes being impounded. We managed to negotiaite our way out of it, with some prayer and divine intervention helping us on our way. They really wanted us to pay the fines more than anything else, despite the fact that that we are a humanitairan organisation here to help the Congolese. Also our motorbikes are pretty important as our medical supervisors use them to get out to the field. Aarghh!!!

Managing Congolese staff can be challenging. Proactivity, initiative, planning, all key activities in Western organisations, are ofthen skils that are missing here. These are, of course, generalisations but management skills, especially when managing projects, seem to be a particular area where we can really develop capacity. Timetables, schedules, deadlines are not really followed. Communication can be frustrating as well, especially when you have staff based in several locations. There is a real opportunity for capacity building here

Im loving all the challenges so far though, and I still have lots to learn. Its a steep learning experience, no doubt about that. I will be ready for my holiday, at the end of August. You certainly need the regular breaks when working out in the field.

"The Birth of a New Nation" by MLK Jr.

I've been reading through the autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. and also some of his speeches - thanks to Mark for the recommendation. His life and actions are to be highly admired & I believe should still be heeded as we seek to battle injustice all over this world today:

"Freedom is never given to anybody, for the oppressor has you in domination because he plans to keep you there, and he never voluntarily gives it up. And that is where the strong resistance comes. Privileged classes never give up their privileges without strong resistance...
We’ve got to revolt in such a way that after revolt is over we can live with people as their brothers and their sisters. Our aim must never be to defeat them or humiliate them...
The aftermath of non-violence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of non-violence is redemption. The aftermath of non-violence is reconciliation. The aftermath of violence however, are emptiness and bitterness. This is the thing I’m concerned about. Let us fight passionately and unrelentingly for the goals of justice and peace, but let’s be sure that our hands are clean in this struggle. Let us never fight with falsehood and violence and hate and malice, but always fight with love, so that, when the day comes that the walls of segregation have completely crumbled in Montgomery. that we will be able to live with people as their brothers and sisters...
We must come to the point of seeing that our ultimate aim is to live with all men as brothers and sisters under God and not be their enemies or anything that goes with that type of relationship...
The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks. And those people who tell you today that there is more tension in Montgomery than there has ever been are telling you right. Whenever you get out of Egypt, you always confront a little tension, you always confront a little temporary setback. If you didn’t confront that you’d never get out. You must remember that the tensionless period that we like to think of was the period when the Negro was complacently adjusted to segregation, discrimination, insult, and exploitation. And the period of tension is the period when the Negro has decided to rise up and break loose from that. And this is the peace that we are seeking: not an old negative obnoxious peace which is merely the absence of tension, but a positive, lasting peace, which is the presence of brotherhood and justice. And it is never brought about without this temporary period of tension. The road to freedom is difficult."

CLD Stories #3: Loving, living, dancing

The following I believe I shared a year or so ago, but felt like it was another great snippet of life with CLD, so here it is again. My friend Nicole is a beautiful writer and a gorgeous person. Here she is sharing about some weeks during the summer of 2008...

Wow a lot has happened these last two weeks but I’m going to try to convey the happenings as best I can capturing the mood, the feelings, and the realizations that have occurred…
Last Friday, I sat in an African clinic crying with Charlie, a six-year-old little boy who had malaria. As the doctor injected the iv, Charlie kicked, squirmed and tried to bite the doctor, and an aid had to hold him down because I wasn’t strong enough. Charlie screamed out “Mama” repeatedly, and I helplessly watched absorbing his wails for a non-existent mother. I tried comforting him as best I could kissing his forehead as if me being there made up for a mother that isn’t.

The next day, we went out to the village, where the Come Let’s Dance farm is, to do a medical outreach. Some of the teams that are here have pre-med students, and one guy John is a firefighter with some paramedic experience. They handled the big stuff while others played with kids, and others took care of the less serious ailments. For me, it meant that I ended up flossing kids’ teeth for a few hours. Teeth that had never been brushed let alone flossed, and were black and soft with decay. I was the cause of several bleeding gums, and a lot of tears from fearful kids. Since I was the only person dealing with teeth word got out, and so many people came to me and pointed out their toothaches, and severely cavitied mouths, pleading for me to do something. I can’t pull teeth, or fix cavities, or make the pain go away. I just had to say “sorry” in my makeshift Luganda accent and send them away. I never knew how much it hurt to look a destitute person, with no hope, in the eye and say “there’s nothing I can do.”

This and so much more are the backbone of our days, and weeks, and when people at home ask, “how is Africa?” I think about the non-existent mothers, and the there-is-nothing-I-can-do’

s and the fact that at the end of the day I still come from a very different world. I’ve been thinking about how these experiences and the life I live out here are beginning to become numb and normal, but I got a wake up call this last week.

I’ve always been romantic, and ideal… when I first stepped off the plane in Africa last January I legitimately thought I was going to save the continent. I have now realized my naivety, and have grown aware and accustomed to my hopeless and discouraging cynicisms, not brushing them off, like I used to but instead welcoming them as my rite of passage into adulthood. Discovering that the world isn’t ponies and rainbows, and that a humanitarian revolution isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I have begun to be lured by the darkness of a cynical view of life, considering myself more mature for seeing pessimism instead of optimism, responsibly understanding that negativity comes along with growing up.

Jeremy was reading a book called Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, and he finished as we were having breakfast the other morning, and slammed it down on the table with a huge smile and said “wow, that was like the best book I’ve ever read… can I please read you guys part of the epilogue?” Susan and I agreed, and the part that hit me the most was as follows:

“I have lots of reasons for bailing on the whole thing… I have a choice. To become bitter, cynical, jaded, and hard. Anybody can do that. A lot have… there is a lot to be repulsed by… Or… I can choose to reclaim my innocence… we can insist that hope is real, and that a group of people… really can change the world. We can reclaim our idealism and our belief, and our confidence in the big ideas that stir us deep in our bones.”

I was slapped in the face by my darkened view of what it means to be a leader, and becoming a grown up. “Anybody can do that” the words continue to echo in my ears and through my thoughts and I have begun to understand the challenge that I now face. I don’t ever want to return to naivety and ignorance, but I want to see uncluttered reality embracing the horror and the wonder just the same, and decide to love it, because it’s life.

Two nights ago we all gathered for a group goodbye party at the kids’ house, because all the summer volunteers leave this week. We spent all day playing games, throwing kids up in the air, and holding them until they fell asleep. We had a huge dinner with all the Ugandan leaders, kids, and volunteers, and set up speakers and had a huge dance party in the lawn by candlelight. As I soaked up the wealth of new dance moves, all the devastation of the past two weeks seemed to slip into the shadow of the candlelight we were dancing in, because that night sums up why we’re doing what we’re doing. It’s about sharing a meal, building relationships, holding hands, laughing, smiling, dancing… it’s about community, and making enough room in the dancing circle for everyone that wants to join.

I don’t think I can save Africa anymore, I don’t think one day there will be no more orphans… But I think sharing a plate of food with my Ugandan friend Ann, spinning Charlie around until I’m too dizzy to stand, and dancing until it hurts makes it beautiful anyway.

Loving, living, dancing,
Nicole

ZOO

This past week I got to go to the Denver Zoo with my good friend Christina & her kids, Herbie, Ali & Bowman. We had a lot of fun running around & staring down the animals. Its so fun to see them through the eyes of a 4 year old!!!

Thanks, Christina for letting me be part of your family for the day! I had so much fun!



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For What Its Worth

I have just finished reading Simon Guillebaud`s `For what its worth`. Simon has been a missionary in Burundi for 8 years, living through some pretty interesting, dangerous times. The book is essentally a call to radical discipleship, to complete surrender of your life to Jesus. The book brings out some interesting points, many of which i was contemplating when deciding to come to the DR Congo with Medair.

Following Christ was never meant to be easy, comfortable or safe. Its supposed to be tough, real and impacting.

`Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a 3 piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fabrics, choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind numbing, spirit crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing yourself in a miserable home, nothing more than en embarassment to the selfish brats you`ve spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future.Choose LIFE`

This, of course, come from the closing scene of the cult film Trainspotting. Its raw and cynical and relfects the grim pessimism which embodies the films central character, Renton, a heroine addict. While this is not representative of most people lives in our modern society, his sentiments that life are meaningless resonate with many. His escape is drugs, to get away from the mundane, but what choices do we have?

The choice I was confronted with was to follow Jesus, to really follow and trust my life to him. To go to the Congo or not. Either that, or settle, settle for less than what God had for me. Many Christians fall into this trap. They turn up for a church on a Sunday, they live a comfortable life but they are not fulfilled in their relationship with Christ, they complain and wonder why? My hope for myself, and for you, is that we can live a life where opportunites are seized, gifts maximised, risks taken, obstacles overcome, storms weathered, people impacted, and most importantly, our calling is filled.Choosing life involves embracing and enjoying Gods awesome creation and the opportunities life presents us with. As followers of Jesus, we have the choice to embrace or reject a life of puropse, fulfilment, meaning and challenge. Are we going to settle for the safety of existing, where life is comfortable, or will we choose to embark on the adventure of really living. Jesus is calling each one of us. will you say no or will you say yes?

CLD Stories #2: Threads of Life

One of the projects going on through Come, Let's Dance is a sewing shop in the slum where women are taught practical as well as business skills to give them a way forward to provide for their families. Here is Shane's, CLD's founder, June update:

On Saturday afternoon we graduated the 3rd annual Sewing class — we were all there for the event — I was the guest speaker, Ricardo designed the certificates, Catherine handed them out, we all had sodas, David was the photographer and Solomon made graduation sashes for them all to wear:) this team will now move into an Intermediate class while we start a new group of only 5 ladies on July 1st — we decided to overlap the groups this time and keep them smaller. The teachers, Irene & Aisha, are 2 former graduates of the last class and now they’re the teachers — they were so proud! I was so proud. Their products are getting so good. We now have a booth at the local craft market every Friday and we’re getting another this Saturday to the tourists. Ricardo, our CLD designer that God sent out of no where, is right now in town printing stickers of the new Thread of Life logo that he’s designed us — it’s all coming together for us this month, which is close to a miracle when you’re rehabilitating slum women out of prostitution and destitution. That’s the Truth!

Wide Awake

I’m just finished reading this book called Wide Awake by Erwin McManus. Below is an excerpt from the final chapter where he is using this example to begin a discussion on the importance of imagination in each person to not settle, but live into their fullest potential. I thought it really embodies our vision with Come, Let’s Dance and tension we hold as westerners trying to come alongside and dream with our Ugandan friends:

Africa cannot be fixed; it must be re-created. Not by us who have even the most noble of intentions, but by her own heroes. We must serve them and make their journey less perilous where possible – and more possible where impossible. It is they who must reimagine Africa and lead in her re-creation…

I’ve seen how poverty can create a famine of the soul. Dreams become a luxury when your sleep is filled with the pangs of hunger. I have also seen how having can be the enemy of imagining. The more you have, the more you have to lose. The longer you have, the more you become dependent on the available resources. Wealth often moves us to depending on resources where once we were depending on resourcefulness. If we are not careful, what we have can establish the limitations of what we imagine.

Kivu, Rwanda and the Genocide

A few people have written e-mails asking me if have i met Hutu`s and Tutsi`s in the Congo. So I just thought I would write a little piece to explain the complexity of the political situation in Eastern Congo and why I have not met any Hutu`s and Tutsi`s. It makes my head spin a little but I will give it a go.

Isiro, where I am based, is located in Haut Uele Province and there are many tribes in this area. All living peacefully alongside each other, it seems. Of course, this region is now suffering because of the LRA attacks. Especially as you head further North towards the town of Dungu

Medair`s main base in the Congo is in a town called Bunia, in the Ituri Province. The two main ethnic groups in this area are the Hema and Lendu people. The conflict in Rwanda between the Hutu and Tutsi people is now well known throught the world, after the genocide in 1994 and events since. People tend to know much less about the conflict between the Hema and Lendu tribes, which was at its height in North Eastern Congo between 1998 and 2007.

If you head further south to the Kivu provinces, North and South, this is where you will find the ethnic hutu and tutsi people living. The FDLR (Democratic Force for the Liberation of Rwanda) are now the prominent hutu force in this area. Some of the guys fighting for this militia fled Rwanda after committing the atrocities in the genocide, they are formerly known as the Interhamwe. Others have joined as well.

In recent times the CNDP (National Congress for the Defence of the People), have also been operating in the Kivu`s. They are Tutsi rebels, apparently protecting the tutsi population. Their infamous leader, Laurent Nkunda, is an ordained Christian minister! In a famous piece of political manoeuvering, he was arrested in Rwanda in January.

As you can see its pretty complex. There are many other abbreviations as well. FARDC are the Congolese army, UPDF is the Ugandan military. I could go on...and you also have to think about the abundant supply of natural resources in the DR Congo and who wants to control what...that discussion is for another day. I can`t think of many other parts of the world which need the transforming power of Jesus as much as this forgotten part of Central Africa.

I have added the map as well, so you can see how the geography fits.