Post-Bombing Update

Hello everyone!

Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, and other good energy. We all continue to be safe and, with some minor adjustments, have continued about our program just as we had planned. The hotel seems to have beefed up security even more than before and we certainly are taking extra precaution now. But on the whole, life continues in Kampala much as it did before the bombings. People are off to work, roads are just as clogged with traffic and people selling things. The sun still came up and we still headed out on our journeys.

Yesterday we were able to visit a number of very cool organizations. The first was the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative. Livingstone Sewanyana, the ED, gave us an amazing speech that laid the groundwork for us to understand some of the current climate of rights in Uganda. He spoke at length about the current government of Museveni, but also of the Judiciary and the Legislature. This is a particularly important time for Uganda, and for much of the Eastern states of Africa, because elections for their presidents/prime ministers are right around the bend. Uganda will elect their president in March of next year, which has meant much organizing is already underway. Livingstone explained that there was some concern about violence against opposition leaders in the country and that they hoped to continue to keep dialogue open between the Museveni government and opposition leaders.

Livingstone talked about the strides that Uganda has been making in terms of rights for minorities and the people most generally. He mentioned a number of measures that have become law that provide things such as universal primary education and a domestic violence bill. However, the struggle is now to enforce these laws and make them more than in name only. He also explained that while things may seem pretty terrible to us from the West, he really views the progress being made as significant and described the general human rights climate as "not bad." The work that they continue to do will hopefully build on the progress that has been made of late. This organization is fighting the anti-gay bill, that would create a punishment of the death penalty, for homosexuality (Known officially as the Bahati Members Bill). They also are working to reform much of the judiciary to address some of the problems in that system. For instance, he explained that because of backlog in criminal trials, defendants can be imprisoned for years before standing before a justice or magistrate. It seems like that do some amazing work and many of us hope to visit them again and interview Livingstone more directly about our individual projects.

Yesterday we also visited an organization called AIDs Widows and Orphans, which provides many different types of projects for folks living with HIV/AIDs. They do micro-finance, primarily to women, which our classmate Melissa is very interested in. Hopefully I can strongarm her into writing a bit about that topic over the next few days. This organization is very broad in scope and appears to do very much with very little funding. I was interested to hear her talk about how they are funded partially through the Catholic Church, and have to fight to keep true to their values around condoms and sex education. I hope to speak to her more about that topic. Afterward, we stopped by a Babies Orphanage and met some of the most adorable children I have ever seen. We walked in the door and they just handed each of us a small child, many who have HIV/AIDs or other ailments. Many are found in dumpsters or left along the street. We met one older child who was recently adopted who had been left in a dumpster and was covered in biting ants. While the stories are difficult to hear, the resiliency of the people is very inspiring. This little girl is now adopted by a loving family and couldn't stopped smiling or laughing.

We finished yesterday at Hugo's mother's house where we dined on some of the most amazing Ugandan food that exists (I'm sure) and spent time with some of Hugo's family. We also met the doctor (head of medicine for Kampala) who would be seeing us if any of us got sick on the trip. He had brought along a friend, a local celebrity, who is a DJ on a radio station in Kampala. He was telling us about how the doctor comes on the show for a kind of sex Q and A to help promote safer sex practices.

Today was another packed day. We went to meet folks from the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN). These people are amazing and also do some amazing work. They work on a wide range of issues that concern children in Uganda and help the police with investigating child disappearances and abuse. One thing that stuck out for me at this stop was the rising incidence of child sacrifice, which has grown in the last few years. They discussed how families can be lead by local healers who encourage the family to give God/Gods human blood as a means of gaining wealth or other favors. This was a pretty disturbing thing for us to hear but I'm sure is even harder for the social workers who investigate and provide services to these families. Some in the group were interested in how the staff do self-care and they explained that all are given weekly counseling to help cope with the horrific things that people see.

Our last stop of the day was in Entebbe, a city about an hour away from Kampala (the capital). We drove on bumpy roads and down country streets a different portion of Lake Victoria where we got to visit the African Children's Choir School. To say it is a school is a bit misleading, because unlike in the US, these children are boarders at this enormous compound that overlooks the beautiful lake. These kids do work at the school in addition to learning, such as cleaning up the classrooms. The compound was lavish by Uganda school standards...meaning that the school had doors, windows and books. In the library along the back wall was a few bookcases with old tattered books lining the shelves. It was a shock to hear that this meager offering is actually one of the most elaborate primary school libraries in all of the country.

This school is famous worldwide because the children not only are given an education, but also an opportunity to travel the world and sing. Many were on American Idol or had sung for US presidents. I was honored to have two little guys show me around the school; Harrison and Huntington were good guides at that. They were so poised and mature for their young ages. They showed me their desks, their bunks and where they shower. They told me about the subjects that they learn and the many (amazing) things they have picked up since attending school. Harrison explained to me at length the structure of a human joint, while Huntington recounted his journey to the US and his love for American Roller Coasters. Both were amazing, especially given that they are in second and forth grade, respectively. I also had the honor to meet David, who is a graduate of the program and who is back at the school as a volunteer to RA in the boys dorm. He told me that he got to travel to 15 countries over five years to sing around the world. He is currently awaiting to hear from universities about acceptance into their medical school programs...his ultimate wish is to become an eye doctor, inspired by a South African doctor to gave him his first pair of "specs," as they call them in Uganda.

But the highlight of the day much have been the singing! Oh, the singing! We attended an assembly in their largest room, where we were lead in prayer and "praise time." Then we introduced ourselves and were egged on into singing ourselves. Our hodge-podgey and off-key rendition of This Land is Your Land was pretty pathetic, but the kids loved it all the same. They also got very excited to hear what states we come from...and shouted/cheered for NY the loudest (I'm sad to say). But then the school choir came forward and sang/danced for us. It was so overwhelming, and I think most of us were near tears. So beautiful it is even hard to explain. I hope to have a soundbite or video up later this week.

All in all a very good start, especially given the tragic bombings that preceded these days. Like I said, life has moved on and I am anxious to get back out there in the city and do some more exploring of this amazing culture. We know that many of you are worried for our safety and we appreciate this, but we also have come to recognize that terrorism is a fact of life for much of the world. We are trying to take this tragedy as a learning moment and to appreciate the relative comfort and safety that we enjoy back in the states. We also just got confirmation from the embassy that we are safe to remain in our current hotel, which I think has begun to make people feel a bit more assured of our current situation.

I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we miss you loved ones reading this from the US and look forward to sharing a bit of this beautiful experience with you when we return.

Nathan