Visiting Uganda
Trevor and Barbara Harrison
While in Kampala, at the request of the Christ Church Clifton
Global
Mission Team, we visited Lizzie Thomas, a Bristol university student
and a member of Christ Church. She was visiting a school in Kampala
with which she has been linked for several years, initially through
going out with Oasis. We visited the school, cramped conditions and
small classrooms full to overflowing with enthusiastic primary school
kids. When we asked them how they were, they replied in unison,
“We are fine, smart, and very well organised!!”
Last year
several students from Bristol uni went with Lizzie and organised games,
Bible teaching, songs etc for a few weeks in the summer holidays. This
year 8 intend going again though Lizzie won’t be among them.
Lizzie’s parents have also contributed to the community there
by
linking the school with a school in Stoke where they live, and they
also want to set up a clinic as Lizzie’s father is a GP. We
were
impressed by what had been achieved in a relatively short space of time
(4 years) and among a needy group of people where previously there was
nothing for them.
The reason for going to Uganda at this particular time was because we
had been invited to the wedding of Sam Baguma and Abby Peggs, in
Namirembe Cathedral. Sam lived in Bristol with us for 18 months while
he was training as a Chartered Accountant. He was a Home group leader
at Christ Church and also taught Trailblazers. He is now Director of
CURE, a medical charity and Abby, who is English, was working at CMS HQ
in London.
During the week we were in Kampala we visited the School for Physically
Handicapped which Barbara had helped to set up in 1968 (with another
physiotherapist, a teacher and 6 pupils). There are now 96 pupils,
mostly boarders, and 13 staff. A physiotherapist goes to the school 4
afternoons a week. It was an encouraging visit. We also visited
Makerere University where Trevor taught, and visited many friends in
Kampala.
During our final week we visited Gulu and Kitgum in the north of
Uganda. We particularly wanted to go there again as we hadn’t
been since 2001 and we wanted to strengthen the links made between
Bristol West deanery and these dioceses and also the personal links
they have with Christ Church. We flew to Gulu (diocese of Northern
Uganda) and stayed with Bishop Nelson and his wife Brenda. He plans to
retire next year and took us to see a house he is building for his
retirement, a few miles away. Clergy in Uganda do not receive pensions
so have to make other arrangements, and the bishop and his wife will
depend largely on crops which they will grow on their land. That
evening we were introduced to members of the Uganda Christian Council
who had come to discuss the future of the church in the diocese, and we
were invited to listen in to their discussions.
Bishop Nelson explained that following the truce agreed between the
Uganda government and the LRA, rebel activity had ceased and the 1.5
million people still living in displacement camps were being encouraged
to return to their original homes. As many were afraid to leave the
comparative safety of the large camps the government had set up many
smaller camps closer to the places where the people had originally
lived. It was hoped that this would encourage the dispersal of the
people and the eventual closure of the larger camps, and would
encourage people to start cultivating the land again and grow their own
food. The bishop had hoped that his clergy would give a lead in moving
back to the smaller camps but they had been reluctant to move their
families before there were schools, medical facilities and food
distribution centres in the new camps. Many children had been born in
the large camps and knew no other life and did not want to leave their
friends and return to “the bush”.
The following day we made the 100 kilometre bus journey from Gulu to
Kitgum which took just over 2 hours. Although the road was not tarmac
it was in reasonable condition. We passed a number of displacement
camps where the huts were very close together for protection and noted
that already many people were beginning to grow cassava and other crops
on any available land. We saw several groups of Ugandan army soldiers
patrolling the roads and in several places the blackened shells of
burnt out homesteads showed evidence of LRA activity.
During our stay in Kitgum we visited a displacement camp, and the next
day had a meeting with the Diocesan staff who outlined their various
responsibilities. Trevor was given a warm welcome as Honorary Lay Canon
of Kitgum Cathedral and invited to preach there during his next visit
to Kitgum! Bishop Ben also hoped that one day the Christ
Church
director of music would bring the Christ Church choir to sing in the
cathedral. He explained that there had had been a rift among the clergy
but that following the suspension of 3 clergy the rift had been healed
and those responsible had been forgiven. The offices had been broken
into however, and the diocesan computer and other equipment had been
stolen and only recently replaced. This had caused much pain and
inconvenience to everyone concerned.
Later we were taken to visit the YY Okot Secondary School for Girls for
the Governors’ Inauguration Meeting. The speeches began at
10.30am and ended at 7pm with only a couple of breaks for refreshments
and some African dancing and singing by the pupils. At the end of the
day we were exhausted but went back to the bishop’s house for
a
meal and to meet some clergy who had come to attend a workshop the next
day, some having cycled 40 miles to be there. The electricity was off
so it was difficult to see who was who!
The following day we took the bus back to Gulu. We met some returned
abductees who were learning to sew. Later we met with the principal of
Janani Luwum theological college, the bishop and the diocesan secretary
to discuss the future of the college which has been closed for a year
through lack of funds. We had been given to understand before we went
to Uganda that the college would re-open in May 2007 to provide
refresher courses for clergy from the north. The Diocese of Northern
Uganda and Kitgum Support Group (DONUAKSG) had in fact promised
£4,500 for this purpose and £2,500 had already been
sent.
We were now surprised and disappointed to be told that the situation
had been reviewed and that because the college had accumulated debts of
over £4,000 it would have to remain closed until at least a
further £7,000 could be raised to meet the staff salaries for
the
coming year. We were told that the main reason for the crisis was that
regular funding from a source in the USA had now ceased and would not
be renewed. It now intends to renew courses for the Mukono (UCU)
Certificate Course, Development Studies, and other courses.
On our return to Kampala we spent one night with Bishop Eliphaz Maari
and his wife Eunice and family in their new retirement home. Eliphaz
and Eunice used to be regular members of the Christ Church family
service for 3 years in the 1980s when Eliphaz was studying at Trinity
Theological College here in Bristol. For several years he was then
Principal of Mukono Thelogical College which later became Uganda
Christian University. While at the Maaris we met Peter Nyeko who was a
student at Bristol university and a member of the International
Visitors’ committee. He has returned to Uganda and is setting
up
a transport business.
On our last day in Uganda Eliphaz took us back to UCU where we met the
vice Chancellor, Professor Stephen Noll and various members of staff
including JoEllyn Fountain. She is our link regarding Christ
Church’s support for ordinands from the dioceses of Northern
Uganda and Kitgum who are studying there. In principle Christ Church
supports up to 4 ordinands from Northern Uganda diocese and 4 from
Kitgum diocese, but at present there are only 3 Christ Church ordinands
there, and although we met several northerners during our visit we met
only 2 supported by Christ Church, one of whom, Beatrice Aber from
Kitgum had just got a First and is about to go to USA for
further
studies. The other was Charles Okello from Northern Uganda diocese. A
concern was how they were going to educate their children when they
returned home. We explained that several individuals from Christ Church
were supporting clergy children, 11 in Northern Uganda diocese and 12
from Kitgum diocese.
We are very grateful for those who followed our itinerary and prayed
for us during our travels. It was good to be able to renew and
strengthen the many links that Christ Church has with our friends in
Uganda.