thanks

Today is my last day at the Gulu Disabled Persons Union, and also the last day that I am likely to be around a reliable internet connection, so I think this is where I will say my good-byes. I have so many people to thank, and not enough words to properly express myself.

Thank you to the Advocacy Project and Survivor Corps for giving me the opportunity to intern for their organizations. I have learned a lot and am grateful for your guidance this summer.

Thank you to the great people at the Gulu Disabled Persons Union and Caritas Counselling Centre. I have been humbled by your dedication to improving the lives of your clients and by your efforts to help advance positive social change in Northern Uganda.

Thank you to all of my supporters who so generously donated to help get me here and support me financially through the summer.

Thank you to my friends, family and anyone else who happened to stumble across this blog. I appreciate the time you spent learning about the issues here in Northern Uganda. Knowledge is powerful and is the first step of progress.

You can learn more about the work of both Survivor Corps and the Advocacy Project by visiting their respective websites

-www.survivorcorps.org

-www.advocacynet.org

Thank you and God bless.

Opio Wilfred, Project Officer at Caritas Counselling Centre

Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)

Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) has been leading the efforts to get the United States government involved in eradicating the Lord’s Resistance Army once and for all. He recently wrote an insightful peace for the Huffington Post in which he details the US involvement to date and why previous efforts against the LRA have been misguided and unsuccessful.

Click here for the full article.

The Monument, conveniently located about 150 yards from my house.

While I was away on my travels, the Netherlands Embassy erected a statue in the main intersection of Gulu. The monument is entitled “The Pillar of Peace” and depicts two children reading a book with dismantled guns lying at their feet.

The statue emphasizes the value of education over violence and the two children are meant to be returned child soldiers. Click here for local media coverage of the unveiling and commentary from both Ugandan and Dutch representatives.

I have been in Uganda for about two months now, and I have never failed to notice that when I ask a Uganda how they are, they invariably respond with a simple “Fair.” Sometimes if the person is in a good mood he will even bust out a “fair-fair,” and the double-fair seems to be better than just a single fair.

I thought this was just some kind of quirky thing specific to this area of Uganda and that it didn’t actually carry that much meaning. I had a similar experience while I was living in Zambia; and when I asked the same question of people in my village they usually would respond with a “Just OK.” I came to find out that “Just OK” was actually very good. At least that’s what I told myself when I asked someone how my beard looked and they grinned and said, “Just OK, Mr. Bryan.”

To get back on track, it turns out though, that when a Ugandan person tells me that things are fair, it means just that: fair. Not great, not awful, just fair. I asked my colleague, Fred Semakula, why he always answered me with “fair” when I asked him how things were going, and why he never said that they were good. I was actually a little shocked by his answer.

He looked at me and said, “Because things are never good in Northern Uganda.”

Apparently, I opened up a Pandora’s Box of politics, health and even basic communication issues every time I asked someone how they were. In my life, I tell people that things are good no matter what is happening. It’s an instinct, a reflex that doesn’t have anything to do with reality; I probably do it because, overall, things are pretty good in my life. Maybe that would be different if I grew up in Northern Uganda. Maybe Ugandans don’t really think when they respond either; but things here are, overall, closer to fair than they are to good.

I guess it’s better than having the reaction to say “bad” when someone inquires after you, but still it’s a little worrisome. It seems to me to be the psychological effects of two decades of war and violence. Your general outlook is affected; your overall state of being is reduced from “good” to only “fair.”

How long does it take for this to present itself? How long until the effects are reversed? I don’t know, I only just realized that they existed. I am hopeful, though, because I have had the privilege to meet dozens of incredibly resilient people in Northern Uganda. If anyone can fight through this phenomenon and turn the table back towards the positive, it is the people of Uganda and the myriad organizations, Survivor Corps and The Advocacy Project included, that are working every day to do just that.

Okech Richard

Richard Okech is the Odek Sub-county Association Chairman. He assumed this role in 1999 because he realized that the local government at the time was not concerned with the rights of people living with disabilities. “They promise, but they don’t bring,” he said, simply.

Richard elaborated: “I can help people. Only the government can’t help by itself. I decided that I must do some of the work myself.”

I asked Richard how he felt about the information he had received at a recent training put on by the GDPU concerning the rights of Persons with Disabilities. He told me “It’s very good. I never knew, but now I have it. I will carry on the information by teaching other people.”

Richard has not led an easy life. He lost an eye when he fell into a cooking fire as a toddler. His daughter was abducted by Joseph Kony’s LRA and she never came back. After taking his daughter, the rebels stole all of animals as well, wiping out a lifetime of saving and investment. I came to find out as well that Okech and Kony even belong to the same clan, a loosely-defined extended family relationship.

Apparently, Kony doesn’t care about his own clan any more than anyone else’s, though. “What he is doing is not good.” Okech told me, “He is my clan brother, but he has killed many people from our clan. We are related on my father’s side, but he (Kony) doesn’t care.”

After all of this, Okech remains hopeful. As for how he sees the future of Uganda, Okech told me that he focuses on “the small changes for the better. Things are improving. In Odek, there used to be no changes, but now there is a little bit. We are trying…”

That’s what it all boils down to. In a country and a region that have seen so much destruction, rehabilitation comes in very small, almost inperceptible amounts. The relief is incremental, but with focus, one can see it. And when you can see it, you can add to it and help others notice it as well. Okech Richard can see it, and he’s showing others where to look.

Otika Quinto Kagwa

Otika’s struggles with physical disability began in 1997 when he was part of a caravan of vehicles that was ambushed by Lord’s Resistance Army Rebels. He was traveling with five people, and three of them were killed. As Otika was running away, he was shot in the back of the leg. The bullet shattered his femur and left permanent bone, muscle and nerve damage. The wound is a dozen years old and has never healed completely. He cannot bend his left knee.

After leaving the hospital, Otika began to understand the gravity of his injury and the challenges it presented for him. He also began to sympathize with others in his community who were living with disabilities. When he realized that there was no government representation for PWDs in Odek, he took action and undertook the burden himself. I found Otika at a training for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and he told me that he was very interested in the topic. “This is very good for awareness,” he told me, “I will take this information to the local council meetings when we discuss funding.”

It is meetings like this that help to integrate PWDs into the local government system and into the general community. “It is important for people to know that PWDs can actually do some things. It’s good that we mix with able-bodied people,” Otika told me. He is a proud man, and wants to be recognized for his capabilities and contributions.

The same can be said for the Disability Rights Fund, the Advocacy Project and Survivor Corps. None of these organizations want special treatment for Persons with Disabilities, they simply want to encourage integration, fair treatment and respect into communities that may think that PWDs are nothing more than a burden. With more meetings like the one where I found Otika, and more people getting involved at a local level like Otika is doing, integration and fair treatment are appearing more clearly on the horizon for Uganda.

I met this man in Odek, the original home area of Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army. In 2003, Otto was working for the food aid program of African Christian Fellowship (ACF) and was on his way back to Gulu from Odek when his caravan was ambushed by rebels. The rebels opened fire on the vehicles simply because they dared to enter the area of Uganda which the rebels claimed to “own.” It didn’t matter that the vehicles were part of a humanitarian mission; any and all movement on the roads was prohibited.
People took this warning seriously, for the most part, and it was not uncommon during the late 1990s to see people flying to destinations less than 50 miles away.

During this particular ambush, Otto was shot in the ankle and escaped with relatively minor injuries. Unfortunately, three women and one man from the group were killed, including a board member from the Gulu Disabled Persons Union.

Otto Jinaro

After recovering physically, Otto began to look for ways in which he could continue working to help people affected by the war in Northern Uganda. There was a strong sense of dependency on donors, he told me, but he realized that dependency will not take you very far. “Do not wait for anyone to help you, go out and do a little job (to raise money),” he told me.

Otto went out and joined the local government to try and expand his influence. He is now the Secretary of the Odek Subcounty Association for Disabilities. He was in Odek today to attend a training on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In addition to that, he has been spearheading an income-generating project for people with disabilities. They are designing concrete slabs for the construction of latrines. Of course, the design also improves the accessibility of the latrines for PWDs. I was impressed by the innovative nature of this project, which not only creates financial opportunity but also spurs inclusive development; the best of both worlds.

After a long and difficult struggle with power outages and poor connectivity, the Advocacy Project partner organization, the  Gulu Disabled Persons Union, now has a web presence.  We will be working over the next month or so to add as much content as possible, but the site is officially open for your browsing pleasure.

Gulu Disabled Persons Union Website