The Kidz

I met Agik Joan yesterday, our first girl in the DMP to make it to secondary school. We and the people of the Dwon Madiki Partnership (and YOU, our donors over the years, participants in the IC Plunge, etc) have been supporting her education for three years now. After a four hour journey, talking our way past guards at 4 boarding schools, only to find that she wasn't AT these schools, we made it to a school where the guard told us that Agik Joan was indeed inside, but that it was impossible for us to see her, as it was very late and past visiting hours. We argued for twenty minutes to no avail.

I had with me a bag of clothes given to me for Agik by her cousin in Chicago. It had traveled from Chicago to London to Entebbe to Kampala to Mbale to Sipi to Gulu to Lacor to Gulu to Kampala to Entebbe back to Kampala, to four of the wrong schools, and finally found its way to her school, only to be turned away. But Elena and I did not take no for an answer. We had to drive down the road to fill our phone back up with credit (it had run out during the day's journey as we tried to locate Agik), call the vice principle whose number the guard gave to us after promising we wouldn't tell where we got it.

We called the VP, and were apparently persuasive enough. I handed the phone to the guard and he opened the gate. When we finally found Agik outside the dining hall, everything was still for a moment. we were standing on a hillside overlooking lush palm covered landscape soaked in warrm orange sunset, and accompanied by the songs of parrots and other tropical birds. The children at the school were laughing and all had their own styles. Agik Joan, who is in her 2nd year of secondary school (high school) was wearing JEANS. This was the first female I had seen wearing jeans in this country that I can remember. The school was clearly providing an intense level of education that would be impossible in the wartorn public schools of the north.

We gave her the clothes, gave her greetings from her family in the states and in Gulu, told her we were proud of her, chatted about school (she says it is hard to learn with boys in the classroom), and were cut short by the vice principle who came to tell us Agik needed to go study for her exams. This was incredible, as in many places, our Muzungu status would obviate any possiblity of such an interruption. But here, our desire to see Joan was secondary to her need to be educated. We were VERY encouraged by this demonstration that education was given the highest priority here.

Now I'm off to Fort Portal with Elena and Evan to hang out with Ashis and learn about public health education in Uganda... Then on to DR COngo...

PEACE to you all. I am alive here, and living more honestly than I ever have before. Thanks for your support and prayers...

I miss and love you all dearly

Okaaaaay.
Wow.
How do I start?

First off, I'm fine.... On second thought I'm not just fine: I feel like I've finally come home in some ways, and I'm thriving in Lacor, just outside of Gulu in the north of Uganda. I am already in love with this country, with the people and the land. Today, I watched as the new Ugandan board of the Dwon Madiki Partnership revised our old mission and vision, and took full owndership of their organization. It was beautiful. I've had the opportunity to use the camera equipment donated by Kevin Sites to document the re-birth of this truly community based devleopment organization (the DMP) headed entirely by local Ugandans. Today we sat in a meeting for 5 hours, with only a couple crackers and a cup of water for each of our board members.

I also attended grand rounds at Lacor Hospital today (the hospital featured in the film Invisible Children where the night commuting children fled every night to escape the LRA rebels), and took a tour. I saw terrible things, and incredbile things. The ability of the people here to thrive in the face of terrifyingly stark conditions blows my mind.

I am inspired. I know if people here can thrive, find generosity and kindness in their hearts, and never give up on hope, there is hope for me, for this world, and for all of us.

Evan arrives in 10 days, and we're off to hang out with Dr. Ashis Brahma.

I love and miss all of you. Curt, you were right about how I'd feel about medicine...

My deepest gratitude to all of you who supported me with donations, prayers and support. You have no idea how great it is to know you are supporting me. I have recieved a deep soul-level confirmation that I am stepping into the beginning of my vocation.