Tomorrow is a very big day!
About the time everyone in Oklahoma City is going to bed tonight, tomorrow will have arrived here in Uganda. And tomorrow is when I head back to Soroti from Kampala. Not just me, but this trip will include Maurice Kirya, The Godfather of Ugandan Soul Music, and his Manager, Onyait Odeke. Yes...... I just name dropped!
This is a big deal for many reasons. But I'll start with one of the things that I feel passionate about. One is that I have come to realize that most Ugandans don't realize what is going on here in their own back yard. Having Maurice and Onyait stop what they are doing while simultaneously try to get his latest album released is a huge sacrifice of their time and lets face it, their money. They haven't told me this,and they wouldn't, but I know. But they are both going to a part of Uganda that they have never been to. They have both visited villages, but from where I have traveled, the villages that we support are in the worst condition.
Joseph Kony has been in the social media spotlight for the past week. That is great, no matter where you fall in the controversy, Joseph Kony is a bad man. In 2006, the Ugandan Army was able to push Joseph Kony and the LRA out of Uganda. They have chased him into the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have chased him into Sudan and wherever else that he has been known to have fled. But for over twenty years he wreaked havoc on Uganda. The LRA combined with the cattle rustlers of the Karamojong have torn the lives of these people apart.They have been living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps for years. This happens when people flee their homes to seek shelter in numbers.
These IDP camps bred their own problems. Fathers were dying in war or while protecting their cattle left widows and fatherless children who were left to fend for themselves without the father figure there to help teach and discipline the curious children. Promiscuity led to STD's of which, HIV claimed many more lives. At one point, I believe the average life span in Uganda was 42 to 45 years. It is now up to 55, but lets face it, that's not much better.
Well meaning NGO's (Non Government Organizations) have sprung up all over here in Uganda, but many times, in its simplest terms, its a truck pulling up with boxes that are unloaded and left behind for the people to use, but it left no responsibility or drive what what men have remained. This is where I plug the book, "When Helping Hurts". That book was an eye-opener for me. Sometimes what we do in the best of intentions does more harm than good.
Maurice taking his time to come and encourage these men and women for the work that they have done on this project is a big deal. He's not coming with a box of goods, but rather with a word of encouragement from a fellow Ugandan. Hearing someone say "good Job!" goes a long, long way. Having someone with the respect and ears of his fellow Ugandans tell you "good job!" is an even bigger deal.
So tonight when you go to bed, say a prayer for our journey. Join me in asking God to open our eyes to what he wants us to see, to open our ears to what He wants us to hear, and even more importantly, to open our mouths to speak what he would have us speak.
Thank you for all your prayers!
Tom Cox
About the time everyone in Oklahoma City is going to bed tonight, tomorrow will have arrived here in Uganda. And tomorrow is when I head back to Soroti from Kampala. Not just me, but this trip will include Maurice Kirya, The Godfather of Ugandan Soul Music, and his Manager, Onyait Odeke. Yes...... I just name dropped!
This is a big deal for many reasons. But I'll start with one of the things that I feel passionate about. One is that I have come to realize that most Ugandans don't realize what is going on here in their own back yard. Having Maurice and Onyait stop what they are doing while simultaneously try to get his latest album released is a huge sacrifice of their time and lets face it, their money. They haven't told me this,and they wouldn't, but I know. But they are both going to a part of Uganda that they have never been to. They have both visited villages, but from where I have traveled, the villages that we support are in the worst condition.
Joseph Kony has been in the social media spotlight for the past week. That is great, no matter where you fall in the controversy, Joseph Kony is a bad man. In 2006, the Ugandan Army was able to push Joseph Kony and the LRA out of Uganda. They have chased him into the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have chased him into Sudan and wherever else that he has been known to have fled. But for over twenty years he wreaked havoc on Uganda. The LRA combined with the cattle rustlers of the Karamojong have torn the lives of these people apart.They have been living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps for years. This happens when people flee their homes to seek shelter in numbers.
These IDP camps bred their own problems. Fathers were dying in war or while protecting their cattle left widows and fatherless children who were left to fend for themselves without the father figure there to help teach and discipline the curious children. Promiscuity led to STD's of which, HIV claimed many more lives. At one point, I believe the average life span in Uganda was 42 to 45 years. It is now up to 55, but lets face it, that's not much better.
Well meaning NGO's (Non Government Organizations) have sprung up all over here in Uganda, but many times, in its simplest terms, its a truck pulling up with boxes that are unloaded and left behind for the people to use, but it left no responsibility or drive what what men have remained. This is where I plug the book, "When Helping Hurts". That book was an eye-opener for me. Sometimes what we do in the best of intentions does more harm than good.
Maurice taking his time to come and encourage these men and women for the work that they have done on this project is a big deal. He's not coming with a box of goods, but rather with a word of encouragement from a fellow Ugandan. Hearing someone say "good Job!" goes a long, long way. Having someone with the respect and ears of his fellow Ugandans tell you "good job!" is an even bigger deal.
So tonight when you go to bed, say a prayer for our journey. Join me in asking God to open our eyes to what he wants us to see, to open our ears to what He wants us to hear, and even more importantly, to open our mouths to speak what he would have us speak.
Thank you for all your prayers!
Tom Cox
