Marissa Chick 9th august- 8th September 2011

Greetings from Uganda!  My flight from San Francisco went very well.  I changed planes in Amsterdam, then stopped briefly in Kigali, Rwanda.  Upon arriving in Entebbe, I was met by a couple of my new teammates with a sign. What a relief it was not having to find my own way.  After sleeping in Kampala at a small bed and breakfast for the night we took a 5 hour bus ride.  We stopped 10 times,  having chicken and liver on a stick for lunch along the way.  The plan is to stay in a city called Jinja on the shore of Lake Victoria before heading northeast to the mission. What a blessing to be with this team which prays often in thanksgiving. 

 

Arrived at the encampment

silvas_travels

August 13th, 11:44

We arrived at the compound at Nabilatuk in eastern Uganda near the border with Kenya. Travel from Mbale was rough because the roads are all dirt roads and it poured rain.  A number of big trucks fuil of rock got stuck including two that blocked the pass.  After noting a hugely flooded river nearby we decided to backtrack two hours and spent the night in Sipi Falls.  I enjoyed Sipi Falls. It is a gorgeous 3 tier water fall.

The road was only slightly improved the next day.  Our Land Rover got quite stuck in the mud at one point.  It took us and 6 locals pushing and pulling to free it.  Tired and cover in mud we finally got to Nabilatuk.

It is Ramadan and there is a new mosque in town.  The Muslim call to prayer  happens day and night, but it doesn't stop them from feasting on American music videos such as Magic by B o B.  Astounding.

Yesterday I connected with Kachep aka The Karamoja Christian Ethnovet Project.  I will work alot with their goat and chicken projects.

The best part so far is the consistant ebb and flow in and out of prayer.  Everything is accomplished through prayer.  Here prayer is the first and most valuable option. It strenghtens my heart!

There is much laughter about the roads and all the silly things that happen.  I'm so blessed to be here and am excited about the work ahead.

Blessings!

 

Being sick and other things you shouldn't do in church

silvas_travels

August 15th, 15:48

Monday, was my busiest day so far after waking up for a hour long devotion with the team that I led as a special surprise.  If was then off to the hen house.  If you haven't looked up the Karamoja Chick Project you should.  We have 53 hens we feed and check on twice a day along with 50 chicks in the community.  I've learned how to dispense rations to the local women who exchange eggs for feed.

I was led to a sick cow and was told that it was my job to treat it.  Talk about learning on the job.  Thankfully vet Jean came out and we examined the cow together.  The cow had East Coast Fever which is a tick born illness but is easily medicated.  The Karamajonj have a funny relationship to their cattle.  They have all these herds they use for trading and marriage and they lose them when they get raided.  But they barely eat beef.  Mostly beans and posho which is rice.

The reason for my title for this day's blog is that we went to a special 4 hour Catholic mission confirmation service yesterday and got sick for the first time on the trip., hopefully the last.   I had felt a little queasy but it was the smell of incense put me over the top.   In short I was grateful for my teammate Miriam.  She took me home made me peppermint tea and stayed just outside the tent.  When I finally was able to sit up she and vet Jean prayed over me a special blessings from two very God trusting women.  Just like at home, people here take the power of prayer literally.  If you need Gods help I learned you ask.  As I hear the words of Arabic over the loud speaker we praise God that he speaks to us English, French, Karamoja and pig latin even if we needed him to.  Thank you for you prayers!
Love,

More on:

 

Marissa

 

 

Shifting

From Jean per Sms on 27.9.2011

tonight’s the night. We have left to Pine Lodge tent, home for 13 months, and moved into our home stone homes. Mosquito net is hung, stars are twinkling above, singing with rhythmic jumping and clapping can be heard from the next village over. We’re home, again, some meters away is Miriam’s hut-whose out on furiough.Also near is the hen hut, thankfully no roasters.

Mt Kadam is towering in the distance from our front window, tomorrow morning,above her peaks, the sun will rise. Now I’m just thankful for crowing into my bed, hearing the crickets and cows mooing.

Known in Karamoja

Broken Warriors: the Karamojong of Uganda

Marc Hofer is a freelance photojournalist currently based in Kampala, Uganda. He focuses on photographing conflict-affected populations and areas on the African continent. He has lived and worked in...

Karamoja Faces

Karamoja Faces

This Film is for younger views and combines the animated sections of the Film 'Karamoja City Warriors'.

The story of a small Karamojong boy who is taken to the city to beg. He comes face to face with the dangers of the street but somehow with the help of the animals of Karamojaland he manages to survive. After 6 months he is returned to his homeland suffering from the traumas of begging in the city. Again it is the traditional animals he believes in that come to his rescue and organise a better future for him.

The Government of Uganda and UNICEF estimates up to 2000 Karamojong are on the streets of Kampala - of which 90% are women with small children.

This film was designed to cost as little as possible to show that animation and video can be an affordable method of communication for minority tribes in the developing world.

Miriam Le jeune

* nights with the shepherds *

Miriam make really excellent photos. Where ever she goes she has the camera.

More on:

Miriam's Fotopage

Almost, again, a bad accident

So, last month as Tom was leaving Kampala with Dirk one of our truck’s rear tires flew off. Had they been going at any speed the results could have easily ended in serious injury. To add insult the tires had just been worked on by one of Uganda’s best mechanics. Yesterday, the steering went out as Tom was driving back from Karamoja’s ‘capitol city’ Moroto, the tie rod end popped off the tie-rod and he had no control while careening down our rocky, eroded roads. God was certainly in control, because Tom and our Landcruiser should have rolled over. Surprisingly enough, the tie rod ends had just been replaced. Miriam and I hopped on KACHEP’s motorcycle, drove 1.5hours, and wired it together; Tom had already done a good job with some sisal rope. Even the US army detach stopped and helped – your tax dollars at work!

Pray for me now as I drive Miriam down to the airport as she heads to Germany for furlough. Pray the truck reaches well. Pray that a competent mechanic would join our team- or at least visit 2x year to keep us in one piece.

Lift up our recent visitors, Marissa and Summer – both from California. Marissa is back at school and Summer continues to walk with us and discern God’s call if she will join our KKAB team.
peace, Jean

Sustainability in Karamoja? Rethinking the terms of global sustainability in a crisis region of Africa

edited by David Knaute and Sacha Kagan. Cologne: Rudiger Koppe Verlag, 2009. xi + 526 pp. £24.80 (paperback). ISBN 978 3 89645 256 6.

Sustainability in Karamoja? was published as part of the Karamoja campaign, in an effort to raise awareness in Europe and the world concerning the difficulties faced by pastoralist groups in East Africa, particularly the Karamojong in Uganda. Following a literature review, the heart of the book attempts to illustrate the complexity of the factors leading to the famine and violence in Karamoja through an explication of ‘the Karamoja syndrome’. The central section consists of fifteen papers presented at conferences during the ‘Karamoja campaign’ and a final section illustrates additional efforts at raising awareness.

The work is well intentioned, with the important goal of improving the lot of pastoralists, specifically the Karamojong, by advocating for the acceptability and even benefit to society of their nomadic lifestyle. The authors have a sincere desire to create awareness concerning the numerous factors beyond the control of the Karamojong (such as global warming and governmental policies concerning land ownership) that have … 

http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/02/28/afraf.adr012.extract 

We are not alone

Some of us, that stay in Karamoja:

Family Bob Wright:
About Me

I am construction and maintenance manager for the Orthodox Presbyterain Uganda Mission. We live in Karamoja where we have a 190 acre farming project, construct buildings, drill wells, install solar and wind energy systems.

https://www.facebook.com/lodukrobat

Martha Wright

https://www.facebook.com/people/Martha-Wagar-Wright/812722102

Erika Bulthuis 

http://myheartisfilled.blogspot.com/

Family Okken:

The Okkens are missionaries with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church serving in an area called Karamoja in Eastern Uganda.

 http://karamojaokkens.blogspot.com/

Family Tricarico 

And its great to have them around

Facebook

also on facebook

SPONSORING KARAMOJONG CHILDREN FOR QUALITY EDUCATION

1. Project summary
Karamoja is an area in North Eastern Uganda with arid and semi – arid climate with cattle keeping as the main livelihood for the community. Recent data indicates that Karamoja has the lowest levels of education in the all of Uganda. KACHEP is one of the NGOs which has been sponsoring some vulnerable children to go for education from primary to tertiary levels. Each year we have been sponsoring 23 vulnerable children and 9 are now working.
2. Background, Problem and Opportunities
Karamoja is an area composed with a population of 920,000, but this area is the poorest among the poor ones in Uganda, with poverty indices of 65.5 % compared to other areas with 9.5% in Uganda. Education is very low and all facilities are poor. Parents can’t manage to pay fees from primary to tertiary. Therefore we would like to get support to sponsor primary children and equip them with education; this will also equip them with skills for their sustainability. (Education is an investment and consumption good).
More specifically the project will address the following key objectives:
• Build capacity of the Karamojong to manage themselves through technical and vocation education by the year 2013
• To educate a child and alleviate poverty in Karamoja for self sustainability (education for self sustenance)
• To emancipate the girl child through education, education will reduce child headed families and will make girls stay longer in schools
3. Technical Approach or Methodology
i. Payment of fees to primary school children
ii. Home visits to each family and school visits to each participating school (3xyear)
iii. Vocation and technical education
iv. Student retreats (Guidance and counseling)

4. Anticipated Results
- Development of Karamoja through improved education
- Improved standards of living as a result of employment due to education
- Poverty, ignorance, illiteracy levels and disease will reduce

This project will cost $350 per month for 24 students
By the year 2013 the total cost for primary children and also for vocation and technical education will be $12,600

Karamoja Christian
Ethno veterinary Program

P.O Box 22 Moroto, Uganda
0751573052 / 0772573052
email: kachep1@gmail.com

Miriam going on German Tour

Miriam is going to Germany for 6 weeks to meet Sponsers and get new one and talk about KKAB and the life in Karamoya.
We pray for her success!!
SK

A missionary’s life, just spreading the Word of God?

Let me first present. My name is Dirk Surmont,
friend of Jean Grade and Thomas Reed. They invited
me already on February 5th, this year, to come to
Uganda. I was willing to come, but not too soon,
rather in July and August and for a month, not some
weeks. That was agreed, but with the condition that I
would be involved in their work in Karamoja. Why
should I refuse?
My visit has a triple goal. My church, Vineyard
Ganda in the city of Ghent Belgium, decided to
support Jean and Tom as missionaries. It was in our
church that we met Jean for the first time during her
studies for her PhD in Ethnobotany at the University
of Ghent and that we started to build a friendship.
Our church ordered me to bring them an extra gift to
buy a bodaa-bodaa, the local word for a motorbike.
The second goal is to introduce Jean and Tom in the
Living Waters Course, a counseling course helping
people to be healed from father and mother wounds.
The third goal is to follow Jean and Tom in their
daily work as missionaries. My church asked me to
lead a missionary service and being with them is the
ideal preparation...

Read the full letter on:


Septermber 2011 Newsletter

Clean water for Karamoya

This is a ongoing Fundraing:
Sarah Kern posted this in the different groups she is in:
My eleven year old daughter is making a fundraising for " Clean water for Karamoya",
Now I know its church but why we are supporting them is that they do diffrent things for the karamoyong but always with the idea behind to help for selfhelp. They live among the karamong, look at the traditions and see where help is need. One of the biggest thing is clean water.

Naomi is doing fundraising for them on clean water medical support like watertablets, drinking straws with chemical inside for cleaning the water, for boreholes in the area. if intrested to support please feel free to contact Naomi on:

kingfishersafaris@gmx.de
subject: Naomi - Clean water for karamoja

We would like to thank Naomi for her helping us

Tree Planting

Karamoja Christian Ethnoveterinary Program (KACHEP)

PO Box 22 Moroto, Uganda

 

Background:

Karamoja is in the arid-semi-arid-lands of NE region of Uganda, East Africa. The Karamojong (920,000) are semi-nomadic pastoralists closely related to those in Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. They struggle with resources, coupled by cross-border and internal raiding with small arms insecurities. This area lags behind the rest of the country in development indices.

Fundraising in Germany!

The sign says: A Part of the Collection is for a Project in Uganda ( KKAB)