All I Need to Know: Part 1

As promised, I want to introduce you to a wonderful young Ugandan woman from here in Kampala named Harriet.  Now, I know I've talked about Harriet before, but I wanted to give her more of a proper introduction here.

She will probably kill me if she finds out I've written about her, but I just think she's way cool.  She is university-educated, bright, energetic, fun and tireless in the ways that she reaches out to others.  

Having studied business in university, Harriet is keenly interested in corporate social responsibility and has dreams of starting her own business that funnels funds to a parallel non-profit organization addressing women's issues.  

She is a leader in her church, particularly with the youth, and she has just finished an annual conference that she initiated three years ago named Treasures that seeks to improve girls' self-esteem and help them see themselves as "women of rare beauty" in God's eyes.

Harriet loves rock music.  Hillsong, the popular Christian group, is her favorite band, and she loves attending concerts and worship nights in the city.  She never fails to indulge with me in the joys of ice cream and puts me to shame with her impeccable fashion sense.

She works with me at Refuge & Hope and has been a constant source of wisdom and motivation to me in the work.  Every time I have a question about Ugandan culture - no matter how silly - I never hesitate to ask Harriet, because she is unfailingly open and understanding about my curiosity (though that doesn't keep her from laughing at me...in a good-natured way, of course!).  

Harriet is my closest Ugandan friend here, and I could not have enjoyed my time here this past year nearly as much without her help and genuine friendship.  Her admirable character, intellect and convictions make me excited and hopeful about the future generation of leaders in Uganda.  I just can't wait to see what she'll do.  So here's to you, Harriet!  

All I Need to Know About Africa I Learned from Disney Movies

Many of you heard about the riots in Kampala earlier this month and wrote with concerns about my safety.  I was actually in Ethiopia when the riots took place and was shocked when I heard rumors of what was happening.  The violence that broke out here had really tragic consequences, and my Ugandan friend thinks there's a good chance that things could flare up again, since a final decision has not been made regarding the land dispute between the Ugandan government and the traditional Buganda king of this region which set off the riots.  We should all continue praying for peace in this city.  

I've actually been thinking lately about writing more about this city and its people - about the fact that, despite what you may have been led to believe, there are parts of Africa that are quite modern with people who lead lives very similar to yours.  

I once read an article in an Africa travel book which quoted a Kenyan writer critiquing the way Western travelers typically depict Africa and its people, saying, "Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your book.  An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these" (Binyavanga Wainaina).  

It's true that Africa has come to be represented in the minds of most Americans as either just a huge expanse of wild, vast savannah grasslands teeming with exotic game and naked tribal people, or as nothing but an enormous dark pit, consisting only of all of the world's worst plagues of war, disease and poverty.   Sort of a Lion King vs. Heart of Darkness dichotomy.

It's also true that I may be part of the problem.  I've found myself choosing to post those photos which are most unlike the modern world in which I was raised, thinking that those would be the most interesting to you all.  My photographic eye immediately crops out anything familiar in favor of the grass huts, and my literary bias is to talk almost exclusively about what I see and experience in rural villages, where life for the ordinary farmer is still probably a far cry from "modern."

But the thing I want you to know is that it's not all like that here.  Sure, those things are there - otherwise the photos and stories would all be lies.  But they're not the whole story.  

There are modern buildings and internet here - cell phones, beauty salons, Coca-Cola and Jay-Z.  There are educated, urbanized Africans who have embraced me and become my friends.  And I've realized that there are many things that I share in common with these friends, not the least of which is the desire to see their country developed and their people delivered from the serious ills of conflict and poverty that still persist here, despite these steps toward modernization. 

These are the people and the things that I want to show you.  And while it's true that globalization may have exported some of the most unsavory aspects of Western culture, I don't want to focus on that just now.  I want to introduce you to a modern African city and to people who are not only more similar to you than you probably imagine, but who are possibly in some ways even more advanced than you are.  This is another important side of this place that needs to be shared.

So that is my plan - to write at least a couple posts on why the "All I Really Need to Know About Africa I Learned from the Lion King" mindset just doesn't cut it anymore.  Stay tuned!