UgandAshis 1 Homecoming

UgandAshis 1: Homecoming
Monday, October 13, 2008.
“ How does a frog move? ” Hop-hop… Twelve kids squatting and hopping. “ And how does a snake go? “ Slither-slither… Slide, slide. Arms and legs move side to side. Here I am at a very special occasion. It is a meeting to decide the bride price according to the Ugandan traditions. I am back in Uganda after 5 years and this time it is possible to dance with the kids.
In 2003 I had been working for Doctors Without Borders in Lira in the Northern part of Uganda. The Lord Resistance Army (LRA), a motley group of child soldiers, sex slaves under the lead of a self proclaimed Christ, Joseph Kony was terrorizing the entire province. Burning of houses, capturing of children, killing, raping, maiming and amputating limbs of civilians was common then. It was the time when a documentary appeared about the children leaving their villages at the end of the afternoon to sleep on the porches of shops in the bigger cities of the province; Lira, Kitgum and Pader. Hundreds of thousands of people could not till their land for fear of being attacked by the LRA. Despite the fact that the area is a fertile one acute hunger and malnutrition of children and adults was rampant. It was a stressful time as the outskirts of Lira were attacked while I was there. In the short month I was in Uganda I helped starting to set up a therapeutic feeding center next to the hospital in Lira.
Even in that short month I came to feel the kindness and easygoing ways of the Ugandans. And in the few short days I am back now I feel it again. Joseph, Dr Dickson, Liz, Willy, Anne, Tyson and everyone I meet treats me as if I am part of the family and have been for years. That feeling of homecoming is pure bliss. It makes it easy to be.
The equator runs through Uganda and it makes it an interesting geographic and social launching pad for the Phoenix Global Humanitarian Foundation. As many countries in Africa there is corruption, social injustice and at the same time there is hope to tackle and address the HIV epidemic and to develop the country economically.
This year I have been traveling in Chad, Gabon, France, India, the USA, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, the Netherlands and now Uganda. A deep yearning for a home has been surfacing. It may sound strange but in three days in Uganda it may all come together. As a choice of a place to stay and have as a base it looks super. Let us see if over the next 6 weeks this feeling gets stronger. If so I will act on it.
Kids are beautiful all over the world. Yesterday it was so much fun to dance with the small ones. Children are gifts to the world. They are the reason to act and improve our actions in the World. The reason to find a solution for the fuel, food, financial, banking, capitalistic, emotional, and military crises the world is currently facing. Let all our inner child’s unite and let there be a dancing party world wide.
Namaskar, Ashis