Rags to Riches

(note: some of you have been wanting more photos... I will do my best as it takes a long time to upload with the connection speed at this internet cafe. At theend of this post I'll put a number of photos from the weekend with Justice ogoola in his churches, his humanitarian projects and so on.)

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The contrast could not be sharper. Thursday morning I had visited Luzira Upper Prison BOMA and the condemned section of which my previous blog entry was about. It was an experience of poverty, poor conditions, over-crowding, and lack. It was the “rags” part of this entry.

Now for the “riches” part. I got home and showered and shined up, put on my best clerical shirt and collar and headed into downtown Kampala. I was invited by justice Ogoola to attend a fundraising dinner at Kampala’s Imperial Hotel to raise funds for the launch of his just completed translation of the New Testament book of Luke in the LuSamia language.

It was a very enjoyable evening. The Judge had about 25 other guests, many of whom were family, friends, colleagues, the Minister of Education was there, a professor and so on. All of them had something in common. They were from Eastern Uganda in the Busia area. They all were “LuSamia” people sharing the same language. Justice apologized and said that his guest from Canada would sit through an evening that would be almost completely in LuSamia and not English.

Their first custom was to introduce themselves the Samia way. That is to tell people who they are by their family clan and what their people are like, what their families did and particulars like this. I took my turn and then they decided that I (and be extension my family) would be adopted into their tribe and the LuSamia people. I told them that I had grandfathers who fought each other in WWII, that both were P.O.W.’s, and that I was a mixture of English, German and Dutch, each of which stake their claim in the stubborn department, and two of which had aspirations of ruling the world!

They gave me the name Rev. Mangeni, which means “fish”. No I am not kidding! Fish are important to the LuSamia people because they live on the shores of Lake Victoria and fish is a staple of their diet. You can imagine that they all roared in laughter at the prospect of their new family member Mr. Fish! Now, whenever the judge introduces me to people he loves to tell them my LuSamia name and they too laugh, say something to each other in their language and then welcome me to the family. I’m just hoping ‘fish’ means differently than back home in our jail system!

The dinner was top quality Ugandan food (including fish of course) and it was very enjoyable. They did an appeal for funds and on behalf of friends and family back home in Canada I was excited and happy to donate to the introduction of the Bible in Samia and the first time it has been written and the first translation of the New Testament for these people. To say they are excited about this is an understatement. These dinner guests are amongst Uganda’s elite and very highly educated. Like Justice Ogoola they are a highly educated group of people as well as accomplished and successful .

In his speech Justice Ogoola made the obvious and important connection between this Bible translation and the future. He explained the history of the King James version in England and as a result of that first English translation, the resulting and following explosion of written literature in the English language. Shakespeare and a host of others came as a result of the language English being written through translating the Bible.

I was able to share the history of Canada’s Aboriginal people and their treatment in residential schools and in particular the loss of language as a result of being forbidden to use it. I shared about the resulting loss of identity and culture given that language is the most significant carrier of culture and identity. That they were now on the edge of formalizing the LuSamia language into written form (that would be read by everybody) it would both protect and project the LuSamia culture and sink it’s roots deep into the people as they spread throughout not only Uganda but elsewhere in the world. They liked hearing this and I noticed were very interested in the Native people of Canada.

Justice Ogoola and his people see themselves therefore on the edge of making history and the beginning of a golden age for the LuSamia people who are largely very uneducated when you get back into the villages.

At the conclusion of the evening Justice and his driver brought me back to Douglas’s place and as we drove home he invited Douglas and I to come back home with him on the weekend to see his churches, his humanitarian projects, his home and his people. Douglas and of course his mom Sophie back home in Lethbridge are part of Justice Ogoola’s family clan. He arrange to pick us up Saturday morning at 6:00 and head East to Busia which would take approximately 3 hours or more.

This worked out really well as we had initially discussed visiting Busia to visit Sophie’s family and her mom Josephine and as it turned out Justice Ogoola was going to go home for the weekend and wanted us to come along.

Of course I agreed. Actually, one does not say no to the Principle Judge and especially now that I am Mr. Fish!

My New "Clansman" the Hon. Justice James Ogoola