Pigs, clothes, and opportunity...an inspiring Hope Prison's success story

Sarah gives water to one of her pigs

Sarah Kisakya, commonly known as "Mama Musoke", is a 37 year old widow who had been struggling to provide for herself and her three children.  Strong, hardworking, and entrepreneurial, Sarah only needed the opportunity offered by Hope Prisons in order to turn her life around. 

Through Hope Prisons, Sarah was given two piglets along with training on how to raise the pigs.  Because pork is the most popular meat in Kampala and pigs give birth to many piglets in a litter, pig rearing can be a lucrative business.  When Sarah's pigs gave birth, she kept some of the piglets but sold several of them to obtain school fees and other basic requirements for her family. 

In addition to the pig project, Sarah was given a small loan with a low interest rate in order to start a business.  She launched a small business buying second hand clothes from the largest local market and selling the clothes to smaller markets.

As Sarah proudly explained, “The profits I accrued enabled me acquire a small piece of land on which I built a one-roomed house which I intend to rent out to raise more money to boost my business. On the other part of the land, I plan to farm on it so as to raise school fees for my son Musoke Dan when he enrolls to high school."



This Friday, we have our Annual General Meeting which is a meeting of all our partners as well as service workers and friends of MCC Uganda.  I'm very excited that this year we have incorporated a "storytelling" component in the meeting.  We have asked three beneficiaries from three different partners to share their story about how their lives were impacted by MCC and our partners.  I'll also plan to share those stories on my blog in the next few weeks.

Bringing hope to Uganda's prisons

When William and Everest were imprisoned in a Uganda prison in the 1980s, both of them experienced a powerful conversion as they came to know about the hope and new life available through Jesus.   With a new dedication and commitment to follow Christ, William and Everest were eager to serve the Lord when they were released from prison in the 1990s.

They felt a strong calling to return to the prisons to minister to the prisoners and their families.  They had firsthand knowledge of the many challenges that prisoners face, both during their prison term as well as when they are released and have to try to find work and support themselves and their families.  It is not only the prisoners themselves who face steep challenges; wives and children of prisoners often face huge challenges in financial provision and getting the children through school when their husbands and fathers are in prison.

William and Everest’s vision to reach out to prisoners gave birth to a ministry called Hope Prison Foundation, which has been an MCC partner since 2005.  Hope Prisons engages in various activities to support prisoners and their families in the Kampala area:

Everest, back left, and William, far right, with several of the children sponsored by Hope Prisons

-          They make frequent visits to the prisons to provide spiritual teaching, counseling, and mentorship to current prisoners

-          They sponsor 48 children of prisoners to attend primary schools, which is funded by MCC’s Global Families program

-          They have a revolving fund which is currently benefiting 50 women, where they give out small grants for wives of prisoners to begin small businesses. 

-          They offer support and encouragement for prisoners to reintegrate into society and reunite with their families when they are released from prison.  In the upcoming months, they will be beginning a brick making project to provide employment opportunities for ex prisoners.

Muigai and I have really enjoyed getting to know William and Everest, and we have been inspired by their strong faith and their commitment to prisoners and their families.  Next week I will share a story of one of many people who have been assisted through Hope Prisons.

Update from the past two weeks, it's a busy season for us!

We spent most of last week in Entebbe where we hosted our biannual East Africa Reps meeting, when all of the MCC country reps from East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and South Sudan) gather together.  With the exception of Kenya, all of the reps were with us in orientation, so it was great to get a chance to catch up with them and check in about how we all are doing now that we are almost one year into our assignments.  The location of this meeting rotates among the five countries, so this was our turn to host.  We are grateful for our great staff who worked hard to ensure all the logistics ran smoothly.

Unfortunately, our driver/logistics assistant Daniel was picking up one of our partners at 530am to bring him to the meeting and he was in a car accident.  A boda boda (motorcycle taxi) cut in front of the car and he had to slam on the brakes.  He doesn’t remember what happened next but from the damage to the car it appears that it rolled into a ditch on one side and then rolled back on the other side.  Thankfully, he only has very minor injuries, which we are so grateful for.  Unfortunately, the person who stopped to “help” him called his brother and then took off with his phone and wallet. 

We are now in the middle of the very complicated process of trying to get insurance coverage for our car, which is pretty badly damaged.

Please pray for us for strength and rest as we’re in the middle of a very busy season with work, on top of the two unexpected recent trips to Kenya, one for the funeral of Muigai’s grandfather in Feb (Muigai only) and the recent travel for his father’s funeral in March.  We are now planning for our Annual General meeting, Advisor’s meeting, and reporting seminar for our partners, all of which will take place on May 16^th and 17^th.  We are also short staffed at the moment and are beginning the process of recruiting and hiring a program manager.  In addition, we are hoping to travel to Gulu in Northern Uganda sometime in the next month or two.   

I've also been spending a lot of time lately coordinating some orders for cloth diapers.  I made some for a few friends and received orders by word of mouth, then trained a local tailor how to make them.  I'm really excited about this small project that is finally taking shape....more on those in a future post.

Thankfully, we are also beginning to plan for our vacation, which we are really looking forward to!  We plan to travel to the US for three weeks in July/August, and we can't wait to spend time with family and friends.

Things I'm learning in Uganda #6 - Community Trumps Supermom

I have a confession to make:  I have a full time househelp.  For those who may not know what that means, it means we have someone who works at the house Mon-Fri from 7:30am until 5pm and she cleans, does laundry, and helps with the cooking and shopping.  She also occasionally watches the children. 

Our wonderful househelp Maureen, whom the kids adore

My Kenyan and Ugandan friends might be wondering why I am making that confession – what is the big deal?  Househelps are the norm not the exception here in Kampala, for local women as well as expatriates.

In the US, the ideal mother in our individualistic culture is the mom who can do it all, by herself – she can take care of the children patiently and lovingly, keep the house clean, keep the laundry done, and cook nutritious meals without help from anyone.  And possibly balance that with a full time or part time career.  Needing or asking for help, except during “extreme situations” like the birth of a new baby or during a medical crisis, is often seen as a sign of weakness. Many American women (myself included!) have a hard time asking for help because we feel like we "should" be able to do it all ourselves. 

I’ve had two recent conversations with fellow Americans here in Uganda that reveal our strong bias toward the self sufficient woman, and our discomfort at having help.

One American commented how wonderful it is to have help around the house, but gave a guilty smile and commented that its not something she tells people about back home, as though it were something to feel ashamed or guilty about.  Another American mom  who I met briefly has an almost 2 year old and another baby on the way, and proudly declared that she doesn’t have a househelp (although they could easily afford one) because she can do it all herself.

In Ugandan culture, the ideal is not self sufficiency but community.  The ideal mother here would be surrounded by friends, relatives and paid help so that she can take care of her children, pursue her career, and manage her house well without becoming lonely or overly stressed.  Help is seen not as a sign of weakness, but as a blessing for both her and her children, as children benefit from being surrounded by extended family and loving significant adult relationships.  

In comparison to the American moms I mentioned above, a Kenyan friend living in Uganda is pregnant with her third child.  She is currently a stay at home mom, has a live in househelp, and hires another woman a few hours a week to help handwash the laundry.  She told us this without any hint of shame or guilt, but rather proudly and with gratitude that she is able to have support during this time of her life and take good care of herself and her family while she is expecting.

Another story illustrates this point as well - when Muigai's dad passed away, one of my coworkers suggested we travel with Maureen to Kenya for her to help out with the children during the funeral and funeral preparations.  (Nathan is in the throes of separation anxiety and there are about 4 people in this world that he will stay with without screaming his head off).  My first thought was a defensive one: "Doesn't she think I'm capable of handling my two children for a week in Kenya?  I can do this myself."  But of course, her thinking was not that I couldn't handle it myself, but that I shouldn't have to handle it myself.  She knew it would be a stressful and emotional time for our family and knew that having a helping hand would be a blessing.  Ultimately, I did end up swallowing my pride and traveling with Maureen, and I was so incredibly grateful she was there.  The actual journey was not stressful (Muigai had left for Kenya immediately so I would have had to travel with both kids by myself), I was able to attend the committee meetings to plan the funeral without distractions, and I was able to be fully present at the funeral without chasing after the children.   

I feel like this post is a little over simplified, since there are many other factors besides cultural values that come into play.  Help is more necessary here since housework takes more time - dishes are done by hand, many families do laundry by hand (although washing machines are becoming slightly more common in middle and upper middle class families), clothes are line dried and everything needs to be ironed (because of insects that can get onto drying laundry and burrow into skin), the dry, dusty weather and lack of air conditioners means that doors and windows are always open, so dusting must be done almost daily, and everything is cooked from scratch (convenience foods are rare and very expensive).

And of course, there are many American women who do have good support systems and accept help without feeling guilty about it.  When we lived in the US, my mother was an incredible blessing and would often drive four hours in a day just to help out with the kids.  While she was visiting, she would often do some cleaning and bring food as well.  She stayed with us when Muigai left for Uganda a month ahead of us, and I always felt very grateful, not guilty, for the support that she gave us. 

Despite the oversimplifications, my main point in this post is to examine the core cultural ideals of self sufficiency vs community.  Of all the things I am learning here, this is one that I most want to “bring back" when we return to the US.  I hope to look for creative ways to support and be supported by other women, and to view asking for and receiving help not as a sign of weakness, but as an invitation to community.

An inspiring doctor and orange sweet potatoes

Dr. Edith began working in Mengo Hospital's HIV /AIDS clinic as a young doctor during the 90s when AIDS was still highly stigmatized.  At that time, the clinic had very few resources for HIV patients, no drugs available to treat them, and had a hard time recruiting doctors and nurses to work with them.  Although Dr. Edith never though she would work with HIV clients long term, she eventually developed a strong sense of compassion for her clients and a determination to help improve their lives.  She eventually began working in another hospital, but when Mengo was looking for a director of the HIV/AIDs program she took a significant pay cut to return to the clinic where she had started out.

Dr. Edith has worked tirelessly to improve the clinic and the lives of the patients, with tremendous success.  She is extremely knowledgeable and well respected, and recently presented a paper on HIV and TB at an international HIV/AIDS conference in Washington DC.

Dr. Edith is in touch with the challenges of her patients, and is always trying to think of ways to empower them and improve their lives.  One of the biggest challenges for many people living with HIV/AIDS in Kampala is getting adequate nutrition to help them remain strong and healthy.   For pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, getting proper nutrition is essential for them to produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first 6 months, the current WHO recommendation for HIV positive mothers. 

In an effort to address this problem, Dr Edith has put together a proposal for a nutrition project targeting 300 of Mengo’s patients who are underweight and malnourished.   Mengo Hospital is a long time partner of MCC Uganda, and we’ve been working closely with Dr. Edith as she has developed this project.  We are excited that we were recently able to approve it for funding, and it will begin in the next few weeks.

The main focus of the project is to train the beneficiaries how to grow orange sweet potatoes, and to provide them with vines so that they can plant and harvest the sweet potatoes.  The anticipated outcomes are:

-          Because orange sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin A and other vitamins, consumption of the sweet potatoes by the beneficiaries will improve their nutrition

-          Beneficiaries will be given enough vines to have a significant surplus of the potatoes which they can sell to earn an income.   With additional income, the beneficiaries should be able to purchase a wider variety of food for themselves which will improve their nutrition

-          They will also be trained on how orange sweet potatoes can be dried and ground into flour.  This flour can then be used to make things like doughnuts, chapattis, and maandazis.  With this knowledge, the beneficiaries can begin small businesses selling these items which can earn them extra income. 

For the first four months of the project, while the beneficiaries are planting the potatoes and waiting for the harvest, Mengo will provide them with supplementary food baskets.

I have been very inspired by Dr. Edith’s knowledge, hard work, and her compassion for those affected by HIV/AIDS, and I am looking forward to seeing how this project will turn out.