Romano Longole

When I first arrived in Uganda I was told two things about my host father, Romano Longale. First; he is a radical example of peace to his community. Second; he is a gifted story teller. Upon my arrival in Kotido I witnessed Romano’s example of peace with the meeting at the Ajale tree (blog post from September) and have since seen many other instances as well. But I had not witnessed his storytelling personally.

One day while we were having lunch together we began talking about Romano’s passion for trees. We had finished the meal and continued talking when Romano suddenly jumped up and told me to follow him. He briskly led me through the front door, under the small gate for the cattle into the front grazing area where the cows, goats, and sheep are held in the morning and evening. He led me to the side of the corral that looks out towards the bush and pointed to a cluster of trees.

“I want to tell you a story about how those trees got there”, he began. Romano said soon after the trees on his compound began growing fruit and providing shade an elder in the community approached him and asked him to plant trees in the common area on the outskirts of Kotido, close to Romano’s home. The elder’s vision was for the trees to be strictly for community enhancement; the trees could never be cut or harvested by anyone and the work Romano would put into the project would be voluntary. Romano enthusiastically agreed, and a few days later he began the process of digging holes all over the area where the elder has designated for the trees to be planted.

The weekend after the holes had been finished the elders of Kotido, including the elder who had commissioned the tree project, gathered within the area the trees were to be planted in for their annual meeting. The meeting starts with the sacrificing of a bull, the meat is prepared and after it is roasted the elders share it among themselves. After everyone has eaten they begin talking; making decisions for the community, and if there has been any cattle raiding creating a plan of action to confront the perpetrators.

However, at this meeting the elders were more concerned with all the holes that had been dug throughout the common area. They began grumbling among themselves say, “Someone is plotting to kill us, and they have already begun digging our graves.” The elders decided that whoever had dug those holes needed to be put to death. Romano overhead what the elders were saying and he approached the elder who had commissioned him to plant the trees, imploring him to make a statement to his colleagues regarding the purpose of the holes. The elder agreed.

After most of the bull had been eaten and the conversation was on the cusp of beginning the elder stood up took a leg of the bull’s meat which had not been eaten (when an elder speaks at one of their annual meetings a leg of meat must be held when they speak, this shows the infallibility of their words.)

At this point Romano paused in his story, laughing, he grabbed a stick lying in the corral and began marching around a tree three times. He commenced;

“The elder walked around the fire three times and said, ‘There has been a lot of talk about these holes. People are saying someone is plotting our death. But, I am here to tell you that I am the one responsible for the holes you see.’” The elders exploded, there was a strict order of business and the most important topics were saved for the end, the mystery of the holes was scheduled to be the last topic of conversation that day. But, the elder continued on, “Romano has agreed to plant trees in this area, these holes you see are for the seedlings he is going to donate to our community. The group was shaken, saying, “Ikoniai?”(Like who?) Meaning, “Who plants trees, only God plants trees, it’s impossible for humans to do God’s work!” The elder to commission the project continued, “If anyone has a problem with this he should speak directly to me.” After the elder explained why the holes were there no one was opposed to their being used for trees, especially since it was not costing the community anything but they were all skeptical that anyone but God could plant trees.

Romano had planted about ten trees in the communal area before the elder suddenly passed away a few days after the annual meeting. After the elders death Romano stopped planting since the elder was no longer alive to defend him. Romano laughed at the conclusion of his story, “It is hard living in the midst of such narrow-minded, uneducated people. I can understand why Jesus was crucified after only three years of ministry. The elders of his time were also slow to embrace change.” Romano’s second daughter, Monica, had followed us out to the corral and heard the entire story. I glanced over at her when Romano made this final statement, the seriousness in her face express that she understood what her father was saying.   

Sara Wenger Shenk stated in her book "Remember Who You Are", “There is no way to convey who we are, or for our child to grasp who they are, without telling and living our story. Our self-identity, our character as a community is rooted in story, unfolded through story, and changed through story.” Romano is indeed a very good story-teller and I am confident that his children, and nieces and nephews are all grasping who they are and becoming deeply rooted in Kotido because of the heritage Romano is passing on through story.     

Romano, Peter, Margret, Anna, and Maria

Anna, Catherine, Margret, Joseph, Peter, and Monica 

Sarah

Sarah is my host mother Maria’s step sister, she has been living with the family for about three months. Sarah’s home situation was becoming abusive which began affecting her studies so instead of sacrificing her academic career she moved to Kotido. Sarah is a responsible, hardworking student and auntie to the kids. She is always either in the kitchen, working in the back compound, or cleaning some area of the home.

Like other family members Sarah has also shared a story from her life with me. Not only is Sarah’s story exceptional but the calmness and strength she had in her voice as she spoke was astonishing. This is Sarah’s story:

One evening some of my friends and I were bring firewood back to the village along the main road. While we were walking some warriors with guns surrounded and captured us, they made us drop the kindling we had collected and forced us to follow them deep into the bush. There are two things that happen when warriors capture women; they either rape them or they beat them and leave them to die. We were all very scared and feared the warriors as they took us further and further from the main road.

At one point, while we were walking, we passed a pond with men and women fishing for mud fish. The men ran away when they saw the warriors but the women who were with them were also captured by the warriors. They grouped us all together and made us carry the fish the men had been catching. When it became dark we were forced to build fires to cook the fish for them. After we fed them, they let us sleep but they monitored us all night with their guns.

In the morning the warriors came to us with a proposal; if we showed them where the cows were kept they would let us go. We told them we did not know where the corral was because the men take care of the cows. They told us they would shoot each one of us if we did not tell them, but we replied that we were ready to die and genuinely did not know where the cows were. They considered this and continued threatening us but we were resolute that we did not mind dying and the location of the corral was unknown to us.

The warriors became very violent; they shouted and pushed us but nothing could change the situation. Finally they made us take off all our jewelry and beads, they took anything they liked, and they took all our money. Thankfully none of us were raped or beaten badly and finally the warriors let us go.

Sarah finished her story softly and then smiled.

Sarah’s story, and other stories I have heard about the warriors and cattle raiding, the war in Northern Uganda a number of years ago, and the ongoing conflict in the area; give me such an appreciation for the safety I experience in my home country. The last war that was fought on United States soil was the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. However, after hearing these stories of violence I am also more acutely aware of a few atrocities of war that affect innocent people unrelated to the conflict. It causes me to grieve for the people who are experiencing war on their own soil; their lives contain more fear, anxiety, and suffering than I have a framework to understand.

A poster hanging on my office wall artistically shows a line of Ugandan’s dropping their weapons into a bonfire. On the other side of the fire is a mental worker creating tools and pots and pans from the melted weapons. The poster is an obvious reflection to the passage found in Isaiah 2:4b, “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” The wars of nations may be overwhelming for diplomats, presidents and congress people; but, as people of faith we have assurance that one day there will indeed be peace. In the meantime I will listen to other people’s stories, make peace with situations and people in my own life, and praying for peace to come in the lives of my community around the world. 

The illustration of Isiah 2:4 hanging in my office

Auma Catherine

Throughout my day in the office my co-workers visit me and share about their lives; the difficulty of paying school fees for their children, abusive spouses, robbery, bad roads, and the rising cost of living in Kotido. It seems that everyone has a story to share. Story is also one of the main forms of communication, one day Bishop James (my “boss”) was explaining a Karamajong cultural concept to me he said, “Okay, it’s like this custom we have of sharing homebrew out of a gourd in a circle….” He went on to tell me a story about one of those kinds of meetings and, to my surprise, at the conclusion I actually understood much more clearly the concept he was conveying to me. The evenings at my host home are full of stories; it is extremely important for the family to share stories with each other, and it is also important that everyone’s story is heard. 

                                                                                                                                   

One evening one of the cousins who live with Romano and Maria called Auma Catherine shared her story. Auma Catherine is delightful; she is always smiling and laughing, starting games with the kids, and boisterously singing while she works around the compound. One evening after supper Auma Catherine told another cousin who speaks English that she wanted to tell me a story. This is the story Auma Catherine shared:

One day I went out with some other women from our village to gather firewood. We walked a long distance into the bush to gather the kindling because the resources close to our village had all been used. A few of us had to move further than those who had already collected enough firewood. When we had all gathered as much as we could carry we turned around to follow our foot prints back to the larger group. But, it had grown dark and traveling at night can be very dangerous. So instead of continuing on we lay down to sleep for the night in a secluded clearing.

In the morning, we continued to follow our footprints but we never found the larger group. Instead we came to a ravine full of water, none of us knew how to swim and we did not know how we were going to pass. We spent one day trying to figure out a way to cross but the water was strong and there was no way around it. On the morning of the third day a group of men came along side us by the ravine and helped us to cross. We were so grateful because there was no way for us to cross by ourselves. The men even helped us to get all the firewood across the water. When we got back to the village everyone was surprised and happy to see us, they thought we had been killed by warriors or had died in the bush. We were all very tired and hungry.

Helen Keller once wrote, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” I do not think Auma Catherine told her story to shock me or fill me with pity, I think she told me so we could share delight in the journey she had experienced. One thing I am sure of: Auma Catherine’s adventures are not over, in the coming months I am anticipating hearing more of her “daring adventures.”  

I believe each one of us has a “daring adventure” which must be shared with our communities. Perhaps your story is one of triumph, like Auma Catherine’s. Or maybe the story is difficult, renewing pain in you through the memory of those events. Regardless, our victories should be celebrated and our hurt should be grieved alongside our communities so the joys or burdens are carried by everyone.

If I may be so bold, share your story with someone today,

 and now the challenge: listen to their story. 

Auma Catherine

MCC Kopain Ik Project

My host father, Romano, is a partner of MCC. His organization, Kopain is, short for Kotido Peace Initiative. The mission of Kopain is to bring peace to the tribes in the region of Northern Uganda, Southern Sudan, and Northwestern Kenya where, historically devastating cattle raiding and violence has impacted the livelihoods of countless families. Romano invited me to see how Kopain’s partnership with MCC was jointly working to bring restoration in Northern Uganda by accompanying him on a trip to Kabong, a northern district along the border of Southern Sudan, to distribute school supplies to Ik children involved in an MCC educational scholarship program.

The Ik people could be compared to North America’s First Nation people. The Ik have been underrepresented in almost every facet of society; educationally, politically, and economically. In addition Kabong, where many live, is located between two raiding tribes, the Turkana, and the Dodoth. When the Ik would receive word one of the tribes was going to attack the other, they would warn the tribe in danger. The tribe planning to attack would find the other tribe well informed and prepared to defend themselves. Because the raid was ineffective the tribe organizing the raid would punish the Ik by raiding their cattle. It was never just one tribe who raided the Ik more, both tribes contributed to the over-all exploitation of the Ik. The Ik are a peaceful tribe and did not want to see their neighboring tribes get killed, but because of their cautionary warnings, they were punished.  

In 2006 at a peace meeting Romano organized for the Ik, Dodoth, and Turkan an agreement was made there would be no more raids between the tribes. So far the peace agreement has been honored and much amity and prosperity has come to the Turkana and Dodoth; however, the Ik were literally left with no animals. Although they were glad there would be no more violence their livelihoods had been destroyed and they asked Romano why they should honor the agreement when they had no cattle. Romano posed this question to MCC and together Kopain and MCC created the Ik educational scholarship program under the Global Families Project of MCC. Because of that project four Ik have graduated from high school, quite an accomplishment considering previously only one Ik had completed high school. And there are more Ik in school now than there ever have been previously to the Global Families Scholarship. The ultimate goal is to give Ik professional schooling and later jobs that will begin to empower them to again be active members in their community.

In preparation for the trip I accompanied Romano on he brought notebooks, pens, pencils, body soap, laundry soap, toothpaste, and body oil for the students he also brought tablets of paper and pens for the teachers. MCC is also supplying the funds for the children’s school fees which include school, room and board. After distributing the school supplies we would then visit the Head Master’s office to pay the bill for that term. We visited four schools during our trip, and distributed supplies to about 100 students.

Many of the students recognize the blessing of the scholarship they are receiving and passed their thanks onto Romano and I as we distributed supplies. It was the first time in my life I had been on the resource giving end of MCC. I have enjoyed volunteering at MCC Relief Sales and meat canning in the US to raise funds for MCC, but I have never seen firsthand how the money is distributed. I was pulled in two directions as I helped Romano; first, I was excited to see how MCC resources are allocated and who receives some of the benefits. Second, I was sad that basic school supplies, and paying school fees are such a burden to the Ik people. I’m disturbed daily by the disparity of resources in Uganda in comparison to the world’s richest nation, which I call home.

I recognize that MCC is diligently working to close the gap between these inequalities all over the world, but sometimes problems of injustice and exploitation blatantly confront me and I become cynical. Every day I reconcile myself to the fact that I am more privileged than I can imagine. There is no umbrella formula I have discovered for fighting against inequality and injustice; rather, it is a decision each one of us has to make every day: to treat everyone as God treats us, with compassionate love.

Mohandas Ghandi once said, “Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.” I know my existence here in Kotido, the US, or anywhere else I may go will never, even minutely, affect poverty, educational needs, or political corruption. But, I am encouraged in the fact we face this conundrum together; regardless of where we are, we cycles through our daily lives and although it may seem mundane there is a purpose, and a bigger picture we cannot always realize. Being aware of the problems is the first step to reconciliation and restoration from injustice so that people like the Ik can once again regain their dignity and build flourishing communities.

Romano, after just having paid the school fees

Two pictures of Ik students receiving their supplies