Its Naguru that I would like to report about and how the first food distribution went.
Let me give a little additional background on this area and the people here. This is an area has predominantly internally displaced persons. It’s a refugee community. In the 1970s and early 1980s Naguru had the largest numbers of the Nubian Tribe in Kampala. This tribal group got displaced from southern Sudan. Former Uganda president Iddi Amin very much related to them and gave them a high status during his rule. He gave them shops and other properties he looted.
They are a very strong Moslem community. In fact, they take Islam as their tribal culture. They are the most conservative, illiterate community that resides in Kampala.
The people of Naguru look at formal education with suspicion. They think its an attempt to get rid of Islamic traditions and westernize them! Because there are not many Islamic teaching centers, they use their mosques to spread the cultural norms and teachings of Islam. Due to this backward thinking, their women and girls are illiterate and are left to be house wives and to attend to the kitchen matters. The only jobs available for them are in the unskilled labor force. This is hard labor that does not require any formal schooling.
Iddi Amin had given this illiterate community lots of properties but property left in the hands of an unschooled, illiterate community soon ends up in the hands of the rich, schooled, powerful people. This is why they live in the valley of Naguru rather than on the hillside overlooking the valley.
When war broke out in Northern Uganda more people were displaced. People fled the war and the IDP camps in the north to come to Kampala to start life over. They found the already displaced people of the Nubian Tribe, like them, living in the Naguru valley and joined them. The population continued to grow as more and more fled the north.
People here do not trust any outsiders at all, be it “Muzungu” Douglas or “Mudugavu” Mutebi. Why? Because some muzungus and mudugavuus did come and take pictures of the people in need; they made promises and these promises were never fulfilled! So all outsiders are treated with suspicion. Rev Jimmy and his super wife experienced this when they visited the ladies at the alcohol brewery. They called us all kinds of names!
The chairman, the local council of this area, was not so sure about us keeping our promise either. He actually called me very early in the morning to make sure that he knows our status. He called when the truck carrying the food was only 5 minutes away muzungu time! He was thrilled for the people were already gathering at his home waiting to see if we would show up and what’s going to happen! The chairman was trying to calm down the people who had already come! Some came as early as 6am at his door! Thanks be to God that we did come!
We had a very peaceful distribution and God did bless!
Thirty-three ladies gave their lives to become followers of Jesus Christ and got enrolled into Bible Way Correspondence School.
Thirty-Three give their lives to Christ and enroll in Bible Way! To me this is super duper!! Most of these ladies were denied school, but now they can go to school studying God’s word! Nubian women here now will be liberated!
When we got to the finish with our list of people to receive food, other women starting coming en mass! But just as they were crashing in, a powerful rain came in and dispersed every one from the distribution ground. I think it was God’s way of saying its down for today. Move on to the next thing to do!
The Local Chairman kept asking us what we needed from him. He pledged support from himself and his office to all IMFC activities scheduled in his area! He loves the house church strategy! He said this was great and relevant to his people here! Manna giving to his people has greatly encouraged him as a local leader and has blessed his heart as a person!
Naguru is a very promising location in terms of ministry. We have very wide open doors to do ministry We do not need to hear any loud voice telling us to go, we have the scriptures and God’s Spirit to lead us in fulfilling the great command of our awesome Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanks so much for your partnership with us as we reach out to Naguru and bring Hope here amongst these internally displaced persons.
Yours and His
Douglas
