I was explaining the Thanksgiving holiday to the Ugandan chef at Ndege. It’s one of those holidays that really can’t be properly explained without going into some history. So, I told him about the pilgrims and how they left England for religious freedom. I told him about how they had to fight to survive in the difficulties of a new land. I told them about how the Native Americans teaching these people to farm and about how they celebrated the harvest together. Thanksgiving is a feast, a holiday, to celebrate the friendship of two very different people groups, to be thankful for freedom and to appreciate provision and life. Of course, for me Thanksgiving has always been more about being with family, eating a specific and sacred set of dishes, the colors of fall, maybe have a few extra days off, the Macy’s Day Parade and of course the kick-off to the beloved Christmas season. This Thanksgiving is lacking almost all those things that make the holiday feel like Thanksgiving. But I found that my conversation with the chef has helped me to appreciate Thanksgiving in a whole new way. This year I am thankful to have friends from all over the world, for freedom to live as I choose, and for a thriving life in a new land.
Life here in Uganda is consistently filled with irony. Simply the words “Thanksgiving in Africa” seem a bit ironic. Quite practically one of the biggest ironies right now is that I have just enjoyed a magnificent and delicious feast and yet I rarely even have electricity at my house. Not that I am complaining really, more just marveling at how in some areas I have to adjust to a lack of certain ‘modern’ conveniences, yet in other areas I am completely spoiled. One of the most amazing things about being an ex-pat in Africa is having the privilege to know some incredibly talented, intelligent and/or successful people. This Thanksgiving I had the privilege to partake in the expertise of a restaurant manager from one of the finest restaurants in Chicago. I had the joy of sharing an American holiday with not just Americans, but Canadians, Britons and Ugandans!
In my life here in Uganda, I may struggle to keep my cell phone charged due to lack of power, I may not have a hot shower every morning, I may go completely without electricity for days, I may suddenly encounter riots without warning, I may suffer from the occasional bout of Malaria, I may have to wait hours to receive my food in a restaurant, I may have difficulty getting anywhere when it rains, and I may get worn down dealing with cross-cultural issues. But I am surrounded by people who care about my health, I am wealthy enough to afford to eat in restaurants, I find it easy to make friends almost everywhere I go in this area, I live in one of the most beautiful and lush areas on the African continent, and I have friends from all over the globe. I am indeed privileged.
Thanksgiving in Africa
Our life in Kajjansi!
My three month anniversary of living in Uganda is coming up in a couple of weeks. The date will be marked by the expiration of my Visa, a fact that I am very aware of lately as we try to scheme of ways to renew it that are efficient, practical and inexpensive!
It seems to be high time that we posted on here explaining what on earth we do with ourselves here in Africa!
Well, the short answer is working! Both of us now work for the same company full-time. Dan is keeping busy with charter flights to exotic and exciting tourist locations, where people travel to see animals like elephants and gorillas. He is even busier with helping build an aircraft maintenance department for the company, which at this point involves loads of paperwork. I have my hands full as the office administrator and more recently added to my job title, the human resource director. Thankfully, I don’t mind being a bit of a workaholic as I learn how to balance and accomplish the two different roles within my position!
The airfield our company, Ndege Juu, is based out of is owned by MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship). The Ndege has a great working relationship with MAF. Dan and I are enjoying getting to know some of the MAF missionaries. The airflield is located near a town called Kajjansi. Kajjansi is located South of the capital city Kampala and north of Entebbe. Entebbe has the major international airport in Uganda.
We live in a little one bedroom apartment in a small 3 residence compound. Thankfully it is walking distance to work. We loving getting a boda boda (a for hire motorcycle) or driving a company vehicle into Kajjansi to get a cheap dinner (we can easily eat for about $4 total). Spending time and doing business in Kajjansi is helping us develop friendships with a few of the people in the town. It also gives a chance to use the few Luganda (the local language) words that we know!
Aside from working, Dan and I have gotten involved with a Thursday night Bible study. I am attending a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) group in Kampala one morning a week. We have found a church we are very excited about in Kampala, as well. On top of this, we seem to always be making new friends or finding more people to hang out with! The ex-pat community in this area (from what we have experienced so far) has seemed very open to us, in fact we don’t go more than a couple weeks without getting invited to have dinner with someone!
The good:
Making friends and not feeling isolated!
We are both working – this is something we were really hoping would be possible and it is great to see how quickly I got a job.
Kajjansi – I LOVE this little town. We can get many things easily and cheaply. The more I have accepted certain cultural norms, the more I have felt welcomed and at-home.
The difficult:
Learning the language! It’s always hard to do this unless you are completely immersed in it. Knowing the local language even though we can typically speak with people in English can be incredibly beneficial for both building relationships and for doing some everyday things like bartering, plus it would help us to know what is actually going on around us.
Getting around – in some ways this belongs in both the good and the difficult section. We are in a good situation in that our location gives us fairly easy access to public transportation and we have the option to use a company vehicle pretty much anytime we would want to. The difficulties are more complex and are something that really everyone around here deals with. One example is that traffic is quite bad in Kampala. This means that we have to give ourselves an hour and a half to get to church on a Sunday morning. Another tricky thing is weighing driving ourselves or taking public transportation. Public transportation is almost always cheaper if we are going anywhere more than a few minutes away. But many people find it to be dangerous and there is definitely truth to that.
And the things that have become normal…
Strangers staring at us or yelling to us
Not having electricity on a frequent basis
Seeing police and security guards heavily armed – meaning they carry AK-47’s
Having to ask for the check/bill at a restaurant
Saying “how are you?” or the equivalent Lugandan phrase as the standard way to great anyway
SMILE Africa
The Karamojong are a people group in Northeastern Uganda. Due to constant conflict with neighboring tribes and severe economic hardships, thousands of women and children have fled south to cities/towns like Kampala, Jinga and Tororo. They flee looking for a better life but most continue to suffer due to illiteracy and discrimination. The children end up hungry and on the streets.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to Tororo with some ladies from the AIM Central Region Office. We stayed two nights in Tororo to allow time to meet up with a couple of girls from the US who are doing short-term trips with AIM and serving at a project called SMILE Africa.
SMILE Africa was started by a Ugandan woman who is called Pastor Ruth. She saw the plight of the Karamojong children on the streets, many would dig in the trash looking for food. SMILE is a place for these children to come during the day. The receive two meals, medical care and even a little bit of schooling. They have around 300 children come through the gates when they open at 9:00 am every morning. Several of the children simply have no place to go in the evening or they have been rescued from abusive/neglectful situations, so SMILE has staff who remain overnight to watch these children.
this is the kitchen where the all the food is cooked
most of the kids have finished their breakfast... except this wee little boy!
As soon as we opened the doors of the land rover we came in, we were instantly surrounded by children seeking attention and affection. It was impossible to walk anywhere without several children trying to hold my hand, arm or skirt. We stayed the whole day at SMILE, it was one of the most exhausting days I have ever experienced. Exhausting emotionally, to see babies who didn’t smile and exhausting physically to try to give at least some attention to each child clamoring for it. Thankfully, many of the children were more than happy to sit with me when I needed a rest from playing. They loved reading books. All the story books were in English, which most of the children knew very little of. But they loved the pictures!
Tororo is in Southeastern Uganda, very close to the border of Kenya. Unlike most of Uganda, Swahili is commonly spoken in that area. Thankfully a few members on our team were able to speak some swahili and so were able to communicate easily with the kids!
this little guys was my special buddy the entire day!
the Karamajong are known for wearing beautiful beaded necklaces and braclets
Uganda Facts:
One thing we have really enjoyed lately is researching this country that will be our new home! Here are a few of the things we have learned…
45 different languages are spoken in Uganda. English and Swahili are the two official languages. Luganda is the local language in the area around Kampala (where we will be). 4 million people are native speakers of this language and another 4 million speak Lugandan as a second language.
Kampala is the capital city. We will be living just south of the capital in a town called Kajjansi. The airstrip Dan will be flying from is within walking distance of our house there.
The population of Uganda is 33,796,461. According to Operation World, 37% of the population can be defined as “Evangelical Christians.”
Uganda, sometimes referred to as the Pearl of Africa, achieved it’s independence in 1962. Independence was gained peacefully and the country maintained relative prosperity in the early years. Ethnic and religious discord, combined with economic disparities developed tensions within the country that limited further economic development.
Gorilla tracking safaris create a large draw for tourists to the country as Uganda (home to around 20 different species of primates) is one of only 3 countries where Gorilla’s can be tracked.
Hopefully soon we’ll be able to convey some interesting stuff that’s not necessarily readily available on the internet!
Moving plans…
We would like to be out of our apartment completely before Dan leaves for Africa. This means we have less than two months to go through everything we own, pack what we want to keep and sell/trash what we don’t want. Thankfully we have some experience with that very thing and this time I think we are ahead of the game! There are many arrangements that need to be made regarding living in Africa and a lot of information we need to gather so we can be as prepared as possible for our new life. On top of those things we will be in the process of phasing out of ministry involvements and other responsibilities, while attempting to meaningfully say good-bye to many of the wonderful people who have invested in our lives here. While we are incredibly excited to be going, leaving is, as always, very difficult.
Following Dan’s initial departure for Uganda, I will be doing some traveling of my own, hoping to spend meaningful time with friends and family in Lancaster, Spokane and Rochester. A couple we know who is living in Kampala have graciously offered to allow us to live with them temporarily. I am relieved that Dan will not be alone for the two months without me in Africa! While being apart for that period of time will surely be difficult, we believe that there are some benefits to the situation. One benefit being that Dan will be able to fully invest in his new job while he learns the ropes without the added responsibility of being a support to me in a new and lonely situation.
At the beginning of August we will both meet up in Rochester to spend a little time with the Milligan family and to celebrate the wedding and marriage of Jon and Rachel! We are so excited to be a part of their wedding and appreciative that Dan’s new employer is allowing him the time off!
So, that’s the brief version of our plan. Please pray for us as we tackle large to-do lists and say many good-byes!
Milligans On the Move 