key

Americans have lost trillions of dollars over the past few weeks.

We are a people used to having so much. I photographed a poor Missouri family the other day; even they had televisions in every room of their ramshackle home.

This downward spiral in our economy has given me pause to consider: how much of what I have (which is a lot) could I do without? I doubt that my family is the only one that has begun having this discussion.

So many times this past week, as I have watched the stock market crash and the credit market called into question and average families lose their retirement and college savings along with hopes for that 64” plasma television or a new Wii, SUV, iPOD or iPHONE, I have thought about the children in Uganda.

Many of the children at the orphanage wear a key around their neck. The key fits into a colorful metal case that sits at the foot of their bed. Neatly packed in the case is everything that child owns.

Perhaps we Americans will begin to reconsider the excesses with which we have surrounded ourselves. It’s possible now that some of us will have no choice.

Of course, we all hope for a speedy recovery for the economy. Meanwhile, maybe we could use this time to focus on what is really and truly important in our lives... like what would be in our colorful metal case at the foot of the bed, and with whom would we share the key.

change the truth update

All kinds of wonderful things are happening on the Change the Truth front! Allow me to fill you in.

Two short months from now, several dedicated and enthusiastic friends of Change the Truth will board planes headed for Uganda. Once on the ground, they will make their way to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage for a ten-day mission commitment. This year there are actually two separate groups going; I know that amazing work will be done each session. As we get closer to departure time, I will introduce you to the talented and generous souls who have decided to make this journey with me. Please stay tuned to this blog! For now, know that we are all busy getting our visas and shots and figuring out how best to spend our time helping the children once we have arrived.

In the meantime, your contributions continue to flow in. Thank you so much! The funds we have received have allowed us to support even more projects at the orphanage. Each month now, we send enough money to cover food purchases, secondary school fees for nineteen young people and (new just this month) money to cover the employment of a part-time nurse, as well as medications needed by sick children. We have also recently sent enough funds for the purchase of a maize mill. This will enable the orphanage to produce much if its own corn meal, leading to a reduction in the amount of money required each month for food.

Supporters of CTT have been finding creative ways to raise money. In New York City, for example, a softball team chose CTT as its beneficiary in a charity league. When they came in second place, a healthy donation was made to the children. A woman in Port Washington, New York is organizing a grand scale garage sale, the proceeds of which will go to Change the Truth. She’s also passing out brochures to her shoppers so that people will learn about the work we’re doing.

For the second year in a row, we will have a fundraising event at Ten Thousand Villages, a store in Overland Park, Kansas that carries only fair trade products. On the evening of December 2nd, a percentage of all purchases made at the store will be donated to Change the Truth. Last year, we raised more money than any other organization that participated in the program. Let’s hope we do as well this year! You will receive more information about this as the date approaches. It’s a fun event – a great way to buy some unique and beautiful gifts for your friends and family for the holidays and also help out some very grateful orphans in Uganda.

The motorcycle we purchased for St. Mary Kevin’s can be spotted on the red dirt roads in and around Kajjansi now. Used primarily as a taxi, it brings in income for the orphanage, but also provides a means of transportation for staff and children when they need to go to the market, to the medical clinic, etc. I can just imagine the Change the Truth license plate flapping in the wind as the motorcycle winds its way through the Ugandan countryside. What a beautiful sight!

The children at St. Mary Kevin are performing better in school because they are not so hungry all the time. They are happier because they know their chances of attending secondary school are actually pretty good now. They are not struggling as much with their fears and sadness, because they receive much needed counseling and support from the staff. And now the children will have better medical care.

To those of you who have contributed: you are responsible for these things. You can feel really good about the donations you have made to Change the Truth.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for your interest in this amazing and ever blossoming endeavor!

vroom, vroom

As you know, Change the Truth board member Carol went to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage a few weeks ago. She met with Joseph, Rosemary and Joan (the young woman who is being groomed to take over at some point.) Besides spending time with the children, Carol’s primary goals were to hammer out ideas for future projects we might fund AND to make sure the purchase of the motorcycle went forward.


Carol succeeded on all fronts. (She also managed to then climb to 17,300 feet on Mt. Kilimanjaro in celebration of her 50th birthday!!) All of us – the orphans, the teachers and directors there, the board and friends of CTT - are so lucky to have someone as caring and engaged as Carol in our corner.

Thanks to everyone who has made donations to CTT. The motorcycle is a gift to the orphanage from all of you! It will be used primarily as a moneymaker. One of the most common ways to get around in Uganda is by boda-boda (my personal favorite mode of transportation while there), which is a motorcycle taxi. St. Mary Kevin’s is going to use this little beauty for that purpose; the hope being that is will become a daily source of income.

It will also be equipped with a basket so that Rosemary can use it to gather small batches of food items from the market. An extra seat will be added so that, when the need arises, a child can be transported to and from the nearby medical clinic.


When I saw this photo of Rosemary with the new bike and the Change the Truth license plate, I got goose bumps all over.

carol: part 3

“My sister-in-law and niece arrived in Entebbe early in the morning, and we went straight from the airport to St. Mary Kevin’s. After the various greetings and a tour given by Joan (I see different things each time I walk around), E broke out a Polaroid camera, and you can imagine the fun we had taking pictures and giving them out to the kids. We ran out of film at some point.

We were treated to a terrific music presentation of dancing and songs and when approached to get up, my hesitation was short lived and we got up and danced with them. Nicholas made a point of bringing more of his paintings to give to you and his pen pal, Joshua. Along with that I am returning with lots of jewelry, more small banana babies and an envelope stuffed with letters for pen pals.

I sadly left Kampala this morning and have arrived in Arusha at the base of the mountain. I am here for a few days of preparation, and we start out on Sunday morning. We are all excited about this adventure. But honestly, my thoughts are still in Kampala, and I think it will be an experience I won't soon forget.”

carol: part 2

As you may know, Change the Truth sends a monthly stipend to the orphanage - one that is used strictly for the purchase of food for the children. Carol accompanied Rosemary (director) and Joan (Rosemary's assistant) as they went to the market to buy the main ingredient for the porridge that is given to the children at mealtime.

"We truly entered the bowels of Kampala. I have never seen anything like it. There wasn’t an inch of either sidewalk space or roadway space that you could see through the feet of the throngs of people or the vans and cars literally crawling inch by inch to their destinations. I was terrified and excited to be there. First of all, I made the mistake of wearing sandals today, of all days. I thought for sure my feet would be run over by either a bicycle, boda-boda or taxi van and if that weren’t enough, walking was perilous simply because of the outcropping of car mirrors which I ducked on at least three occasions. I remember I kept thinking that I couldn’t get hurt today; I had a mountain to climb. Rosemary was fearless. Bound and determined to reach the place where she had a deal to buy maize flour for her children. They needed food and that was all there was to it. I rushed along behind her afraid that if I lost sight of her, I would be forever lost and swallowed up. When I got past my fear I was completely taken in by the life and activity going on all around me. Small stands selling goods. People carrying their goods. Boda-bodas carrying people. People and more people. I was having a blast.

Rosemary half-heartedly mentioned that it was too bad we didn’t have time so she could introduce me to her father. Of course we had time, and I excitedly told her she should lead the way. The way, of course, was through more and more of the deep markets and people and cars and more cars, and more people. She stopped along the way to say hello to people she knew. Joan told me that this could take hours because Rosemary knew everyone and more. She laughed when she told me that she used to get exhausted when going with Rosemary because their custom was to kneel at each introduction, and all that getting up and down was tiring. I laughed. And she pulled me away when Rosemary stopped so we didn’t have to say hello. My knee thanks her. We reached his stand well inside an inside stall market (reminded me of the Arab market in the old city of Jerusalem) and he wasn’t there. We waited. When he arrived, I was introduced. He didn’t speak a word of English. I shook his hand and did my version of a kneel. Rosemary and Joan deeply kneeled before him. We chatted (well, they chatted and I watched) and I bought some pottery from him. Very cool meeting Rosemary’s father. She was very proud. We said goodbye, and were off to buy the food.

More and more of the markets and stalls and people and cars. After ducking a few more times, squeezing through the car bumpers and learning to actually push through when necessary (of course saying excuse me, which fell upon deaf ears) we reached the stall where the maize was to be purchased. Rosemary pointed out to me the motor they needed at the orphanage to produce this themselves. I walked into the inner sanctum of maize production and took pictures. She talked to the proprietor; clearly she was a steady customer. Joan handled the transaction; Rosemary went off to hire the truck which would take the food up to Kajjansi. I was nervous. As the bags were taken to the truck, I was afraid they would steal it and then Rosemary would be upset. I need to get that trust thing in hand. The truck was loaded, and Rosemary and I were off to the orphanage. The ride was long because of traffic, of course, but also because six bags were very heavy, and negotiating the roads (if they can be called that) was difficult for the driver. But we arrived and were encircled by children as I got out of the car. I was surrounded by reaching hands and appreciative faces and words. They were thanking me for the food. I didn’t expect it and wasn’t prepared. I was flooded. Overwhelmed. I wanted to stay there and play. Take it somehow away from the food and just be there with them."

carol

Change the Truth Board member and member of the Team One mission trip (and my very good friend!) is in Africa. She is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in honor of her fiftieth birthday. Before starting her climb, she spent three days at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage, meeting with Joseph and Rosemary to discuss projects CTT is currently funding, as well as projects we may be able to help with in the future. Her assistance to CTT has been absolutely invaluable. I want to share excerpts from her emails with you. Here's the first installment:

"We toured the water system. The current water from the town is cut off because the bills are too high, and the water coming from the well isn’t working because significant repairs are needed; for the last month, they have gotten water by filling jugs carried from about ½ mile away. There is no current anticipated end to this situation. After seeing all of the various areas and spaces available for various projects, we headed to the room where we had the art lessons last December.

There each teacher introduced themselves to me (some are new) and thanked me for coming and for the work CTT does to help feed the children. Richard made a short speech on behalf of them all telling me how much easier it is to teach the children now that they are not hungry. Everyone thanked us for being so trusting and allowing them to do the work they do. I was struck by this. Clearly this isn’t the experience they have had with other organizations. They asked me to say something, and through fighting back my own tears (I think caused by a combination of what they had just said and my inability to speak easily to a group), I told them how excited I was to be visiting again and that CTT appreciates the work they do everyday and the dedication they have to the children; that they have made it very easy for us to want to help the children. I also told them that their friends in America had expanded to many, many people who have heard about SMKOM and want to help.

Then the music. Wonderfully led by Douglas, I was treated to a performance which, of course, made me smile and cry. I was just blown away again by the music and the sheer joy that they have in that form of expression. I came very close to jumping up and joining them.

The art and therapy are continuing!!! I was shown many drawings. The therapy is mostly being done by Douglas and Betty and in fact during my meeting with the teachers, Douglas got up and made a special point of telling me how helpful it has been to get the children to draw and talk about their feelings and experiences. He says it has been very helpful, and they were appreciative of being taught. Very cool."

Clearly, we are making a difference. I hope those of you who are supportive of Change the Truth realize what a good thing you are doing!

faso gallery event

On Friday night, August 8th, the Change the Truth video will be shown at the Faso Gallery. There will be two screenings: 6 PM and 7:30 PM. This is a great opportunity for those who missed the friendraiser/fundraiser at the Screenland in June or for those who just want to see Lynne Melcher’s film again!

All but one of the members of the 2007 mission trip will be in attendance and will be available for questions and answers after the film is shown. Lonnie Powell will speak about his work, as well as the ways in which the trip to Uganda has had an effect on him personally and on the artwork he has made since his return.

Some of my photographs from the trip will be on display. There will also be a “marketplace” chock full of beaded jewelry, CTT caps, tote bags, t-shirts and a few of the drawings made by the children at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage.

Just this past week, I received a package of gorgeous tye-dyed fabric made by the older children at the orphanage. These will be available for purchase for the first time on Friday night. The fabrics are large enough for tablecloths, clothing, wall hangings, etc. There are two sizes – the smaller ones are $50, the larger $100. All proceeds from the sale of the fabrics, jewelry and CTT paraphernalia will go directly back to the orphans at St. Mary Kevin’s.

If you can join us, we wold love to see you! The Faso Gallery is located at 3120 Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri.

st. mary kevin’s children made new friends today

This post is written by Ann Thomas, therapist extraordinaire and member of Change the Truth's Team One (mission trip to Uganda, December, 2007.)

The children of St. Mary Kevin made new friends today. Gloria, Lynne, Lonnie, Melissa and I (yes we were missing two…) presented the documentary and a presentation about the life in Uganda to the children aged 10 and older of Operation Breakthrough. For those of you unfamiliar with Operation Breakthrough (OB), it is the largest single site daycare in the state of Missouri serving working poor families. OB is located at 31st and Troost in the heart of Kansas City’s urban core and provides early childhood education for children ages 6 weeks to 16 years, including before and after school care. OB not only provides child care but offers a health care and dental clinic, mental health services, emergency services (food, clothing, and utility assistance) and much more. Many of the children who attend OB have experienced difficult lives, 25% of the children enrolled are homeless, 25% are in the protective custody of the state due to abuse or neglect, nearly all are living in violent neighborhoods. Many of these children don’t always have electricity; their families ride the city bus to get from one place to another. But today, these children were given the opportunity to learn more about children their own age, in a country far, far away.


After the children watched the documentary, they were invited to answer a few questions posed by Melissa, including, “What did you notice was the same about you and the children of St. Mary Kevin?” and then, “What did you notice to be different?”

Their answers were remarkable; wise and yet innocent. The children noticed that they were all about the same ages, that they wore school uniforms, education was important, that the kids had friends, and that they were black. Two children, who are currently up for adoption, commented that they too were kind of like the orphans, only they lived with a foster family, not in an orphanage.

When asked to name differences, many made note of the living conditions, the limited selection of food, the lack of toys and games, and the lack of family. Several children commented, “It helps us appreciate what we have”. They also noticed that the children seem to not argue or fight and one child said, “They use their words to get along”.


The children were very concerned and intrigued about the Rebels in Uganda. Many were appalled that “soldiers” could come into the villages and kill people for no reason. One boy raised his hand and wanted to know, “where were the authorities to protect the people?” Melissa then bravely posed the question, “Is that similar to gangs?” The children then recognized that the rebels offered food, clothing and a gun to each soldier, as well as a sense of purpose. For others, who were forced to join the rebels, it was due to fear; fear of losing their own life, or the threat of their family being killed. Power and intimidation were tools of the rebel soldiers, not at all different from the culture of street violence that permeates the daily lives of these children. Suddenly, for some, the connection to a country far, far away grew stronger.


The children were also very quick to ask, what can we do to help? Ideas filled the room, “let’s send food, let’s send clothes, let’s send books” and on and on. Gloria heard one child who suggested that they make a video to send back to the children of Uganda. Gloria piped in, “why don’t we come back and interview all of you, then you can tell about yourself and what it is like to be a kid here in America.” The kids responded favorably, except for one young woman whose eyes sparkled through all of this, “No that won’t work, it will take too long, and I want to do something now….” She was also one of a handful who asked if they could go to Uganda in December to meet the kids first hand..


For now, the seeds have been planted, these children have been exposed to a world similar, but different from their own. The remarkable piece was that these children, who don’t have much (compared to most children in the United States), got it! They were able to look beyond themselves, they were given a story and pictures which helped them understand, and their response was “Let’s help”. What greater gift is there - for children to look beyond themselves, and want to give to others? Today was a remarkable day!

change the truth update

After our successful fundraiser in June I asked Rosemary to send me a wish list of things the orphanage needs. At the top of the list was a vehicle. As it is, they have no means of transportation.

That is about to change. When Carol, a Change the Truth board representative and member of our Team One mission trip visits St. Mary Kevin’s next week, she will take Rosemary shopping for a motorcycle! This will enable the staff to do the food/clothing shopping more effectively. It will also make it easier to transport sick children to the clinic and will provide a means of income for the orphanage, as they will charge a fee to take passengers back and forth to Kampala. Carol suggested that she present Rosemary not only with the motorcycle, but also with a something that says Change the Truth that could be attached to the bike. This is what I got – a small license plate to hang on the back of the seat.


We have enough people who signed up for the next mission trip that we’ll have two groups going two different weeks! Teams Two is in the process of making air and hotel reservations for December. We have a great group of people going, including some returnees from last year. Our focus on play and art therapy will continue, and we will add music this time around. We are thrilled that we’ll have a doctor in our midst, as most of these children have never even had a basic checkup. We’ll also be repairing, painting and putting in a garden. It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks! Much more to follow…

The team will be at the orphanage for Christmas. I’ll end this post with the description from Joseph and Rosemary as to what we should expect to be doing. It’s definitely going to be a holiday none of us will ever forget.

“It is traditional for the orphans to expect something special at Christmas time:

• Stage a nativity play [Baby Jesus, Mary, the cows, and the rest of the cast]
• Gifts from Santa Claus (with the cart pulled by cows or donkeys rather than reindeers)
• Enjoy great eating particularly of meat & drinking of soft drinks and have fun on Dec 25 & 26 in the company of orphanage management and staff.

Please be prepared to participate in preparations for the play, donations of gifts for the orphans, and have fun on Christmas Day and the day after [sports, indoor games & competitions, music/dance, food feast, drinking spree, etc]”

change the truth update (and shop til you drop)

Folks who are interested in going to Uganda with me in December are gathering at my home this coming Sunday night. It’s time to start the process all over again, and I am very excited about that! Please contact me if you would like to attend this information-gathering meeting.

If you missed the opportunity to see Lynne’s film at the CTT Friendraiser/Fundraiser in June, you’ll be happy to hear that it is being shown again at events on August 8th in Kansas City and September 8th in New York City! Again, please contact me if you are interested in getting more information about either presentation.

Now for the shopping part of this post:

Many of you weren’t able to attend the June 12th event and therefore were not able to see our new t-shirts, caps, posters, tote bags and note cards, and unless you are a frequent visitor to the CTT website store, you don’t know of the existence of these snappy new items! Let me know if you’d like to order anything; CTT takes checks and credit cards now, so you can just email me if you’d like to purchase something.

cap/$20

10 note cards/$20

t-shirt/$20

tote bag $10

poster #1/$15

poster #2/$15

There are still a few of the children's drawings and paintings available for purchase:

unframed drawing/$25

unframed drawing/$25

framed drawing/$50

framed drawing/$50

framed painting/$100

framed painting/$100

Please email me, your new personal shopper! gbfeinstein@aol.com

jews in uganda

More than 250 Africans converted to Judaism in Uganda last week.

The conversions were supervised by Gershom Sizomu, Africa's first native-born black rabbi, and other Conservative rabbis from the United States.
 A ceremony in the Abayudaya village of Nabogoye included converts from Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. Some 800 Abayudayans formally converted to Judaism in 2002. ‘The relationship between God and the Jews in the Torah resonates for many spiritual seekers,’ Sizomu said. ‘It is important that Africans and others know that they can choose Judaism as a spiritual path and that we are open to them.’

- www.jta.org

In the 1880s, British missionaries converted the powerful Bagandan warrior Semei Kakungulu to Christianity. Because Kakungulu was a Protestant, British colonists commissioned him to bring the fertile African lands near the Nile’s source at Lake Victoria under their influence. Kakungulu won the lands, but became disenchanted with the British when they limited his domain to a 20 mile square plot near today’s small city of Mbale, 160 miles from the Ugandan capital of Kampala. He broke with them in 1913 when he joined the Malachites, a movement that the British called a cult because it combined Christianity with Judaism and Christian Science, and began to rewrite the Christian bible as a Malachite tome. Kakungulu became more and more a follower of Jewish tradition and less a familiar Protestant. In 1919 he circumcised his sons and himself and declared his community Jewish.

Soon the British could communicate with him no longer and forced him from Mbale. Kakungulu fled to the foothills of Mount Elgon to a village called Gangama where he started a separatist sect known as Kibina Kya Bayudaya Absesiga Katonda (the Community of Jews who Trust in the Lord). After the warrior’s death, his followers split into two groups – one that retained a belief in Jesus and another, the Abayudaya, that became devout Jews. These Abayudaya isolated themselves from the Christians for fear of reprisal, passing Jewish traditions from generation to generation, maintaining their community through a succession of anti-Semitic regimes such as that of Idi Amin, whose soldiers outlawed the Jews’ rituals and destroyed their synagogues. With poor communications equipment and very little personal mobility, the Abayudaya did not establish connections with any outside Jewish communities; they maintained their traditions in total isolation. In the ‘60s and ‘70s the initial members of the Abayadaya community began to grow elderly and implored the rising generation to extend themselves to Jews outside of Uganda. The community reached out to Israel in the ‘60s and ‘70s and even had the first secretary of the Israeli embassy in Uganda visit them.

In 1992, Matthew Meyer, a Brown University student studying in Kenya, heard of the Abayudaya and traveled to Mbale to spend the Sabbath with them. He returned to the United States with photographs, cassettes of the community choir singing Hebrew prayers to African melodies and letters from Abayudaya community members in both English and Hebrew. Since then, other English-speaking travelers have visited the Abayudaya, bearing gifts such as a new Torah and money from the Brown University Hillel to build a synagogue.

- www.mindspring.com

again

Here I am again with only the light of my computer. I am posting more of the images that were previously scattered on the cutting room floor. And I am thinking about the class I took in Uganda one and half years ago.

There has been a flurry of emails recently between the good people who were my fellow participants in the workshop that first took me to Uganda. The workshop was offered by the Maine Photographic Workshops; our teacher was Thatcher Cook. It turns out that while most of us thought we were in Uganda to simply expand our portfolios and to learn about working with NGOs, many of us have gone on to do work that is continuing to benefit the people we met and photographed in east Africa. Some are working in other parts of the world. Here are a few examples:

Tim has continued to help the family he documented in the very small, impoverished and AIDS devastated village of Buyingi. He is helping some of the children from that family buy books and attend secondary school, and he provided assistance when their home was destroyed by floodwaters late last year.

Diane “adopted” a young man from Kampala, who she continues to help support now that he is establishing his own organization to help get kids off the street. She is returning to Uganda this week to do more work with the group of child dancers she documented when we were in Kampala and to see what she can do to further assist her adopted “grandson” with his own altruistic efforts.

Thatcher is off somewhere in Asia making work for a book; he received a Fulbright to do so. Eileen left recently for Malawi, where she will spend nine weeks documenting health care there.

Brian never says no when I ask him to help me with design work for Change the Truth; several in the group have made contributions.

Little did any of us know where that workshop was going to take us. It was a very special group of people, and we grew close over the course of two weeks. As we each continue to work on our own projects and develop our passion for helping, we stay in touch, compare notes and offer encouragement to one another. I think that workshop changed a lot of lives. Sure, we all came home with new bodies of work, but it was so much more than that. Tim included this quote from one Sydney Smith, writer and clergyman (1771 - 1845) in a recent missive: "It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little."

At any rate, here are some more "new" old images.

revisiting and reconsidering

As my show comes down at the Leopold Gallery in Kansas City, I find myself here in a darkened room in Portland (it’s very late, and there aren’t any lights in this room yet, so, yes, it’s pitch black dark except for the glow of my computer screen) going through my master files of work from Uganda, 2007. I rediscovered this image. It’s one I’d worked on before, but unsuccessfully. Now I think it’s okay. So, I’m sharing. This image was made in the town of Gulu in northern Uganda.

2008 mission trip

I am all about cycles. For example, I love the way seasons trigger certain memories and serve as reminders to start something all over again.

Fall has always been my favorite season. As soon as Labor Day is over, my whole body starts gearing up for cooler weather. As a kid, early September always meant getting to experience “new book smell,” my birthday party, freshly laundered skirts and sweaters for school, sharpened pencils, the Jewish New Year and becoming a year older. Fall was always a chance to start fresh with new teachers, maybe even new friends, new classes, new clothes, new notebooks, new haircut and new commitments to what I would try to do right in the coming year. I could have been blindfolded and known it was autumn. I would have known, of course, because of the smells in the air, the crunch under my feet from acorns and pine cones and leaves, the cool edges of the evenings and the vague feeling somewhere inside me that had to do with getting older.

Summer had its own set of repetitions and rhythms. They dealt more with relaxing, reviewing. Lately for me, though, summer has come to signal the time to start getting ready for my trip to Uganda.

It is hard to believe that just as we tie up all the loose ends from our first big friendraiser/fundraiser, I need to start thinking about plane and hotel reservations for December. I have been busy discussing the thrust of the Team Two Mission Trip with the good folks at the orphanage, and several readers of this blog have expressed an interest in coming along. Now is the time to start planning the logistics of the journey.

*** If you or anyone you know is truly interested in getting more details about the upcoming trip, please email me with contact info. I plan on calling a meeting sometime in July so that we can all get together and discuss possible plans. I know I have mentioned the possibility of a medical mission. That is still on the table. We will definitely repeat our play/art therapy week, as that was so successful last year. Chances are the trip will take place over the course of three weeks, the first being the week before Christmas. Those who are interested in accompanying me could stay for a week or ten days during that time frame and then move on to other travels or return to the US. I plan on staying all three weeks.

When I was a young girl, summer always meant a new reading list. I loved filling in the lines with each new book I read, using my neatest handwriting. Lost in those books, I could go anywhere I wanted.

Who knew summer would ever trigger in me the longing to return to an off-the-beaten-path, dirt-poor orphanage in Kajjansi, Uganda? (Along with the knowledge that I really and truly get to go back!)

leopold show

The exhibition of my most recent Uganda work will be on display until early July at the Leopold. If you weren't able to attend the opening, I'd love it if you dropped by sometime during the next couple of weeks.

new body of work at the leopold gallery

The work for my show has been delivered to the Leopold Gallery! The opening reception is Friday night from 6-9 PM. The gallery is located at 324 W. 63rd Street in Kansas City.

There are thirty-five pieces in the exhibition; all of the images were made in Uganda this past December. This time around, I decided to offer the work in two different sizes. All are available for sale, and a percentage of the sales will go to Change the Truth to benefit the children at the orphanage. Thanks to Paul Dorrell for extending us this generous opportunity two years running.

documentary

Lynne Melcher and I have been friends for many years. We cooked up the idea to work together - she making a video, me making photographs - for a project for Operation Breakthrough a couple of years back. But she didn’t have a video camera, and the one I had to lend her didn’t work all that well, so the idea faded.

Then came Uganda. Once she decided to come along and make a video of my experiences there, there was, suddenly, no turning back. She took a couple of filmmaking workshops and became – at least in her own mind – an aspiring filmmaker.

She already had the eye from years of experience as a designer and artist. It was the technical stuff that overwhelmed her. This is from the blog Lynne wrote during the workshop she attended in Cambodia in July, 2007, just a few months before our departure for Uganda:

“For this segment we used Brenda's camera. She has made documentaries before, so she pulled out the big guns. I think her camera, with mic, lenses, etc, must have weighed at least 20 pounds. Now, I do work out with a trainer, and I do work on my biceps, but this was a workout unlike others.
To hold the camera steady, for many, many minutes, and to focus, walk, pan, etc...it was like doing tai chi, but with a frozen turkey in your hands. 
It was draining, fascinating, invigorating, and so much more. It was, in it's own way, kind of a rush. I can't wait to start all over again tomorrow.”

That’s how it’s been for Lynne and the camera ever since. She broke down and bought one of the “big guns” for herself. Was it just a few weeks before we were supposed to leave for Uganda? Oh, and then she got pneumonia, so she couldn’t really practice with it that much. At any rate, she carefully packed this thing (it affectionately came to be known as Lynne’s “baby”) and lugged it to an orphanage half a world away to tell the story about children who’d lost their parents to war and HIV/AIDS.

It was like watching a duck take to water. The camera soon became an extension of Lynne’s keen eye, her warm heart and her sharp intellect. You will see what I mean when you watch her movie.

Coming home from Uganda with 25 hours of tape would have sent most novices over the edge. With tenacity and determination, Lynne got to work even before the jet lag wore off. She hired a tutor, and she basically went underground for the next several months. Friends began to ask with some concern, “Where did Lynne Melcher go?”

She had a lot to learn, but that didn’t get in her way. At one point, after she’d already been working on the film for several weeks, someone asked her, “Who’s going to write the script?” And Lynne said, “The what?”

With each realization that she needed to know more, she simply dug in her heels and learned more.

So… where Lynne has been is in her studio… developing the skills do something she has longed to do for many years now – tell the stories of people from other lands, other cultures.

The children and staff at St. Mary Kevin Orphanage have no idea what a friend they have in Lynne Melcher. She has given her life over to them, to this project, for the past six months. On their behalf, and on behalf of Change the Truth, Lynne, I say “thank you.”

This is Lynne’s first major motion picture, you might say. I have seen it, and I’d give it five stars.

it's all relative

There was an article in the New York Times yesterday about the very wealthy having to cut back in various ways now that times are getting harder. It’s all relative, because the things they are having to eliminate from their normal routine include things like fewer trips on the private jet, fewer visits to the salon for hair highlights and fewer training sessions at the gym. These differ greatly from decisions the less fortunate are being forced to make.

I received word from Uganda that since our visit just six months ago, food costs have risen 50%. Staples like rice, beans and potatoes have increased so much that they have currently become weekend treats rather than daily sustenance.

An email form Rosemary describing the problem ended with these words:

“Suggestions for survival are welcome.”

Change the Truth has been sending the orphanage a monthly stipend for food since the beginning of the year. Due to the generosity of our supporters, we were able to commit to raising this by 50% beginning with the June contribution. So now, each month, CTT sends $1500.00 to the orphanage for the purchase of food. Plans are underway for a possible purchase of a parcel of fertile land so that more farming can be done by the orphanage itself.

In the meantime, these are the words of gratitude that were expressed by Rosemary when I told her we would be able to increase the monthly food funds we send:

“Thank you very much
And thank all the members of Change the Truth
For standing with us in this Ministry of Children
Feeding them has become a very hard task
Yet it drives all other activities
Now we are relieved, and will be less stressed
You have changed the Truth of Hunger.”

the lanyard

My son-in-law, Sam, writes a blog. He educates me in the ways of poetry on that blog, featuring poems on a regular basis by some poets I’ve heard of and others I have not. This one by Billy Collins has stayed stuck in my mind ever since Sam shared it a few days ago:

"The Lanyard

The other day as I was ricocheting slowly
off the pale blue walls of this room,
bouncing from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one more suddenly into the past --
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sickroom,
lifted teaspoons of medicine to my lips,
set cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift--not the archaic truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hands,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even."

This made me think a lot about Mama Rosemary, the woman who has dedicated her life to hundreds of African children, most of whom have lost their parents to war or to HIV/AIDS. Day in and day out, Rosemary gives all she has to give to make it possible for these children to have food, clothing, shoes, shelter, education, love and encouragement. I admire her. We have become friends; she prefers saying we are sisters. She calls me Mama Gloria – I call her Mama Rosemary. We are the same age, and we are married to men who are the same age, men who are equally committed to these children. She works on the ground 24/7 getting dirty hands, a tired back and sore feet as she gives these kids their only real shot at survival. I work from my kitchen office to raise money and awareness so she can continue. The children like to say they have two mamas now.

Rosemary and Otim, a child at the orphanage

I don’t know what Rosemary receives in terms of material gifts from the orphans. I imagine they must make her a drawing or a necklace every now and then. As for me, I get wrinkled, smeared and smudged letters of thanks. I have received drawings and little beaded bracelets. The handmade presents that make their way from Uganda to my doorstep in Kansas City are as precious as anything anyone has ever bestowed upon me. They are my lanyards, I guess, and, just as with handmade gifts from my own two children, Abbie and Max, they really do make everything “even” (although I am not measuring.)

new friend/new name

There are letters that arrive from the orphanage that warm our hearts and some that make us cry and some that just plain old make us grin from ear to ear. Melissa recently received one that did all of the above. It was from Doreen, one of the little ones who wiggled her way into each of our lives in quite a memorable fashion.

In her six-year-old scrawl, she informed Melissa that she had changed her named from Doreen to Doreen Melissa.

Coincidentally, just before that letter arrived, Melissa sent me a note telling me that part of her heart was in Africa and she really needed to return and that I could put her name on the list for the next trip.

When I think about the connections that have been made and the lives that have been changed, it really truly takes my breath away.