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Visit to Uganda Strengthens Partnership with a Nation Emerging from Chaos

Episcopal News Service. October 27, 1994 [94179]

Barbara Braver

"Our three major enemies are ignorance, poverty and disease -- and AIDS is killing us," Uganda's Archbishop Rev. Yona Okoth says in describing the plight of his nation. Two decades of terrorism and torture under dictators Obote and Amin have taken the luster off what was once "the pearl of Africa," plunging the lush and beautiful central African country into chaos.

During a week-long visit in early October to this member of the Anglican Communion, Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning came face-to-face with all three of the enemies the archbishop named -- but also saw many signs of hope that the church is helping to rebuild the nation.

From the capital city of Kampala, Browning and Okoth journeyed by land and air to the four corners of Uganda, a country about the size of Oregon. Poverty was evident at every turn in this primarily agricultural economy, particularly in the shanty towns that surround Kampala. Ignorance deepened during the cultural isolation accompanying 20 years of civil strife that cost a million lives in the nation of 17 million people. There is no system of public education and the general poverty means that only half of the children attend school.

The diseases that plague Uganda are the inevitable result of both poverty and ignorance. With minimal health care facilities, poor nutrition and grossly inadequate water and sanitation facilities, the life expectancy hovers at about 50 years. AIDS is pandemic in Uganda and it is estimated that about a third of teenagers and young adults are now infected.

'You show us how to live the Gospel'

Although the presiding bishop's party encountered all three enemies, they also saw signs of the vigorous fight the Church of Uganda is waging against them. "I am deeply moved by the witness of this church," the he told crowds who turned out to meet him at each of four regional visitations. "You show us how to live the Gospel."

Church members turned out in large numbers and greeted their guests. Worship services incorporated exuberant performances of regional music and dance. As a symbol of their warmth and hospitality, each visit included a huge shared meal, carefully prepared over a period of days. Many participants journeyed long distances by auto or bicycle -- and some walked more than 10 miles -- to join the celebration. "You have welcomed us not as strangers, but as sisters and brothers in Christ," the presiding bishop said in response to the welcome.

During their travels, the party saw a country constantly on the move. People on bicycles carried precarious loads of bananas, water jugs or children. A glut of animals -- monkeys, goats and the long-horned Ancholi cattle, a symbol of wealth, created traffic hazards. And women with enormous bundles balanced on their heads and babies on their backs met down at the river with their laundry, or around smokey cooking fires, or in the fields with their hoes.

Flying over an area still plagued by rebel activity and land mines, the party flew to Gulu and met with the minister of the region, Mrs. Betty Bigombe, an Anglican. She thanked the party for coming, despite the dangers. "You are friends indeed, who closed your ears and came when others are discouraged. You have shared our suffering," she said. Speaking to the crowd in a huge field with an outdoor altar, she spoke about the high price of internal discord. "Civil strife gives rise to moral degeneration. This is happening all around us. We call on the church, we need to go into partnership."

Partnership with a purpose

The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the partnership of the Episcopal Church with other provinces of the Anglican Communion. Browning said that he was afraid that the church's internal issues would push it "over the edge toward provincialism, to the diminishment of our mission."

"The good news is that the Episcopal Church remains solidly engaged globally, working with Anglican and ecumenical partners around the world in the one mission of Jesus Christ," said the Rev. Canon Patrick Mauney, the church's director of Anglican and Global Relations, who accompanied the presiding bishop and his wife on the trip. He pointed out that $20 million in grants will go to partners in the next triennium, "directly supporting those on the frontlines of mission."

In addition to the regional visits, the itinerary included a private visit with President Yoweri Museveni. Under his leadership, the nation has moved into a period of internal stability, human rights abuses have abated and the people are rebuilding their nation.

At every stop along the way, people thanked the Episcopal Church for its support, for financial aid, exchange visits, as well as the support of friendship and prayer. The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief has supplied significant support to Uganda, as well as the United Thank Offering.

Many missionaries have served there over the years and several U.S. dioceses have entered into companion relationships with dioceses in Uganda. "When I go back home, I will tell our church what our caring for you means," Browning told the crowd. "Partnership is a two-way street," he added. "We are part of a worldwide communion and there is an enormous strength that comes out of our sense of being together, supporting one another, praying for one another."