Equal Access

Last month, I met a very interesting man whom I'll call 'Hal' for now. Hal communicated in a different language from mine or anyone else's in the room where we were. His was not an audible language and so someone had to interprete for all of us in the room what Hal was 'telling' us. You see, Hal was deaf and dumb. And because he couldn't hear us either, we had to get our messages across to him through the only other person in that room that 'spoke' his language, the 'sign language' interpreter. Hal 'told' us something that I reckon I shall remember for a very long time; he asked us to consider the fact that since we (the rest of us) couldn't communicate directly to him (and vice-versa), perhaps that was a disadvantage on our part and to reflect on the fact that at the time he was actually 'speaking', all the rest of us in that room could be considered to be 'temporarily disabled' until his interpreter 'enabled' us with the interpretation of what he had communicated through his signs.

And he was right. While Hal 'talked' with his hands and made facial gestures, all the rest of us in that room could have but only wondered what in the world could be going on. I had known before about sign-language but from our communication with Hal, one couldn't but marvel at his perceived eloquence even though the 'sign language'. This got me thinking about my own perception of disability and I was a little embarrassed at the fact that I had never seriously given much thought to disability and how it affects development in our world. Since my interaction with Hal I have tried to recall various interactions that I have had with people with disabilities. Sadly, the biggest number of these have been from my own country, Uganda -of course this could also be due to the fact that it is the one place that I have lived for longer than 10 years at a time. That notwithstanding, Uganda is also one of the poorest countries in the world and for the disabled people in Uganda that I have interacted with, the majority of them have been living under conditions of desperate poverty. Some of them because they could not tolerate it any longer transferred their misery to the streets where they stood a better chance of survival by making use of their (usually visible) disability to solicit sympathy and inadvertently a few coins from people that saw them and that cared to give.

According to UN estimates, there are more than 500 million disabled people in the world. Approximately 80% of this number live in low-income countries. Estimates vary from one nation to another but on average, disabled people account for between 4 - 10 % of the population. These numbers are however on the increase with every new day because of such precipitating factors as: violent conflict, accidents, HIV/AIDS, environmental pollution and ageing populations.

Now I have met disabled people in almost every other country that I may have been to but like I said before, never on the scale as Uganda's. Disabled people are a part of every community, everywhere in the world. However, in the developing world, disabled people are also among the poorest and most marginalised people. Quite ironically, disabled people have the least access to public services, which exacerbates their isolated condition by stigmatising them, and/or denying them the opportunity to participate in policy-making processes within their communities and consequently keeps them in poverty.

Poverty is not only about low income. It is also about limited opportunities, choices and social exclusion. When people are denied opportunities for economic, social and human development because of a disability, it feeds the vicious cycle of poverty by creating a negative imbalance in the attainment of their human rights through decreased participation in their communities, which makes them the more vulnerable to poverty and/or ill health.

Now, I am sure that disabled people do not expect more or better facilities than other people. Only to be included. So they too, can have equal access. For the majority of disabled people in low-income communities, their human rights to life, food, water and shelter are a daily struggle. The only way they will access these basic needs and rights is through inclusion in the mainstream services and programmes. Today I thought about back home and of all of the construction projects that are going on all over the country -from the sprawling shopping malls in Kampala... to the water projects in Bukedi... to the northern Uganda reconstruction programme in most of Gulu et al- and I wondered about the plight of the disabled people and whether their needs were being seriously considered in the planning of those vital public services, so that they are accessible even to people with disabilities. I know, 'Equal Access' can be a hard nut to crack. But we've gotta start somewhere.

In writing this particular blog, I thought I would appeal to each of you reading here to reflect on your own perceptions of disability -Uganda could be any other country for you- and how in your own life, with your own means, you can make a difference today by improving accessibility for people with disability and other special needs. In my last blog here, I talked about Millennium Development Goals. One other thing that is resoundingly clear about the attainment of MDG # 4 - poverty reduction - is that unless poverty reduction/eradication measures are made disability conscious, this particular MDG will not be equitably met. And on an economic perspective, the cost of excluding disabled people in a development programme far outweighs the cost of including them. Make a difference today! Alutta continua...


Other useful links on disability as a poverty issue:

United Nations: Disability Statistics

UNICEF: Child Disability, Statistical Tables

Identifying Disability Issues in Poverty Reduction

MDGs: an attitudinal change for conflict areas

At the dawn of the 21st century and new millennium, 2000, while at the United Nations Millennium Summit, 189 nations pledged to end the conditions and precipitating factors of poverty that people world-over face. The representatives of these nations defined a number of targets and indicators to mark progress and set a time-line. By 2015, everything from universal access to primary education to reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS should be accomplished according to that pledge. Together the United Nations at that summit referred to these targets as the 8 Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.

Periodically, each of the governments of the 189 nations is supposed to present a candid report of progress made towards the attainment of the 8 MDGs. In the preamble to the MDG declaration, a part of the phrase read: “...(to) free men, women, and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.” Living in extreme poverty means living from hand to mouth, without any comfort or confidence in the availability of the fundamental elements that ensure human survival. Poverty, especially in Africa is also inextricably linked to conflicts and political instability -conditions which make an easy solution equally difficult to achieve.

Today, my heart goes out to the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by wars and strife all over Africa -Darfur in western Sudan, eastern Congo, northern Uganda and more recently north-eastern Congo and areas of the southern Sudan, to mention but a few. For this group of people, the continued strife remains a major hindrance to poverty reduction and ultimately human development as income is continually lost out through abandonment of economic activities -farming for one that represents a nearly 70% contribution to national economies in most African countries south of the Sahara- in some cases estimated to the tune of billions of U.S. dollars.

While the implementing governments seek to appease their respective MDG-programme donors this year with politicised statistics of progress made towards the attainment of the 8 MDGs, we should also seek to ask the question, are the MDGs any relevant to the millions of human lives living in 'conflict areas' - where the population of AK-47s, machetes, and axes seems to double that of the population- a sore-thumb still among many of the participating developing nations? Given that without a sustainable resolution of these conflicts, the plight of the majority of the population remains in a precarious state and this reduces the chances of any of the MDGs being realised effectively! In my opinion, there shouldn't exist even a semblance of a dichotomy between conflict resolution in war-ravaged areas and the implementation of the MDGs, because the success of the latter is also strongly hinged on the realisation of the former.

If we continue to ignore this glaring fact, we as participating nations in the MDG-framework shall continue to put our countries off target for meeting the MDGs, especially on 'elimination of poverty' and who knows, regional imbalance may even get worse! My plea is that we all take appropriate action. Alluta continua...

Storm's Eye

In less than a week from now, we shall be marking the 20th anniversary of the international annual World AIDS Day -1st December- a day when people from around the world that are passionate about fighting HIV/AIDS come together within a single effort to focus on global shared action and raise public awareness on specific issues related to HIV and AIDS. Some of the issues that will be raised on 1st December include the continued importance of fighting stigma and discrimination due to HIV and the disproportionate impact of AIDS on women and girls. The fight against AIDS is over twenty five years old and although some people choose to deny it, while others unabashedly ignore it; the AIDS epidemic is a global emergency that affects people in every country on this earth. That some of us would choose to hide our heads in the sand over such a matter is more than simply shameful. It is tragic. As we mark this 20th anniversary, will you stop to ponder for a moment on how your own actions have affected the global fight against HIV/AIDS. What are you doing to stop HIV/AIDS? This year's campaign theme from the World AIDS Campaign is LEAD-EMPOWER-DELIVER. Choose your pick, do something about HIV/AIDS today!

And before I sign off, I thought I'd bring this matter to light. It's a news article I just culled from IRN PlusNews about the on-going humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A classic case of 'between a rock and a hard place'. As you mark World AIDS Day next Monday, please say a prayer for the people of the Congo!

IRN PlusNews
18/11/2008
*************

Violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has forced thousands of people to flee across the border into neighbouring countries, but relief workers in Uganda admit that HIV is low on the list of priorities.

"[NGOs] are prioritising water, sanitation, basic health; they are doing a broad intervention," said Innocent Asiimwe, a repatriation officer at the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. "They might do immunisations next week, but until that's sorted, they won't have time for HIV. We need a health partner to target HIV on the ground."

So far, no refugees have asked for antiretroviral (ARV) drugs or Septrin - an antibiotic commonly prescribed to avoid opportunistic infections associated with HIV - and it was unlikely they would do so unless there was an organisation specifically sensitising the community to HIV, he said. According to UNHCR, the violence in eastern DRC has displaced an estimated 250,000 people. About 12,000 have crossed into Uganda, with around 7,000 passing through the transit site at Ishasha, near the border of DRC's North Kivu Province. Although some returned to DRC after only a few days, others have gone to a permanent refugee settlement area in western Uganda called Nakivale.

There are approximately 4,000 refugees in Ishasha, but the transit site is not equipped to provide such a large influx of people with water, sanitation, food, condoms, and health care. There are only three latrines for this large population, and no garbage
disposal pit or system, but Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the international medical charity, is building a water-filtering system.

"[The need for] sanitation is immediate, but health care is needed in the long term. We need a more permanent intervention because people will keep coming," Steven Sebudda, the district health official at Ishasha, told IRIN/PlusNews.

"The population is at risk of HIV, but it is not useful to do VCT [voluntary counselling and testing] if we can't provide condoms or medicine afterwards, and we can't provide condoms until there is somewhere to dispose of them." He feared that small children would get hold of used condoms and play with them or use them as water containers, creating a huge public health risk. UNHCR is encouraging the refugees at Ishasha to go to Nakivale, where there are well-stocked health centres, plenty of medication, and trained counsellors and doctors who can assist people living with HIV. The Inter Agency Standing Committee - a mechanism for coordinating humanitarian assistance by key UN and non-UN partners - notes in its guidelines on HIV interventions in emergency settings that it is crucial to incorporate HIV into the overall emergency response.

The guidelines state: "If not addressed, the impacts of HIV/AIDS will persist and expand beyond the crisis event itself, influencing the outcome of the response and shaping future prospects for rehabilitation and recovery."

Right against poverty

Today bloggers around the world stand up to be counted as they unite to blog against poverty. As a joined up campaign member, I am dedicating this blog post today towards the global campaign to end conditions of dehumanising poverty around the world. I also dedicate this post to all the men and women around the world that have dedicated -small/big/entire portions of- their lives to this fight.

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore, The General Assembly, Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and
observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

I believe that it is the right of every man/woman to live in their full dignity -a life free from the conditions of poverty. The bigger question is: does everyone else share this opinion? Once we are beyond this stage, then perhaps we can pose the next question: How do we go about lobbying the world body that prepared this beautiful preamble (see below) to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to also declare the universal right of every human being to live a life free of all conditions of dehumanising poverty?
Do something against dehumanising poverty today!

"You can never win a war against terror as long as there are conditions in the world that make people desperate -- poverty, disease, ignorance, etcetera," -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

http://blogactionday.org/js/7c5838a6c5f182e005b3bcb4906dc2c44990ae51

Medicus curat natura sanat

(The doctor treats, the nature cures)

The day before yesterday, October 9th, the Republic of Uganda celebrated its 46th Independence anniversary. Ugandan Independence day to me brings connotations of such things as the Uganda Argus, jolly king Freddie, the legendary Elly Wamala and his music, Apollo Milton and his chauffeured Rolls Royce, the National theatre, Warrant Officer II Idi Amin (also the first of the only two decorated Ugandan military officers at the time), club Susana and Nakasero market filled with a new rising Ugandan middle-class society doing their shopping on a Saturday morning. And I wasn't yet born at the time. These are all images however, that I have come to associate with this event only over the time. Of course the picture is incomplete without 'the marching men in green' and oh, "the sankalewa (did I spell that right?) dancers"! One of my friends, aptly named "Uhuru" (kiswahili for independence) also celebrates his 46th birthday on this day. Heri za siku ya kuzaliwa rafiki! And Happy Birthday Uganda! Tunakupenda sana! I was on my way to an interment the day before Independence Day when I totally lost my way and had to solicit the help of school boys on their way back home to point me into the right direction. They obviously looked excited when I offered them a ride in return for their routing. As we negotiated the hills and bends along the way, we talked about their UPE school and I was surprised to find out what 'a typical day in the life of a Ugandan UPE student' seems like. My 'navigators' told me that they actually spend a larger chunk of their mornings playing (and fighting) before their 'school-master' allocates to them a boy/girl in an upper class to teach them. The reason for this, I was told, was teacher absenteeism. I was then reminded of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) # 2: achievement of universal primary education, and probably how of little consequence the Ugandan UPE might be for these little children's development. Without negating the Government's impressive progress towards achieving universal primary education in Uganda, I think it is worth mentioning that the policy is fraught with a number of challenges, like this one highlighted, that are counteracting its efficacy. And when that is said, it's worth our commitment to take responsive action!

I was prompted to blog this today when I came across this selection of children's quotes in a (UgandaDebtNetwork) report that I have been reviewing today. I thought they (the quotes) might perhaps put this UPE issue better into context:

“There is a problem of shortages: shortage of textbooks, shortage of pens, shortage of chalk and shortage of balls with which to play. There is even shortage of teachers. Why can’t government do something about these shortages?”

“I take no breakfast at home. I get nothing at school. When it is lunch time, teachers go home to eat and tell us to play. Can you imagine spending a whole day without eating anything?”

“We have classes under trees. We are either beaten by the sun, rain or distracted by passing people, bicycles and occasionally cars”. “Because we don’t have enough desks, we sit in the dust and end up making our uniforms dirty. When we get home parents beat us because it is expensive to buy soap to wash our dirty uniforms more frequently than is necessary”.

Which brings us back to the blog title and inexorably begs the question, are we only washing to hang in the dirt again? To throw all caution to the wind???

---

On a more personal note, this is to my dear friends that lost a loved one recently. It is something that I wanna share with you that my own father oft said to me when I was a little kid growing up (I hope you find some solace in the words and e'en still our prayers are with you):

"The days in our lives may not all be bright and fair, but the same life holds both sunshine and showers. When we look hard enough through the showers, there'll be a rainbow close by. And you'll always find hope shining there."

Alluta continua...

African solutions to African problems?

AFP/Getty Images

On being the change that I want to see...

As I reflect on the recently ended XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico city, I am overcome with emotion to, in the famous words of Mahatma Gandhi, "be the change that I want to see in this world". This December I shall mark exactly 5 years since I got myself involved in the global fight against HIV/AIDS as a campaigner for both HIV/AIDS Awareness and Behavioural change as well as a proponent for the psychosocial support of individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. Again this December, together with Cheri (then) and a few others, it shall be two years since we resolved to wear the Red Ribbon proudly as proponents of the fight - and also began the GLOBAL BLOG campaign to challenge our peers to 'wear a red ribbon today' as a tangible testament of the continuing battle - against HIV/AIDS. In the words of (deceased) AIDS activist Debbie Hood Johnson, "HIV/AIDS is 100% FATAL but it is also 100% PREVENTABLE". By wearing a red ribbon, we show our solidarity with individuals that are living positively with HIV and we are also reminded to mainstream HIV/AIDS in everything that we do.

The Mexico conference presented an opportunity to be among passionate young & old activists, renowned researchers, and those living positively with HIV. In addition, the lessons that I learned from the youth activists as part of the YouthForce Mexico team will not soon be forgotten. I might be (almost) 5 years old as a proponent in the fight against HIV/AIDS but that does not mean that I know everything there is about HIV/AIDS. Matter-of-factly it is only by attending such fora as this one (IAC 2008) and others that we seek to know and learn more and then at the end draw up strategies on how we can together seek to redress the common challenge that is AIDS, even in very small ways!

Somewhere in the photo exhibition stalls was this collection from the last held AIDS conference in Toronto. It was by a little child and in one picture it had what appeared to be a table, in another a clock, and in another a refrigerator. Under each of those pictures the captions read: 'my father's table'; 'my father's clock', and 'my father's refrigerator'; . At the bottom of the photos, it simply had written: "missing my Dad". At that moment, even I was moved to tears! There was a glaring (in your face, if you like) AIDS statistic with a very human face to it. Suddenly it dawned on me that for all the seminars and workshops and a myriad other educational opportunities that I have had chance to attend about HIV/AIDS, none of them actually amounted to the understanding on HIV/AIDS that I had received that day in that instant as I looked at the little child's photos. Someone once said, "there is power in art", and another that 'silences make the real conversation between friends -not the saying, but the never needing to say is what counts!". Go on and take a silent moment with art, maybe you can learn something new, like I did.

***
It is sad to note however, that in some countries (and territories), the legislation still denies the entry, stay or residence of HIV-positive people because of their
HIV status only. Such legislation is very discriminatory! The consequences of these travel restrictions were made even more clear during the conference plenaries. A few people shared their own experiences of how such restrictions had affected their personal lives.

Fact from the International AIDS Conference 2008:
As of 2008, it appears that 67 countries still impose some form of restriction on the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV. Some 9 countries bar entry of all people living with HIV based on their HIV positive status only; with an additional 5 countries denying visas for even short-term stays. Thirty countries deport individuals once their HIV infection is discovered. Ninety-six countries have no HIV-specific restrictions on entry, stay or residence. For 21 countries, the information is contradictory; and for 12 countries there is no available information.

I shall share with you in a subsequent post at the group blog:Wear a Red Ribbon Today! how even you reading this can participate in the advocacy initiative to help eliminate HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence in the listed countries!

Fortunately, American President George W. Bush signed into legislation the bill (now law) repealing the travel restrictions placed on HIV-positive individuals visiting or immigrating into the United States. During one session at the conference, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee shared the process that concluded in this repeal. Somewhere towards the end of the session the conversation was brought back around to other human rights areas where the United States is lacking. One lady approached the microphone to congratulate Ms. Barbara Lee on her role in repealing the travel restrictions, but also to say that she would not personally attend an AIDS conference in the United States until an official apology was issued for all the human rights abuses that the United States commits in other countries. Although using the session on travel restrictions against HIV-positive individuals as a platform for chiding the US over the Iraq-issue, or as she put it "marching into other countries in the name of democracy", seemed slightly inappropriate, one could say it is a part of what the conference is about. Congratulating and celebrating to encourage progress, along with questioning and criticizing to show that we have not forgotten what remains to be addressed.

On a significant development for Africa, at the end of the Mexico conference, Ugandan Dr. Elly Katabira was elected next president of the International AIDS Society. He shall be the first African representative to hold the position when he assumes office in Vienna, Austria in 2010.

"Six decades after the [Universal Declaration of Human Rights] was adopted, it is shocking that there should still be discrimination against those at high risk, such stigma attached to individuals living with HIV. This not only drives the virus underground, where it can spread in the dark; as important, it is an affront to our common humanity... I call for a change in laws that uphold stigma and discrimination – including restrictions on travel for people living with HIV (emphasis added)."
-Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General, at the United Nations High Level Meeting on AIDS, June 2008

Alluta continua (the struggle continues)...

And as a final note, I thought I would share these statistics with you (taken from: Global Database on HIV-related Travel Restrictions):

Countries/territories/areas that appear to have a complete ban on the entry of all HIV positive people: Brunei, China, Oman, Qatar, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America (until recently) and Yemen.

Countries/territories/areas that deny applications for entry by HIV positive people for stays beginning as short as ten days up to 90 days: Egypt, Iraq, Singapore, Tunisia, Turks and Caicos Islands.

Countries/territories/areas that deport foreigners once they are discovered to be HIV positive: Armenia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Jordan, Bahrain, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Bangladesh, Kuwait, Sudan, Brunei, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, China, Taiwan, Egypt, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Qatar, United States of America (until recently), Iraq, Russian Federation, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

? is the Love @

It has been an interesting couple of weeks that I've had. I wanna mention my gratitude to everyone that's been a part of the joy and fulfilment during each of the past 14 days. Thank you. Life is certainly such a story -of course you miss the beauty of it when you are so caught up in your own little world trying to make it better, losing out on the details in the bigger world picture. I am not the most important thing in the world; you are! Sometime ago I was discussing this with one of my close friends: who is more important? you or the other person. Later I figures that one can only be in a good position to answer that question when they 'die to self'. Only then can one begin to realise the true meaning behind such words as -'LOVE', 'FRIEND' and 'NEIGHBOUR'. Archbishop Desmond Tutu captures it best in his definition of the African humanist philosophy, Ubuntu: I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE!

"A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed." -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Shall we all say that together again: U-B-U-N-T-U -the African concept of loving your neighbour. Who knows, that could be all the difference we need in this world! One wise person said once that you begin to get wiser when you realise you actually didn't know very much. If we knew any better, we would be advocating for our children to learn the simple notions of Ubuntu right from day one at school.

***

Last week I encountered an animal back home that I'd never before seen in my life -it looked a little like a raccoon except its snout was much rounder and its tail longer. It moved with extreme caution and calculated dexterity. When I came eye-to-eye with it, we both froze instantly -it possibly because it wasn't expecting a stranger in its path; and me because I had never seen the little thing in my life. I had heard stories of stubborn little creatures that could bite through the girth of a 5-tonne truck because it obstructed their way. And I also once saw an angry colourful salamander chase a fully-grown man down a tree and pursue him to a cabin house on an Indian ocean island. With this little animal, I didn't know what to expect. I was in its way because I was trying to get a nice photo-shot of a rare species of butterfly (I take nature photographs for a hobby) that I had followed into an overgrowth. The little animal shook its head and made some sounds with its teeth then disappeared back from where it had come. I thought it was over until a few moments later, still transfixed in my spot, because I was awaiting 'my butterfly' to settle down onto the flora before I could take my shot; the little animal returned with a whole army of similar looking creatures in line behind it and they all marched past me -each one stopping only just a metre short of where I was, for what seemed like a fraction of a second, to make the same sounds with their teeth that the first had made on our previous encounter- until they all disappeared into another nearby thicket. As the last one went by, I thought I'd return the gesture and make a few sounds with my own teeth, but I only managed a poor imitation of whatever it was that they had uttered. 'When in Rome after all...' I was fascinated at how extremely sociable the little animals seemed -among their species and also at what I considered their stopping to acknowledge mankind with their -however annoying- sounds. So I thought about our own species and then it hit me that quite increasingly, we (mankind) fail to do that even for ourselves. It's every (wo)man for themselves most of the time.

Today when I reflected upon that episode again, I fancied to believe that perhaps the little animal upon our previous encounter had respectfully gone back to bring with him his whole family to say 'hello' to the 'representative of mankind' that had suddenly appeared in their habitat. Of course he could have just been scouting the territory too before he called out the 'all clear' signal so that his colleagues could pass but I'd love to go with the former perception -it's more appeasing to the mind. I guess the moral of that strange encounter with an animal of the wild for me, was: are we (mankind)really the most social beings on this earth? And if we aren't, what are we doing about it?

***

The XVIIth International HIV/AIDS Conference is on now here in Mexico city. The sessions are more than just interesting! Incidentally this is also the biggest global gathering of HIV experts from all walks of life: doctors, researchers, advocates, development workers and people living with HIV. What are you doing to fight HIV/AIDS in your community? A group of fellow bloggers and I are doing our bit here as we wear our red ribbons proudly. Check it out and see how you can add some value to what's being done already. See you guys later.

Sweet sound

There's probably no sound as sweet as that of many voices praying, yes, even silently to God. Lately, I have had chance to sit down and listen even to the wind talk -I know that might probably sound a little crazy but that's how close I can get to writing about my "listening" experience. Getting back to the praying voices, it is as though the sound of a great waterfall -the rushing of many waters! Today I had about four little children -the eldest could have been 6 or 7- gather around and pray for me. Again, there was nothing as beautiful as the sounds that emanated from the four pairs of lips. It is oft said that little children, when they put their trust in someone, it is usually for the long haul. Perhaps you've already heard the one about the little girl who believed her Dad was the strongest man in the world or of the little boy who believed his father was the fastest driver on the road. As my four little friends did their laying-on-of-hands, eyes closed, and each one muttering their own words, I couldn't help to wonder at how awesome the Living God is, that even such little ones could attest to His greatness! Glorifying!

A couple of nights ago, I was at this house and one of the little girls there who should be only 2 and a half years old I was told was being bade goodnight when her mother said to her, "God loves you". I guess it should have been such a recurring experience for the little girl, her mother speaking to her that way each night, so this time she asked back, "Where is God?". "God is everywhere", her mother replied to her. "O.k. so you can go now since God is everywhere", she told her mother back. We all had a laugh when the mother recounted their experience to us as she joined us again in the parlour. And then I got thinking, that little girl simply believed what her mother told her. She trusted her mother. Why does that whole 'trust-thing' become increasingly difficult for us when we get older?

***

On another note I would like to say my piece about "peace-keeper predators". A recent report from Save the Children -U.K. shows that U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers from more than a dozen organisations have sexually abused refugee children -even as young as 6- in the Sudan, Cote-d'Ivoire and Haiti. Many of these incidents had gone unreported or the culprits unpunished. Which begs the question, what does one do when the very organs vested with the authority and power to guard them from human rights abuse instead turn back on them and exploit them... perhaps even more than what they were supposed to protect them from. Should the hunter now become the hunted? I'm sure it's only a case of a few bad apples but surely Secretary General, Ban ki Moon should see to cleaning up this mess. God help us all.

DO UNTO OTHERS...

I had my feet washed by someone last Monday -it is a very humbling experience- in an archetypical representation of the Bibilical creed, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and servant of all". It reminded me of another similar portion of scripture, "whatever you do unto the least of my brothers, you do unto me". After that symbolic gesture, we then had communion and later a dinner together. There was something enchanting about that whole experience!

Exactly a month ago now, I think I reached the peak of a rage that I never even knew existed in my life. The phrase, 'boiling with anger' could have never been more true with me at that point. What surprised me the most was that I had always considered myself extremely cool-headed even when provoked to the utmost. I wasn't this time. Perhaps it could have been to do with the fact that 'he' had exposed himself as a sheep, although a viscous wolf beneath, and I had fallen for the trickery. Because it is now forgiven, I shan't dwell on the subject of that anger again. But therein lay some great lessons for me: 1) that mankind is such a fallible creature for one to place all of their trust in; and 2) that we might too, just be the same as the wolves masquerading as sheep in the eyes of God whenever we turn around and commit the same sins that we repeatedly ask for His forgiveness. Surely, God's love is such a gift!

A few weeks after that episode, I got some good news and chose to celebrate it with a choice dinner at an exclusive place. Because it would be such short notice if I sent invites, I chose to surprise everyone that I asked along, by simply bundling them into my car and asking them to make it all easy by not asking any questions so that we could all be there in a few minutes. Kampala city, compared to other capitals offers very little in terms of choice spots, so the moment we hit one road with very little traffic and a number of empty flagpoles, it was pretty evident where we were headed. At the end of the dinner, everybody present said something small. Each one had something interesting to say but the one that stood out from the rest and even moved me to tears was... (let's call him) Jimmy's. Jimmy first looked me in the eye and then shifted his gaze to the floor as he fidgeted with a wine-glass in one hand and his keys in the other before he said... "I had never dreamed of being a guest in this place... I have passed by on several occasions and even tried to wish it out of my head as simply another landmark because it was evident that this wouldn't be for my lifetime... but now here I am too, being attended to, every beckon and call... Now I am sure there is a God and that he certainly loves me and hasn't forgotten that I exist." Jimmy then went on to say to me, "Zack, this may be just a celebration for you but for me, it's given me a new hope in my life, a renewed zeal for life. I feel very humbled. Thank you."

Of course it wasn't a simple celebration for me because I am not usually as extravagant, but it certainly marked a new resolve for Jimmy at that point in his life; and who knows, maybe that was the core reason that God had me choose that place and ask Jimmy when I did, to join the party from his work-station -manning the gate. Again, there was something particularly enchanting about that whole experience.
"Whatever you do unto the least of my brothers, you do unto me". It's only been four days now since my own feet were washed by someone. It is a humbling experience.

Do unto others, as you would to thyself.