Our first day in Soroti started with a cultural orientation about the people groups in this region. Since we found the history helpful in understanding the people we will be interacting with, we thought we would share some with you:
Migrating from Ethiopia, the Karamojong people settled in northern Uganda along the border with Sudan and Kenya. Karamojong means "young man has grown old", a name given by the Teso people who broke off from the Karamojong to continue migrating, settling south of Karamoja. The Turkanas also broke off from the Karamojong people and migrated into Kenya.
After settling here, the Karamojong divided into 8 sub-tribes, who inhabit distinct areas of Karamoja. All tribes speak the NgaKarimojong language, but have distinct dialects depending on the tribe. Most of our time in Karamoja will be spent in Bokora County with the Bokora and Pian tribes. Bokora County includes the town of Iriiri, the peace villages (Nabwal & Nakoyot), Matany town, Kangole (location of the Timothy Retreats & St. Mark's Church, photo of "main street"), and Lotome.
This region has been heavily impacted by warring and conflict, with cows being the major source of the problems. The Karamojong people think God made all the cows in the world for them. When the Teso people separated from the Karamojong after migrating to Uganda, they took many cows with them. The Karamojong people followed them to raid and get the cows back, starting a cycle of raiding between the Karamojong and Teso people that has resulted in much bloodshed in the region. Most people have had a relative killed due to the raiding, furthering the hatred and fear between the people groups. As little as 2-3 years ago, one could not travel through the region at all, for fear of being killed.There is a great need for reconciliation in the area, which is
why the peace villages and Timothy Project are so vital to the continued progress of the region. The peace villages were established over the past two years bringing the Bokora (Karamojong) and Pian (Teso) tribes together to live in a previous no-man's land. Nabwal was established 2 years ago and has about 9,000 people. Nakoyot was established one year ago and has about 3,000 people living there. The conditions are hard in the villages with little water and crops failing due to the current drought. Yet, the people endure these hardships in order to establish peace in the region. (For a video about the peace villages, click here)
The Timothy Retreats are also a step toward reconciliation. By bringing children from the conflicting tribes together, relationships can be built among the young, which can be carried forward into the future. In addition, the goal of the project is to provide education and spiritual mentoring to the children in order to raise up godly leaders who can teach future generations (2 Timothy 2:2). God is doing great things here and we can't wait to see it first-hand over the next couple of days and share it with you.After our orientation in the morning, we began to prepare our Thanksgiving dinner. Being in Uganda, this was a different experience than we normally would have experienced at home and provided a great time to fellowship with the CLIDE staff and the chance to share an American tradition with them. Below are the steps to a thanksgiving dinner, Uganda-style in photos.
1. Catch and slaughter the turkey
2. Pluck the turkey
3. Clean the turkey
4. Bake the turkey (thankfully, Val has an oven in her Soroti home)
5. Boil potatoes over coals and smash
6. Prepare bread and let rise, make into rolls
7. Make the pumpkin pie (with supplies brought from home)
8. Make stuffing using dried bread and whatever spices/soup mixes we can find on Val's shelf
9. Prepare the gravy from turkey juices, giblets, and all
10. Play with the children
11. Juice the passionfruit and oranges
12. Add the Ugandan dishes - boiled sweet potatoes, cowpeas, and warm cabbage salad
13. Create a table in the CLIDE office using a table and two desks
14. Carve the turkey
15. Pray and enjoy our fabulous meal with our new friends: the CLIDE staff (Val, Moses, Christine, Julius, Jamez, Christine, Anyakun Moses, Judith and Judith), Mercy and Joy (the Otim daughters), Jason and Jennifer Johnson (visitors from Arkansas exploring options to serve here full time), and Adriane Wai (a Corvallis native staying with the Otims through December)
16. Share the things for which we are thankful and laugh - ALOT!
Posted by Michaella
Thanks Michaella for sharing!
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