Uganda Perspective

Invisible Children: Shame on You for Kony 2012

Okay, this is my last post on the subject of Kony 2012.  It’s probably time because the movement seems to have lost steam.  I think this but then I learn of teens still staging fundraisers for the movement.  I see kids with T-shirts.  I hear they are still ordering the Action Packages.  Please stop. 

Here’s why.

At the website for Invisible Children, you can find the organization’s filings with the  I.R.S. from past years.   The most important is Form 990, a document that is required of all non-profit organizations to state before God and the Revenuers that funds received are truly being used for humanitarian purposes.  The site’s forms only go back to 2006 which is significant as this deals with revenue received AFTER Kony was chased out of Uganda, making the film Invisible Children irrelevant.

 

 

So, AFTER the entire basis for the story of Invisible Children was gone, the organization took in, year date, $31.9 million.  Of that money, some 43% was spent on “program services.”  You can go look for yourself to see where the rest went.  Sources in Uganda tell me that even the program services money that reached Uganda has not been spent wisely.  Altogether, it appears only some 14% of donations are actually turning into humanitarian projects.

The stated purpose of Invisible Children is to provide resources for “education, protection, rehabilitation and livelihood development” in the places Kony has operated.  These are good and noble goals.  And those who have received benefit are truly grateful.

But here’s the deal:  If you paid for a dozen eggs and you only got two, wouldn’t you wonder what happened to the other 10?  That’s the question here.  All the good-hearted teens who sent their allowance to I.C., all the schools that ran events that raised millions for I.C., for all the Paypal transactions and for all the organizations that bought into this story … including the very savvy Oprah Winfrey Foundation, you’re all suckers taken to the cleaners by some very clever hucksters.

I am passionate about this subject because I know the needs in Uganda.  They are great.  I also know a dollar goes a long way to solving much of the human misery.  If spent well, the money raised by I.C. could have virtually eliminated poverty in northern Uganda.  But dollars are hard to find for such purposes.  And for I.C. CEO Ben Keesey to openly solicit funds from good-hearted people long after the need he is over– and then launch a sequel appeal in Kony 2012 - and THEN only spend less than half the funds collected on humanitarian need is truly the work of a Madoff-level, world-class con artist. 

Can we please tell our teens the truth and get them off the Kony 2012 band wagon?  There. I feel better now.

Zeroing in on Kony, Obo is the new Gulu

We haven’t heard much about the 100 U.S. special forces sent to Uganda last year to help catch Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army- until yesterday when this article appeared on the Associated Press.

The article reiterates the problem with catching Kony lies in his ability to slip easily across the porous borders of Uganda, Congo, Sudan and the Central African Republic (C.A.R.).  Now, thanks to US technology and expertise, and enthusiastic, unprecedented cooperation between the various countries, the LRA is being tracked and the noose is tightening.

Activity is currently concentrated around the town of Obo in the C.A.R.  Conditions there today are much like they were in Gulu, Northern Uganda for decades as people were terrified by Kony’s roving marauders.  Farmers do not stray more than five kilometers from town.  People fear saying anything that might be heard by LRA spies.  US-led local troops apparently freed a group of people recently captured by Kony – so the man remains determined and dangerous.

There are huge resources behind the capture of Kony – more than $25 million in U.S. aid and millions more from other donor nations.  It boggles the mind to think that if Kony were not an issue, the investment of those funds into enterprises throughout the region would work to alleviate poverty.  The Youtube movement called Kony 2012 is having zero effect on the capture effort.

As for the marauding rebel himself, it is estimated he has between 150-300 followers still with him.  Even as small bands are captured, Kony stays on task.  “I can still be effective if I have only 10 men,” he says.  Here’s hoping he has zero men and ends up in prison by the end of the year.  What a waste.  Thanks to Ralph Cervantes for finding the AP story.

KONY 2012 – Ugandans Say "Thanks for Nothing"

It is one thing to hear about Kony 2012 from people in the West – virtually all of whom are void of even the basic facts of the situation involving Uganda, Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army.  It is quite another to hear from people in Uganda who have lived with this idiot in their midst and are thriving in the aftermath of his idiocy.  

In a column in the Ugandan New Vision newspaper today, the film was decried as a scam.  You can read the full column HERE, but here is an excerpt:

“In fact, let me be blunt by saying that even if Invisible Children had dedicated less than one-tenth of the funds raised from around the world with their first film, it would have significantly improved the lot of thousands of children in northern Uganda.  They did not do that. Despite what Invisible Children has claimed in the media about the good work it is doing in northern Uganda, the San Diego-based organisation is merely in it for itself, and not for children in northern Uganda.” - Opio.oloya@sympatico.ca

Here are words from Stephen Oola, a Kampala-based lawyer with Refugee Law Project and originally from Gulu, reporting from Voice of America:

"The people of northern Uganda are not looking for the kind of international military action Invisible Children is trying to rally, a fact that the video’s makers blithely ignore. Couldn’t they consult? Couldn’t they include some local voices? People on the ground do not buy the messages, and they don’t want that help," he said. "Even if Invisible Children thought they were helping, that is not the help people want.”

Kony 2012 is, for those who haven’t followed the phenomenon, is a film by the same people  who produced Invisible Children.  It has now gained more than 100 million views worldwide and perhaps as many tweets and has raised some $9 million.  As stated in my previous blog, it is a brilliant promotion of a film based on a non-issue imploring people to do something that will most likely not make any difference – except raising money for the producers.

Only time can anything stop this phenomenon.  We can only pray the growing positive reputation of Uganda has not been soiled because of this stupid stunt.    

Kony 2012 – Scam or Strategy – You Decide

Since Monday, March 5, the film KONY 2012 has gone viral on the Internet with, as of this writing, more than 64 MILLION views.  Also promoted under the name "Visible Children,” the film depicts the atrocities committed by Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) over the last 30 years, mostly in Uganda, and urges viewers around the world to push their governments to find this man and bring him to justice.

The exploits of the LRA were documented in a film called Invisible Children, produced by the same people and shown to thousands of high school kids around the world.  The film generated millions of dollars in donations. 

But the LRA was put out of business in Uganda in 2006.  And the film is still being shown.

In my opinion, this film – KONY 2012 – is the sequel, the next attempt to exploit young and naïve people to join a cause that needs no joining.  The premise is that by making Kony famous and taking to the streets, somehow the UN will step up efforts to capture Kony and bring him before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.  The film producers claim that their efforts are responsible for the U.S. sending 100 special forces troops to Uganda to help in the capture of Kony. 

First, let me say the film is brilliantly done.  And the producers’ ability to promote their product/cause is just possibly the most astounding and inspiring piece of work this old promoter has ever seen in his lifetime.

But here’s the problem with this thing:  The premise of “the movement” is that if you get enough people yelling in the streets, the problem will be solved by somebody.  If that worked, why wouldn't  we have millions in the streets yelling for world peace?

But wait, there’s more.  The producer keeps saying Uganda, Uganda, Uganda when referring to Kony.  Kony hasn’t been in Uganda since 2006.  If you access the producer’s Kony-Finder, you see the rebel has operated throughout central Africa in at least four countries.  HE ISN’T IN UGANDA!   When pushed by an NBC interviewer today, he admitted Kony is believed to have less than 200 followers.  “Soldiers…” he corrected.  “And that’s 200 abducted children…” he added.  Last reports were Kony is living like an animal in the jungle with 200 ragged followers.  THEY ARE BARELY SURVIVING… NOT ABDUCTING CHILDREN.  And finally, it has been reported only 32% of the NINE MILLION DOLLARS collected so far on this project goes to help Kony’s victims.  The producer says, “Oh, we have a different model of charity… it’s message, movie, mobilization.”  What the heck is that?  IT’S NOT A CHARITY.

This whole thing sounds like the perpetrator is on an adrenaline high funding a movement just to make noise and, well, line his pockets.   As long as Kony isn’t caught, the movement continues to stir the hearts of young people and naïve celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey and Justin Bieber and generate donations.   And if Kony is caught?  I wouldn’t be surprised if the film goes on for years. 

Maybe you are stirred by the message.  I think it’s a brilliant, brilliant scam.  

Mak U Unveils Electric Car

For anyone who thinks Uganda is some kind of backward African place, check this out. 

Makerere University has successfully tested an electronic vehicle, Kiira EV, manufactured by students of the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology.

Makerere Vice Chancellor, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba who flagged off the car at the college premises described the technological innovation as a historic moment. “It goes on to confirm that Makerere is a top institution,” an all smiles Byaramureeba commented. “When we say Makerere is a great university, you say, ‘are you sure?’ The level of development at Makerere will blow you away. If we keep this up, Makerere will be ranked among the top five universities of the world,” he added.

At the demo, Project Manager Paul Musasizi took to the driver’s seat to embark on the test drive the 1000kg, green two-seater car. The car powered by a 40-amps 64-cells Lithium ion battery snaked out of the college parking yard drove around the university campus, a distance of about four kilometres.

Journalists who gave a chase on foot could not keep up with its pace while those who used their personal cars conceded it was a first runner. “I did perhaps 60kmh,” Musasizi commented afterwards. It’s built to cruise at a speed of 100kmh. The battery can last for a distance of 80km before recharging for 3-4 hours with electric power.

The official explained that choice of the car’s colour, green, was to illustrate the university’s commitment to good environmental practices which include, going green and reducing emissions. The car has zero noise and fumes emissions. “Apart from the stone and iron age, Uganda has been left out. Now we want to have a seat on the electric car bench in the world,” Musasizi remarked.

“I hope I will witness that day when half of Ugandans are driving a car made at Makerere. I hope it will we cost effective. We shall keep improving it. When you look at the benz of 1960 and the one of today, there’s a difference,” Baryamureeba commented. 

And now Uganda has joined Japan, Korea and the U.S. as a leading provider of green technology.  Thanks to New Vision Uganda for the details.

One Man's Safari into Brightest Africa - Read All About It

After more than seven years hard labor (well, three years hard labor and four years wondering how to put it together) I’ve just received copies of my new book on Uganda called They Call Me Mzee: One Man’s Safari into Brightest Africa.

Called “a remarkable story of discovery,” the book charts the cultural and spiritual ife of present-day Uganda.  Part memoir, part travelogue and part investigative report, the reader will learn about how the AIDS epidemic started in Uganda and spread throughout Africa.  And, how Uganda is still the only nation in Africa to have arrested the disease.  The report talks about the huge faith life of Ugandans, where it came from and what it means.  There is much discussion from a personal perspective about the plight of orphans and how ministries, the government and the church are dealing with the ever-growing problem.

Most importantly, it is my personal story of discovering a place where faith underlies all.  The people I meet, the visitors I take to Uganda and the lessons we have for each other are insightful, surprising.

Anyone who has been to Uganda, who is planning to go to Uganda or who supports the work in Uganda should read this book.  You will laugh, you will cry and you will learn something of Africa you have never seen anywhere.

Click here to order the book in paperback.  The Kindle version is due out in about 10 days.  $1.00 of ever sale goes to support the work of Juna Amagara Ministries in Uganda.

After you’ve read it, let me know what you think.  I answer all emails.  Enjoy.

Rush Limbaugh Blew It: LRA Not Christian, Needs Extermination

On October 14, Rush Limbaugh, reacting a news bit by Jack Tapper of ABC News, felt the need to comment on Barack Obama’s decision to send 100 troops to Uganda in an advisory capacity to help rid the country of the Lord’s Revolutionary Army.   The directive came in the form of a letter to House Speaker John Boehner.

Calling the nation oo-ganda, not you-ganda, Limbaugh first took umbrage that the U.S. would send troops to “fight Christians.”  “What, are we gonna then send troops to Egypt to fight Christians there as well?” he offered.  Then he wondered out loud exactly how in the world this action could be in the national security interests of the United States.

Let me just say this about that.  There is nothing Christian about the Lord’s Revolutionary Army.  Built on a wacky cult created by a woman called Nightmare Alice, elements of Christianity and Voodoo and other imagined stuff come together to create a violent, sacrifice-based belief.  Leveraging his aunt’s wackiness, Joseph Kony built the LRA.  Kony was part of the army that overthrew the last dictator in 1986 and he fully planned to run the nation afterward.  But another general, Yoweri Museveni, became the leader and Kony spent the next 20 years being a pain in the butt.  He terrorized the north, abducting boys into his army and girls to be “wives” for his generals.  He lopped off limbs.  He made children kill their parents.  No wonder Kony and his generals were labeled as war criminals by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. 

After much negotiation, the LRA was disbanded in Uganda in 2006 with many of the key players going on trial.  Yet Kony continued operations from bases in Congo and the Central African Republic.  He received much logistical support from Sudan until South Sudan became its own nation.  In 2008, a force of Ugandans and Congo soldiers attacked Kony camps in Congo.  They got Kony’s guitar and some of his men but Kony eluded capture.

Uganda has always been a friend of the U.S.  And Ugandans were thrilled when Obama was elected President.  This is the first indication that pleas for various types of support have been acknowledged by Obama.  If he can send 100 troops on an “advisory” mission… let’s assume they are special forces and will be directed to find and kill Kony, we will have done Uganda a big favor.  It is in our national interest to keep good relations.  Diplomatic work for the entire region is based in Uganda.  The nation is a force of stability in the region.  It’s where refugees come when their countries get dangerous.

So, Rush, get your stuff straight before you spout. And, please, no more oo-ganda.

Shilling Rate Hits 2800 to the Dollar; Invest in Uganda Now

Even as we hear the US dollar (USD) is weakening against major world currencies, it continues to get stronger against the Uganda shilling (UGX).  In 2011 alone the exchange rate has changed from 2200 to the dollar to today’s posted rate of 2800.  It wasn’t that long ago, just three years, when the shilling was getting stronger against the dollar every month, stabilizing at a rate of about 1600. 

Much of this difference can be explained by runaway inflation.  In speaking with Prof. Emmanuel Mutebile, the Governor of the Bank of Uganda in July, I learned the rate of inflation then was 14%, actually 7% without food and fuel.  Today, 90 days later, that rate is 21%, a 17-year high.  As he said, food and fuel are the real culprits behind the high inflation and worsening exchange rate.  Both are in high demand and supplies are increasingly limited.

What does this mean to people on the street?  First, let’s look at fuel.  Petrol (gasoline) is now selling for 3,800 shillings per liter.  At today’s rate that translates to about $6.00 per gallon which is the same dollar cost of fuel as in the last five years.  However, for Ugandans who were struggling to pay 1170 UGX per liter a few years ago, the cost has now tripled which, under the exchange rate of five years ago would translate to $18.00 per gallon.  The last time fuel was this high was during the Kenyan tribal riots of 2007 when the flow of fuel from Mombasa port was disrupted for a month.   Uganda, like any country depends on its trucks and taxis to move goods and people.  When those fuel costs are passed on to consumers, inflation launches into the stratosphere.

High prices are causing much suffering in country.  But there is a bright side.  Anyone bringing dollars to Uganda can now expect to receive triple the value they would have seen five years ago.  Now is the time to fund building projects, buy vehicles, start capital-intensive enterprises or… simply travel to Uganda.  Because an armload of emineche bananas bought by the side of the road still costs 2000 shillings but in dollars, they’ve gone from a buck to fifty cents.  Now is the time to build your textile mills, expand your agribusiness, set up your call center, donate funds to build schools, build the railway or build the soy processing co-op.  Because when the administration changes in the U.S. in 2012, the world’s economy will rapidly swing back to prosperity.  The investment you make now will then pay off big for decades to come.  Now is the time.

Why is Food in Uganda So Bloody Expensive?

Uganda is an agriculturally blessed nation with millions of farmers.  Why then is the skyrocketing price of food one of the major factors in the country’s current 21% inflation?  The answer, in one word, is: supply.

There are currently serious famines in Somalia and Northern Kenya due to drought.  Millions of people are starving and the world’s aid agencies are responding as fast as they can.  But it is simply not possible to ship in enough food to sustain these people through the drought.  The shortfall in staples – rice, beans, bananas, potatoes – is purchased from Uganda.  Less supply for the Ugandans results in higher prices.

To the north, the new nation of South Sudan which has enough arable land to feed itself but no infrastructure to do so is flush with cash from the world’s aid agencies.  They are buying everything they can get their hands on from Uganda, their  neighbor to the south.  These are boom times for Ugandans in the north.  The price of a goat has tripled in the last two years.  Potatoes, bananas, rice, beans, tea and building materials – lumber, poles, cement and animal stock – beef and chickens – are all going for premium prices.  This is good news for the economy of Uganda but it also cuts down the supply of these things to Ugandans.   

Throw in the high cost of fuel which has tripled over the last five years and it is easy to realize that simply bringing food products to market must contribute to high prices.

Yet demand in country remains high.  More and more people are moving to urban centers which means they are not feeding themselves from the family plots and they must buy food.

There is opportunity here.  If the millions of subsistence farmers could set aside just ten percent of their harvest for sale and then work together through co-ops to sell those foodstuffs on the open market, the food shortage could be less and the farmers could share in the boom times of high prices.  Because farmers time their planting so there is always something ready for harvest, the cash flow could be constant year round.  This is money that could be used to send more kids to school.

So here’s the challenge: with every crisis there is opportunity.  Where are the people or the indigenous organizations that are willing and able put together a regional co-op plan?  Where are the visionaries that can be the food saviors of the nation?  I know you are there.  We need you now.    

Riding Motorcycles from Cape Town to Jerusalem: Are They Nuts?

On September 4, 2011, two young, well-educated California men will begin a journey in Cape Town South Africa that will take them more than 8,000 miles up the spine of Africa to Cairo and then on to  Jerusalem.   They’re doing it for the adventure.  They’re doing it on Honda XR 400 dirt bikes. They’re also doing it to raise funds to build the Juna Amagara New Times Primary School in Kishanje, Uganda.  The event is called RideAmagara: Africa 2011.  And you can learn more if you click HERE.

The riders are Nolan Gallagher, a small-town big-sky boy turned professional baseball player for the Seattle Mariners.  A graduate of Stanford University, Nolan has given up baseball and when he returns from Africa, he’ll be studying for a degree in physical therapy.  Stephen “Brownie” Brown is a missionary kid who’s lived all  over the world.  Also a graduate of Stanford, Stephen worked in corporate America after graduation but has decided, upon his return from Africa, to enter medical school.

Over approximately four months, the adventurers will cross borders into 12 countries: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopa, Sudan, Egypt and Israel.  Their only plan is to make it before Christmas.  There is no detailed road map.  Accommodations are the tents on their backs.  There is no support van.  I don’t think there’s room for extra fuel.  But they are equipped with Bibles.  And immortal youth.

What, are they nuts?

There are no Interstate highways on this route.  What about breakdowns?  What about spare parts?  What about hostile territory?  What about pirates?  What about those long lonely stretches of savannah where there are no people, only warthogs?  What about all the different languages?  What about the Sept/Oct rainy season?  What will they eat?  How will they protect themselves at night in a tent in the middle of nowhere?  What about border crossings with surly and professionally uncooperative bureaucrats? Did we mention men with spears?  Roaming bands of Arabic slavers?  Tsetse flies, boa constrictors, thorny bushes, roads rutted like canyons?

Only the riders know the answers to these questions.  And certainly they have thought about all of these things, right?

 Meanwhile, Nolan and Brownie are asking for people to support the humanitarian reason for this ride.  The goal?  Raise $200,000 to finish a primary school and dormitory that will serve the needs of more than 500 children.  As you’ll see on their website, the riders are seeking corporate sponsors, but also individuals who can pledge $ per mile traveled – or support for a rider – or just a donation.  This is a worthy goal, as children in Uganda crave education and need it to survive.  The best kept secret in Africa is… the solution to overpopulation AND poverty is education.  This school will play a major part in all those roles.  Currently operating in rented buildings, New Times students regularly rank in the top percentile of all students in   Uganda.  With improved facilities and dormitories, these Juna Amagara orphan children will blossom into outstandingly productive adults.

Nolan and Brownie are carrying a PocketFinder GPS locator so we can all follow them in real time.  They promise to post frequently on Facebook (assuming they can find a computer).  And hopefully they'll smile if they are on CNN.  They request prayers for the journey.  God willing, they'll make it to Jerusalem by Christmas.