The past two days have involved members of the KCM team (including Peter and me) working beside a TV crew from the Netherlands filming a documentary on the practice of Child Sacrifice.
Following an Orientation visit of Kyampisi village (including the current and proposed schools, current and proposed churches and mingling with members of the community) Peter, Dianna and I drove to the main Kampala hospital to meet with senior Police and Medical personnel at the city morgue. This included the Chief of Pathology and Forensics who spoke about their experiences with victims of sacrifice, both children and adults. The stories shared were incredibly tragic, but they need to be heard by the international community if the practice of Child Sacrificing is to cease.
While we were in one of the offices (for probably two and a half hours) I lost count of how many dead bodies (each wrapped in blankets) were delivered to the morgue in the back of either private 4WDs or Police trucks. Once processed, including an identification process by family members, the body was placed in a coffin and taken by the family for burial.
To make the matter more of a statement, the Police Inspector said that this was usually the quietest time of the day. I certainly wouldn't want to be there when it was busy!
This morning saw us meet with His Lordship, Judge Lumik Mukasa of the High Court of Uganda. His office was pretty grand, especially by Ugandan standards. He made us very aware that we were in the presence of someone very special. When one member of our team referred to him as 'that man' he was quickly put in his place.
On the way to the High Court Peter's car ran out if diesel. As we were scheduled to meet Judge Mukasa we didn't have time to wait for a mechanic so we hopped on to a Borda Borda. While at first I thought this may prove to be a little scary, it was absolutely amazing. The driver was very careful as he weaved his way through traffic. To be honest, I really enjoyed the experience and felt very safe throughout the 30 minute journey. The experience cost 5000 schillings, or a little under $2.
On the side, the Leader of the Opposition Party was arrested today for leading a march against the current President. This resulted in some unrest on the streets just outside the High Court which was referred to riot police. We were very safe and there were no further incidents.
This afternoon saw us drive to Mpigi, a rural village about one and a half hours drive from Kampala, to interview a witch doctor. Interestingly the film crew was able to film him consulting with a patient in his shrine - a mother and her sick 2 year old child. It was quite confronting to hear how he called on the spirits and to see how he used beads and a live chicken as part of the occasion. The child's mother stayed with her throughout the ceremony, which proved comforting for both. Apparently the mother had previously been to a medical doctor but the treatment had failed. She was now seeking the treatment of a witch doctor. Part way through the ceremony, the witch doctor asked for money because the spirits were asking for it. The 30 minute ceremony finished with a ritual involving banana leaves and fire. I was pleased that there was an interpreter present as the whole ceremony was conducted in Lugandan.
While this was all taking place, Sonia, Hannah, Lydia and Eli enjoyed a quiet morning at the Jesus House with Brenda, Sam, Edwin, Medi and 'Nagua' and 'Mambo' the resident monkeys. After a rice with pea stew lunch they travelled to Kyampisi for their Orientation and Thursday afternoon Bible Study. They were thrilled to meet some of the children at the school and their respective teachers. The Kyampisi community was very welcoming of them and made everyone feel extremely special. The children of Kyampisi were especially excited to play with Lydia and Eli as we had told the principal that they would be attending Kyampisi School (on those days that suit) while we're living at the Jesus House.
Hannah enjoyed meeting Angel, a 14 year old girl who attends the school. They spoke about playing the piano as Angel wants to learn the piano.
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