2020 President’s Report to Donors
Each time I visit Northern Uganda, a country smaller than Minnesota or Michigan, I am astounded that over a million South Sudanese refugees have been settled in this desolate land, and even more that they have lived now for six years in relative peace. It is obvious that this is the poorest area of a very poor country, with minimal infrastructure and marginal climate and soil for growing food. It is also the area that suffered most during Uganda’s several civil wars, and most recently from the violence perpetrated by Joseph Cony and the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army.
As you would expect in such a situation, minor conflicts over resources like fire wood and roofing grass did indeed arise, and more recently serious fighting with a number of casualties on both sides have erupted.
Even in the face of these tragic events, the refugees have committed to peace building through expansion and development of their co-operative ventures. Already this year, the agriculture co-op has greatly expanded their acres under cultivation and doubled the number of people involved, with up to half of the co-op members now Ugandan neighbors. They will also soon launch a new co-op mainly for men that will keep animals and sell fresh meat. Again, half the members of this co-op will be Ugandan neighbors. At the same time, all of the co-ops that we helped establish in the past (micro finance, chicken raising, soap making, solar power generation, sewing, and a hair salon) are continuing to function and will be working to include Ugandan neighbors.
These developments are the most astounding thing I encountered in my recent visit to the refugee settlements. For people who are living such a marginal existence, often at the brink of starvation, to decide to share their meager resources with neighbors is almost impossible for Westerners to understand. I was privileged to be present as leaders of the two camps decided to share in this way. All of them had suffered abuse by neighboring Ugandans, but they readily acknowledged that refugees had also abused their Ugandan neighbors. They saw that peace is absolutely essential, and it can only happen when both sides come together to acknowledge past injustices, to forgive and ask forgiveness, and to learn about each other’s culture, history, and current struggles, and to share the resources both need to survive.
While we celebrate these achievements, we also know that the challenges facing the refugees in the coming year will be enormous. The vision and the challenge for peace building through reconciliation of past injustices and sharing resources going forward is bold and exciting, but it will take a lot of work to implement. The leaders recognized the challenge and have already begun bringing their community members together to help them understand what will be necessary to build peace. We are optimistic for a good outcome for this process, but it will take time and there will inevitably be difficulties and set-backs. However, with the guidance of the professional staff trained and supported by South Sudan Leadership and Community Development (SSLCD), and the remarkable grass roots leadership of the Mungula and Olua settlements, peace and shared development are very realistic goals for the year 2020.
Thank you again for your past support, and if you have not already given this year, I ask you to make a gift of whatever size so that we can continue this crucial work.
-John Musick, President
February 2020