Would You Like to Help Paint an Orphanage? Help Feed Children In Uganda?

Idah Mhangye (center) when Santa visited Samaritan's Way last year.

In early 2017 I was introduced to a young man who at the age of nine months was left on a sidewalk so that he never knew his parents. He was raised at an orphanage in Uganda. When the orphanage closed in his teen years, he lived a foraging kind of life near a university. His soccer skills were quite developed so that he received a scholarship there. He had also became skilled at drawing and painting, which drew him to my own attention when he was here in the Northland. Cheerful and gregarious, Steveboyyi won a lot hearts while he was here. Had there been no home to take him in, he would have certainly perished.

Samaritan's Way, 2017. (Click to enlarge)

There is much brokenness in the world, but those who suffer most are often orphans, people with disabilities, vulnerable women and the elderly.

The visit from Santa warmed many hearts. (Click to enlarge)

We in America are often forgetful of how blessed we have been and unaware of how even our smallest gifts can make an enormous impact in a Third World culture. It was through Steveboyyi, who is now back in Kampala, Uganda, that I learned of an orphanage run by the Hon. Idah Mehangye. A Graduate Teacher by profession, Idah has briefly studied at Oxford and in India, and served in the 7th Parliament of Uganda for 5 years (2001-2006), Representing Kamwenge District. She was later appointed Resident District Commissioner (RDC), by the President for 5 years, 2006-2011.

Her passion to help women and children, especially the vulnerable like the orphans, led her to start Samaritans Way Kindergarten four years ago with the help of her family. The support for this orphanage comes from her husband Henry and their six children. "A few friends chip in once in a while," she says, with gratitude.

When I asked Idah for details on the children's home and how they are funded she replied, "We have 45 children between three and six years. We currently have no regular revenue source or specific funding." As indicated, family and friends have helped support the Orphanage.

"Others are very welcome to contribute by supporting with regular funding for food and general upkeep; and by supporting or sponsoring individual children," she said, adding, "We also would appreciate regular Prayers for the Orphanage."

Samaritan's Way is not affiliated with a larger bureaucracy so that whatever money is sent will go directly to the children and Samaritan's Way, minus cost of sending.

When I sent a note to Idah that I was writing this blog post she thought some additional info might be helpful.

Two things you may want to know. One is what inspired me to start an Orphanage. My sister Margaret's husband died of HIV/AIDS. Margaret died six months later. They left two young girls. Henry and I took them on. I realized that there are many such helpless orphans who need help, especially education to enable them live to their full potential. Thus we started the home.

The second thing is our biggest challenges are food for the kids, plus rent and general upkeep of the kids including health care. This does not include stationery, utilities, overhead costs or staff emoluments.

PAINTING PROJECT
What triggered me to want to create this blog post was a desire to raise funds for a painting project. There is a need to paint some areas of the children's home. Steveboyyi has volunteered to do the work, so all we need is $200 for paint. But to be quite frank, I would not want to see the buildings look nice and have the children hungry, and you probably feel the same, so I don't know what to say here. If you wish to designate funds for food or medical needs, great!

Essentially I am pointing out a need. These kinds of needs are everywhere. Maybe some of you reading this have wanted to give in a manner that you know makes a difference, but aren't sure how. As I've gotten to know Idah and Steveboyyi, I can tell you the needs are real and none of the money will go to accountants and organizations with staff folk driving fancy cars.

SEED THOUGHT
If you are a member of a church, you may wish to bring Samaritan's Way to the attention of your Mission Board. A small contribution goes a long ways.  (Am hoping this seed will find some good soil!)

If you want to get connected, send me a note: ennyman3 AT gmail DOT com
or you may also contact Idah directly to Idah Mehangye idah.mehangye AT gmail DOT com

Thanks for reading, and sharing this post with your friends.

The Amateur Philosopher

The answer to a question he never asked

left him wondering why.

Daily Mirror

"...leaning over the mirror of our acts, our souls will recognize what we are."- Andre Gide

For nearly all of us mirrors play a role in our morning rituals. Whether for shaving or make-up, fixing one's hair or straightening one's tie, the mirror is a useful tool, presenting to our eyes a true reflection of what is there.

On other occasions, a reassuring glance in the mirror before a job interview or an important date gives us confidence that at least the external things are taken care of - our hair isn't mussed, collar turned right, no food crumbs on our chin.

At the end of the day there is another mirror which is equally valuable to us, and perhaps even more so once we practice using it. We can call it the mirror of our acts. As we quiet ourselves and reflect on the day, we discover that our actions reveal our souls as surely as the bathroom mirror reveals our faces.

The mirror of our acts reveals us as we truly are, giving a more precise picture of ourselves than we may wish to see. For it will reveal not only our strengths, but also our limitations; it will show not only our inward beauty, but also the defects that mar that beauty. When I look back on my day, with honesty, standing before this mirror of my soul, what do I truly see reflected there? Thoughtfulness and sensitivity? Selfishness? Duplicity and deceit? Laziness? Industriousness? Courage? Courtesy? Foolish pride? Pettiness? Carelessness? The character defects we see need not discourage us. Recognizing one's shortcomings is the essential first step toward seeking a cure.

As we "get ourselves right" we are making the world a better place by at least a little. Personal reflection can also help us become more effective in helping others. Taking time for reflection at day's end can be a useful tool to help us achieve these ends, improving our selves and making a positive impact in our world.

The Great Debate In Oxford Town

Presidential elections, fortunately, occur only once every four years. For 2008 it seems the sawdust trail of stump speeches and all that goes with it has been longer than ever. With the conventions now behind us, we’re finally in the last leg of the journey.

This week the real head-to-head action was scheduled to begin. The plan was for a first debate to take place Friday night at Ole Miss in Oxford Town. Yes, the same Ole Miss made famous by its historical refusal to allow blacks as students less than fifty years ago.

The same Oxford Town where Medgar Evers led the fight for voters rights, for civil rights for blacks, and for one James Meredith to be enrolled at Ole Miss.

The same Oxford Town where Medgar Evers, a World War II veteran who put his life on the line for the freedoms we enjoy, put his life on the line for fellow black Americans to become recipients of the rights our laws had promised but failed to deliver in the deep South.

The same Medgar Evers whose life was taken for taking such a stand.

And so it is, all eyes were to be turned toward Oxford Town this coming Friday. Incredible as it seems, a black candidate for the president of the United States was poised to debate another candidate in the very town where a black man could not even enroll as a student. What an awesome twist.

Unfortunately, and it’s hard to say what the fallout will be from this, but John McCain announced today that the debate was off because of our national financial crisis.

Upon further investigation, it appears that both McCain and Obama had agreed that maybe the debate should be put off, but McCain announced it first as if it were his idea.

Again, hard to say what is really going on at this point. The New York Times produced an editorial stating that McCain was the better man on foreign policy, the topic of this week’s debate at Ole Miss. In fact, the editorial so puffed up McCain’s dominance in this arena that some felt they were raising expectations for malicious purposes. (i.e., if Obama fared well, then McCain bobbled an opportunity.) You would think, however, that McCain would use this opportunity to show his stuff. Who knows?

As of this moment, I can’t comment on the candidates’ maneuvers, but I can shine a light on Oxford Town. First, Bob Dylan’s tribute to Medgar Evers, Only a Pawn In Their Game. Both the lyrics and the manner in which it was sung, on his Times They Are A-Changin’ album, is on my top ten list of Dylan works.


How anyone can seriously listen to this song without at some point getting tears in his or her eyes over the tragedy of American race relations I will never know. Here are the lyrics.

Only A Pawn In Their Game

A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers' blood

A finger fired the trigger to his name

A handle hid out in the dark

A hand set the spark

Two eyes took the aim

Behind a man's brain

But he can't be blamed

He's only a pawn in their game.

A South politician preaches to the poor white man

"You got more than blacks, don't complain

You're better than them, you been born with white skin" they explain

And the Negro's name

Is used it is plain

For the politician's gain

As he rises to fame

And the poor white remains

On the caboose of the train

But it ain't him to blame

He's only a pawn in their game.

The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid
And the marshals and cops get the same

But the poor white man's used in the hands of them all like a tool

He's taught in his school

From the start by the rule

That the laws are with him

To protect his white skin

To keep up his hate

So he never thinks straight

'Bout the shape that he's in

But it ain't him to blame

He's only a pawn in their game.

From the poverty shacks, he looks from the cracks to the tracks

And the hoof beats pound in his brain

And he's taught how to walk in a pack

Shoot in the back

With his fist in a clinch

To hang and to lynch

To hide 'neath the hood

To kill with no pain

Like a dog on a chain

He ain't got no name

But it ain't him to blame

He's only a pawn in their game.

The day Medgar Evers was buried from the bullet he caught

They lowered him down as a king

But when the shadowy sun sets on the one

That fired the gun

He'll see by his grave

On the stone that remains

Carved next to his name

His epitaph plain:

Only a pawn in their game.

Another evocative tune along the same lines is Dylan’s Oxford Town. At this point there will apparently not be a debate Friday night in Oxford Town. But, here are Mr. Dylan’s lyrics from that time. And in the meantime, this soap opera of a campaign will give us more to talk about tomorrow, I am sure.

Oxford Town

Oxford Town, Oxford Town

Ev'rybody's got their heads bowed down

The sun don't shine above the ground

Ain't a-goin' down to Oxford Town

He went down to Oxford Town

Guns and clubs followed him down

All because his face was brown

Better get away from Oxford Town

Oxford Town around the bend

He come in to the door, he couldn't get in

All because of the color of his skin

What do you think about that, my frien'?

Me and my gal, my gal's son

We got met with a tear gas bomb

I don't even know why we come

Goin' back where we come from

Oxford Town in the afternoon

Ev'rybody singin' a sorrowful tune

Two men died 'neath the Mississippi moon

Somebody better investigate soon

Oxford Town, Oxford Town

Ev'rybody's got their heads bowed down

The sun don't shine above the ground

Ain't a-goin' down to Oxford Town

Copyright ©1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

How To Change The World

Beginning with you.

What's holding you back?
Do you need a little motivation?
Do you need a little kick?
Maybe you just don't know where to begin.

Begin where you're at.
Start with your room,
that hiding place within.
Is it shrine, temple or tomb?

Maybe you don't know what to do.
What is it not getting done?
What is that needs to change?
What's keeping you from having fun?

Maybe there's pain that you're trying to avoid;
How do you mend what's so hard to reach?
There's so much broken, all over the world.

Another Inconvenient Truth

The global warming crowd has two items on its agenda. The first is to convince us that global warming is a given. The second is to convince us that this global warming is caused by man made behaviors that produce greenhouse gases.

The problem is that the facts do not line up with the realities. And here is the real Inconvenient Truth: How do SUV emissions explain why the polar ice caps are melting on Mars? I want to know.

Al Gore has stated that a sea-level rise of up to 20 feet would be caused by melting of either West Antarctica or Greenland “in the near future”. The What Would Jesus Drive PR campaign five years ago was built around the same premise. Ice caps melt, poor people in coastal regions will die. Proof that Americans driving SUVs are self-centered, self-serving bums.

Last week I learned that Wikipedia has active thought police who make sure that only the Global Warming message gets posted on Wikipedia. Opponents are shut down through vigilant PC editors who make sure "the people" speak with one voice.

There are no smokestack industries on Mars. No SUVs or pickup trucks. So why do Martian ice caps melt? Maybe it's solar flares. There are scientists pointing this out. But there is a little too much noise to hear.

Here's something I wrote five years ago addressing this from a different angle. It may be even more relevant today. The "What Would Jesus Drive?" Doomsayers

Masks

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, -
This debt we pay to human guile,
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To Thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise.
We wear the mask!

Paul Lawrence Dunbar, 1896

Somewhere in the Universe

Somewhere in the Universe

A precipitous encounter with the new dawn.
Illuminations penetrate the darkened room,
the womb/tomb where conciousness wakes
to observe, to embrace, to ruminate,
to re-create the material world.
A hum, the jostle of moving crowds,
the ticking of clocks, chirping birds…
the pinching chippy snap of a budgie eating seed.
Do the best you can do; be the best you can be...

Now, start your day.

A journal note

Paper design by Susie

First Signs of Spring

At last, spring is theoretically here. (I say theoretically because the forecast is for another blizzard this weekend.) Yes, I realize the crocuses have already appeared in other parts of the country, and that further south the blossoms have burst open on the trees. Up North, we're less fortunate, must always wait a little longer.

Fortunately the first two true signs of spring have occurred. This weekend Susie saw a pair of robins. And then yesterday I saw an eggplant.

I was walking out to the mailbox to get the morning paper. Off to my right, I heard a rustling in the bushes. At first I didn't see anything, but then -- expecting to see a rabbit -- I saw the eggplant and ran back to the house to grab my camera.

As I neared the place where I spotted him, he slipped out from hiding and went up to the edge of the road where he then stood to look both ways, making sure there were no cars coming. Using my zoom I captured the eggplant standing there, then ran up as he squirmed across the road and slipped up the other bank.

For me it was a very exciting moment. I have never been so near an eggplant in the wild.

The three pictures here will hopefully add to our understanding of why the eggplant crossed the road.

Probe

Probe

Sifting the sands of time,
sifting the dusty mineshaft of mind
the flutter of bats in darkness brings
a heart-quickening recollection of disturbing things.

June 22, 1993

Post 268: Don't Neglect Your Family

Hard to believe I've produced 267 blog posts to date since starting last June... but like all things in life, we can accomplish much by taking small steps one after the other. As they say "the journey of a thousand miles..."

Although the themes vary, much of the content has been produced in an effort to help others in their careers as they pursue their dreams. Having said this, however, I know that one important message has been neglected and this is a brief reminder. Do not neglect your family. You want to write books, make great art, change the world... go for it. But do not sacrifice the foundation that makes it possible. If you turn your back on loved ones to make a name for yourself, who will be there when you crash and burn? Failure is part of life, but let that failure be a project you were working on, not a marriage. Not your children.

Peter Lynch, famed fund manager of the Magellan Fund, in one of his books includes the telling statement that his seven days a week commitment to Wall Street success resulted in his missing out in two or three years of his daughters' lives, in the critical early teens. He warned that he can never re-do that decision or get back what he lost there.

PHOTO CAPTION: My wife Susie, one of the secrets of my success.

Thought for the Day

Both Nietzsche and Kierkegaard most forcefully rejected the herd mentality. That is, being in agreement with others because it is convenient instead of thinking for yourself and using your own observations is a character flaw and ultimately tragic.

On the Road Again

Well, it's pre-dawn darkness here, early Monday morning. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go.... Heading to Las Vegas for a quick lube show at Mandalay Bay and what do ya know, I'm also doin' the Con Agg show at the Convention Center once I get in the flow.

If all goes according to plan, I may also be performing at Pounders tonight, an open mic stand up comedy club. It brings my family shame when I do this, but hey, you only go around once in life. They say I am not cut out for comedy, that I am too serious. Plus, bad timing. My brother concurs. "Ed, you're not funny." O.K., that's throwing down the gauntlet. That's waving a red flag in front of a bull. And maybe they are right, so I have changed my name. If you ever see it in lights, you will know it's me: Eddie Danger. And in all likelihood those who know me best are right, so I'm not quitting my day job.

Meantime, life goes on all around us. Smile and have a great day.

Today is Monday

The stories we dream and the stories we live have roots in previous cycles of time. Seeds drawn from memory strive within us, nourishing hope and strengthening our resolve.

In more primitive times, the dangers were clear. In our modern era the enemies are abstract. Navigating career paths, real estate transactions, legal fine print, investments, taxation and the complexities of a modern age… alas, so many decisions that require measures of understanding for which we’re not entirely prepared.

In the midst of all, our imaginations run free. Hence we have a culture that breeds a passion for the arts, creative energy splashing outside the lines in color, sight, sound, words, and all manner of wonder.

The following image has been formatted to fit your screen.

Rousseau’s Influence

One of the most compelling sections for me personally in D’Souza’s What’s So Great About America is the section on Rousseau. The reason is that he helps explain to me the source of many of my own ideas which, like our entire generation, seemed to originate within us, but were foisted on us by the mass culture and pop media.

“Do your own thing” and “Follow your bliss” (yes, this is Joseph Campbell, but rooted in Roussaeu) and the idea of finding within the truth of who you are and being true to that inner you, free from external constraints… this is all Rouseau.

The idea of freedom is powerful, but can also be out of balance, as the label for our generation later became the Me Generation. This ethic was glorified in magazines such as Life’s photo essays on the hippie communes which glamorized the “throwing off” of traditional family and exalted the hippie foray into communal families. The fruit of such follies only came later. Who would do the work? Who will raise the children? If I am doing my thing and watching the sunset on acid, and he’s doing his thing writing poetry, who will do the dishes?

Rousseau, D’Souza points out, was the guiding spirit of Bohemia. And the heart of it is expressed in our total embrace of the ethic of authenticity. Know who you are and follow your star. You must be authentic to yourself. It doesn’t matter if what you are doing is sick and perverse as long as it is honest. Check out where the art scene went in the seventies, with artists who groveled in feces or worse. One German artist filmed himself cutting off his penis, one inch at a time. It was a statement of some kind, I suppose. Bold, original and stupid. (He died, of course.)

I found the ideas in this chapter quite helpful in understanding the problems I see in broken marriages where “my happiness” is more important than our children, and where “self understanding” is more important than self sacrifice or service or understanding another. Our generation took pride in the overthrow of conventional wisdom, and now we’ve paid a price. The funny thing is, we thought we were all being so original. But our behavior was rooted in ideas as old as mankind, voiced more than a century earlier and shaped by a pop media that rejoiced in its power to influence.

There is power in the idea of freedom. But a deeper self-understanding reveals that we are less free than we would like to believe. And though freedom is a wonderful thing, to put it on a pedestal as the ultimate value is a truth out of balance. Someone still has to fix the toilet, and keep the bills paid. Guess that means that eventually one has to grow up.

Ramble or Reach?

All roads lead to... No, it's not that simple. The roads diverge and do not have identical ends.

Think in terms of watersheds. Think in terms of destinies.

Choices have consequences. But we are not powerless. We have the power to choose.

So much of life is lived as if we do not have choices. The reality is, we almost prefer it that way. If there is something we really, really want, there will likely be a price to be paid to obtain it. And most of us lack the motivation to do the necessary work. Who likes work? If it ain't easy, we pass. Our natural tendency is the path of least resistance.

The greatest achievements require risk and sacrifice. If we fail to make sacrifices in pursuing a goal, we tend to diminish its value. An achievement feels cheap if it did not cost us something.

And so it is.... we ramble, we drift. And we fail to pursue the deepest longings of our hearts.

Dream big. Dream big and reach for the stars.

You Can’t Be Serious

I don’t know how many people know this, but underneath this serious demeanor as a marketing executive there is a stand up comic striving to emerge. About twelve years ago I participated in a stand up comedy competition at the White Elephant here in Duluth. I told my brother that I was going to do stand up comedy and he said, “Why are you doing this? You’re not funny.”

Well, for some reason I was determined and I shared my routine with one of our receptionists, who replied, “You better get a new routine.”

Guess what? I did the gig and it really wasn’t so bad. I came out second of seven, which may not be world fame, but gosh, like… it wasn't shameful.

Now it’s a new century and I have the itch again. Don’t ask why, but here I am developing some new routines. And the same old naysayers are reminding me, “You are not funny.”

My daughter is pleading with me not to do it. I said I would change my name first, and she said please do.

Oh well, there are worse things that can happen. I have no illusions about quitting my day job and doing the comedy circuit. I just like trying new things. I’ve jumped out of an airplane a few times. I can hopefully survive a gig at the stand up comedy boutique. And if the doors are locked when I get home that night, well, I can always sleep in the garage.

Actually, my interest in comedy is having a fairly positive impact on my family. They have all started praying again. They’re praying that I do not try to be a stand up comic.

Make Ready

Are we ready for the path that lies before us? Make ready. Though the race may not always go to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, if we be not ready there can be no reaping, no laurel, no spoils, no song. Make ready!
April 12, 1994

"I will study and get ready and the opportunity will come." ~ A. Lincoln

Much To Be Grateful For

We take so much for granted. Hence there is value each year on Thanksgiving day to reflect on how much we have to be thankful for. Friends, family, loved ones, a home, a job. It is a good tradition to make a list, to write it down. Writing forces you to clarify even further, and this process makes you even more appreciative.

But if you are an American, when you have finished your list you will have still not recorded some things that are so basic, so part of our lives, yet we take them for granted. One way to deepen your appreciation for how good you have it is to visit an impoverished Third World nation.

We did not do such a thing this week, but we did go there in pictures when the son of a friend of ours shared photos from his recent nine day trip to a slum called Cite Soleil outside Port au Prince. Having lived in Puerto Rico and Mexico, I have seen slums. But I'd not seen anything that closely compared to this (except perhaps some very poor sections of Mexico City.)

The shanty towns stretched far as your eye could see. No yards, no electricity, no running water, disease infested stenchwater and muck all through the streets, makeshift homes of corrugated steel and miscellaneous scrap materials, and death. One in four children never see their fifth birthday. Reality is grim, and hope is difficult to imagine.

Haiti is the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere. For a bed, many people sleep on cardboard. AIDS is rampant. Food is lacking. And for most, even if you want to work there are no jobs. What is there to look forward to?

Without electricity, if you had as cell phone, there would be no way to re-charge the battery. No microwave ovens. No way to read this blog post because you would not have internet access, or a computer. Was that a mosquito bite or a malaria infection you just received?

The mission of The Haiti Orphans Project is to improve the lives of orphaned children in Haiti by providing medical care, access to education and equal access to basic services. If you wish to do more than "give thanks" you can visit their website and see what a few handfuls of good people are doing out on the front lines where poverty reigns.

http://www.haitiorphansproject.org/haiti/english/home88.html

A World Turned On Its Head

Sometimes it just seems like life isn't fair. "Crime Pays." So it said on the front page of our local newspaper a number of years ago. The story: A woman embezzles $37,000. The judge sentences her to repay $3,000 and to remain grounded in her home for two months.

 

Wherever one turns one hears similar stories. Crime victims who have no rights. Criminals who seem to suffer no consequences for their crimes. Where is the justice in all this? 

But then, this is nothing new. 3,000 years ago the writer of Psalm 73 had been struck by a similar observation. As he looked on the prosperity of the wicked, their apparent success, their disregard for God or truth, and their mockery of heavenly things, he felt the same grief and dismay that we feel today. 

However, he did something unique. Rather than become embittered as he was tempted to be, he laid his complaint on God's doorstep and waited for an explanation. Had he been foolish to try to live a good life? No. There are rewards for those who seek to do what is right. And things aren't what they appear to be for those who choose to hurt others, to cheat, lie or steal. Their choices will have consequences, too, both in this life and in the world to come. 

 

Tonight I went to see American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Powerful movie, and if your vantage point in time is within the story, during the high times when all is going swell, you get a perspective that is not comprehensive. It is incomplete. Was Russell Crowe a fool to do what was right? The guys doing wrong sure seemed like they were the ones living the good life, both the cops on the take and the hoods on the street. But then again, in the end it always catches up with you. 

I was once involved in prison ministry. From behind bars many of these men saw quite clearly the illusory nature of the "high life" they had purchased with phony credit cards or other kinds of vice and crime. The worst of it, one man told me, is that the longer you are in it, the more difficult it becomes to get out. Often, the lifestyles we are attracted to have been bought with a price. We would do well to note the rest of the story. Things are not always what they first appear to be.