LAST LESSONS #100 – UGANDA

 “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8

The Rafiki Village in Uganda is all about First Lady Janet Museveni, wife of Yoweri Museveni the President of Uganda. Besides her First Lady duties, Janet Museveni is Minister of Education and Sports but that does not keep her from helping Rafiki. The story of Rafiki in Uganda is really all about her. She is the reason we have orphanages. She is the reason we have Villages. Here’s the story:

In 1992, we went to visit BSF classes in Uganda led by Dan and Barbara Chrouser, and we met Janet Museveni. She had heard of Rafiki and invited those on our trip to meet with her. It was an amazing meeting. She asked each one of us for our testimony of Jesus Christ and then she told us her testimony. There was an immediate bond among us. Then she looked directly at me and asked if Rafiki could help with the 1.5 million orphans in Uganda by building orphanages. I promised that we would pray about it, but we didn’t have any money to build anything! That money did not come in until 1999 when BSF gave it to me as a retirement gift.

However, in the meantime, Rafiki sent out missionaries to Uganda. To get them into the country, they needed a job that would benefit Uganda. Tyler Lunberry was an architect, so we sent him to teach in Makerere University. He was joined by Stu Coiner, an electrical engineer. Tyler and Stu took their wives and the two couples taught BSF classes. Tyler began looking for appropriate land on which to build an orphanage. Nine pieces of property were suitable, and we finally chose a beautiful 58-acre site outside Kampala on a rolling hill with a spectacular view. We were able to lease the land for 99 years and Rafiki was able to pay the entire amount upfront from the money given by BSF class members. God’s provision for his plan.

Tyler and Stu began to build and when the complex was finished in early 2003, Janet Museveni stepped up to dedicate the Rafiki orphanage that she had asked for ten years before. I remember that day very well. Janet (she always wanted me to call her by her first name) came to the microphone in her big hat (it was a hot sunny day!) and her sneakers with socks! She expressed her gratitude without neglecting to mention the memories of how our relationship began. She mentioned that in 1992, she had asked me to visit her orphanage in Masulita in the Wakiso District. I did visit that orphanage then and several other times in succeeding years. It was clean and orderly, but very spartan. Children sleeping on straw mats on the floor and cooking done in pots on outdoor fires. Janet knew that I had one heart with her from those visits and she mentioned them at the Village dedication. She had not forgotten anything!

In succeeding years our friendship grew, and I visited her every time we went to Uganda, usually at the State House. One time she came to the USA for medical reasons and asked me to meet her in Chicago, and I did.

But one visit especially stands out to me. She invited me to her home in Kara Moja (about a 3-hour drive from Kampala). I want to talk about this event because it characterizes Janet Museveni. As we drove into the village of Kara Moja, I was struck by the barrenness of the land. There was not a tree nor a blade of grass in sight. The houses were poor and made mostly of mud bricks. However, when we arrived at the gate to the Museveni compound, everything was built of concrete and nicely painted. Not a mansion, but a very nice home for the Museveni’s. I asked Janet why she would build a home for herself in such a barren and poor location. She said, “Because I want to develop this poor part of Uganda and I know that if I put my house here, it will attract business and development. This area needs me to do this.”

Janet Museveni understood her country’s needs, including the need for education. She was very happy when Rafiki started our Village school, and she asked if she could send six young women students to learn how to be teachers. She talked me into letting them stay in one of the orphan cottages and I happily complied. Later she asked me to take over a secondary school that she had been given near Kampala. She said I MUST take it and she would name it the “Rosemary Jensen Secondary School.” She wanted those students to learn what Rafiki was teaching. When I told her I could not take her school, she asked if Rafiki would run it. That was not possible either so I encouraged her to start pre-schools that she should name “Mama Janet Schools”!!!

Through the years Janet has helped Rafiki in countless ways. She has encouraged our missionaries and come to see the children frequently. She made a speech at the dedication of the RICE building. She brought visitors (including the First Lady of Kenya) to the Village to see her “STAR” project.

In the past twenty years, the Rafiki Village has grown, and a number of missionaries were sent to Uganda. It would take too long to tell all their stories. But one I want to mention is Kelly Fore. Kelly has been in Africa for eleven years and in Uganda for five years. With a master’s degree in education, she is the headmistress of Rafiki’s pre-school through twelfth grade schools. She has endeared herself to Janet Museveni as well as to the President. The reason I am mentioning Kelly is because I am sending a personal letter to Janet for Kelly to deliver by hand. Kelly is returning to Uganda after being home for Enrichment. The letter is asking Janet Museveni to help Rafiki finalize the Rafiki school evaluation process so that our curriculum can be used in the thousands of schools in Uganda. I know that Janet will respond to this request because she always has!

To finish up, you have heard it said that “It takes a village to raise one child.” I have learned that sometimes “It takes one person to raise a village!” Janet Museveni is that kind of person!