Steve Youngblood: No place in Uganda, or Anywhere

GULU, UGANDA—The last time my ears rung like this, I was a teenager sitting in front of the speakers at a Ted Nugent rock concert.

The culprit this time wasn’t amplified heavy metal, but instead ululations belted out by an enthused congregant at a Ugandan wedding we recently attended here in the northern part of the country. For the uninitiated, a ululation is a high-pitched sound (la-la-la) made with the tongue. It’s done to denote joy or sadness. A ululation has a trilling, up-and-down quality, and when done by experts, like the Acholi women of northern Uganda, it is louder than the loudest shout or scream.

The woman sitting next to me at the wedding had a black belt in ululation, expressing herself so loudly that she was probably heard in Sudan, about 50 miles away. Ted Nugent, eat your heart out.

For the Record: Catherine Bleish (Part 2)

Is Speech Really Free? Part Two
by Catherine Bleish

Last month I told you the story of my unlawful kidnapping by a rouge “Officer of the Law” in Maplewood, Missouri for simply speaking. This was the catalyst that sparked my quest to understand the consequences of a government that restricts rather than protects our God-given and Constitutionally protected rights. Political profiling is a growing phenomenon in our country that seems to be emanating from the Federal Government and is seeping into the behavior of our local law enforcement.

The Missouri Informational Analysis Center (MIAC) had relatively little name recognition before the scandal surrounding the since retracted "Strategic Report on the Modern Militia Movement" that was leaked in March of last year. The report was disseminated to law enforcement personnel and listed many conservative/libertarian viewpoints as indicators of a “potential threat” to law enforcement officials. The MIAC is a federally designated Department of Homeland Security “Fusion Center”.

After two more reports were leaked within weeks, I realized a systematic problem of political profiling was emerging from within the ranks of our government. The Department of Homeland Security was the source of the next scandal; Their document titled, “ DHS Report on Right Wing Extremism” stated that right wing and potentially violent extremists could be defined as those who put ‘local authority above federal authority’, which would essentially define our Constitution as a piece of terrorist propaganda! This report has not been retracted.

volume 9, Episode 22

Volume 9, Episode 21

Volume 9, Episode 20

Steve Youngblood: Seminars, Meetings Show Impact, is it Enough?

GULU, UGANDA—I envy doctors, because they often know right away if they’ve done a good job, since their patient is either better or dead. For those of us in education, there is seldom such finality, such closure.

This is especially true of my work here in Uganda. Among other things, I am teaching seminars for radio journalists and announcers, helping them discover story-telling in a way that helps to minimize conflict and reduces the possibility of violence. This kind of training is especially urgent given that Uganda will hold its presidential and parliamentary elections in February. (Right--PJ follow up meeting, Soroti)

My Ugandan colleague and I have given 17 such seminars for journalists in the last seven months, and aside from scattered anecdotal reports, we were not really sure if we were making an impact. We found out last week.

Steve Youngblood: Busy, Busy Week

KAMPALA, UGANDA—Here on a dusty, run down soccer field in the middle of town, when you say the name Park University, everyone lights up. That’s because Park University, and one Park student in particular, are unlikely heroes in this place that is literally and figuratively a world away from Parkville, Missouri.

We gathered on this dirt field on Jan. 8 for a ceremony handing over donations made by the Park University community to the Uganda Youth Soccer Academy (UYSA). The donations—soccer balls, gloves, water bottles, jerseys, and shoes—were collected by Park athletes and other students and staff and shipped to Uganda.

The equipment will be used by the 400 or so kids who are part of the Uganda Youth Soccer Academy. Its goal is to offer opportunities to the disadvantaged youth of Uganda through soccer and education. Founder Ivan Kakembo said that the UYSA offers weekly soccer practices for the kids, featuring professional coaches, while at the same time seeking scholarship funding to help the youngsters attend school. Kakembo said most of his soccer kids are orphans, and that many were born HIV positive. His kids are among 12-million Ugandan AIDS orphans, and some of the 150,000 people here under 14 who are HIV infected (unaids.org; 2009 statistics). Thus, the UYSA’s efforts are also increasingly concentrating on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.

Steve Youngblood: Off to Tororo, Soroti, Gulu

MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, UGANDA—As the smoke from my car’s engine began to envelop me, for a moment I couldn’t even see the dashboard, let alone the opportunity that this latest vehicular calamity would offer my wife to give a little bit of herself to some needy kids.

My wife Barbara and son Alex and I were on our way to Fort Portal in Western Uganda when the smoke began to waft over us. Our driver Tabu screeched the car to a halt along the side of the road, and I screamed at my family to quickly abandon ship. Tabu sprung out of the car, and miraculously extinguished the flames that were dancing on several engine wires.

I was red with rage. This car, a “Mitsubishi Lemon”, has broken down 73,908 times since I bought it in June, leaving me stranded all over the country. In no particular order, this Lemon’s maladies have included flat and leaky tires, a bad starter, hose issues, a leaky gas tank, a broken oil pump which led to a nearly melted engine, gear box maladies, and now a fizzled electrical system. (Not being a complete idiot, I did have a “mechanic” examine the car before I bought it. This “mechanic” might have been in cahoots with the seller. Or, perhaps he was just comically, criminally incompetent.)

Volume 9, Episode 19