It's that time again...SHAMELESS SOLICITATION!!!

If you haven't already guessed it, I'm going Back to Africa! Uganda (and the fantastic people I met there) treated me so well the first time that there is no way I couldn't return (though the pleading of my parents and girlfriend weren't easy to ignore)! My trip last year (please browse through my archived blog posts for all the dirty details...) provided me with the opportunity to work with teachers in the northern part of Uganda on exchanging and developing curriculum, strategies, and practices that addressed the unique needs of schools in the north. I spent most of my time in Pabo, the largest Internally Displaced Persons camp in Uganda, and returned to Gulu on the weekends for training and workshops (and the ocassional game of volleyball) led by the awesome charity Invisible Children. I am not sure where I will be stationed this year, but will fill you in on all the details as I receive them.

Now for the real purpose of this post...MONEY. My trip last year wound up costing a little over $6000. Through your generosity, I was able to raise a little over $2000 towards the expenses, spending about $4000 on travel, program fees, and other expenses. This year, I have set the goal a bit higher--I would like to try to defray as much as $4000 dollars of the trip--but I can only do that with your help.

I know, I know. You must be asking yourself, "Gee, How can I help such a decent (and modest) guy get halfway around the world to work with teachers and admistrators on developing practices to elevate the quality of education in northern Uganda?" Well, don't fret. The answer is simple. Show me the MONEY!!

There are several ways to donate this year. First, I am running a ChipIn donation event. Any time you donate through the link below (or on the upper left hand side of the blog) you will have the distinct pleasure of watching the temperature rise on the donation thermometer. Whoopee! How fun! You can make donations with a checking account or credit card. If you donate this way, it is not tax deductible.



If you want to be able to take a deduction on your 2009 taxes (sorry, too late for this year), then try one of these super easy methods!

1. Write out a personal check to Invisible Children with my name in the memo. Give it (or send it) to me. I will submit this check with my portion of the payments, and you will receive a receipt from Invisible Children

2. Mail a check directly to Invisible Children. It MUST be addressed as follows (or your donation will go directly to IC, which wouldn't be a bad thing):

To: Invisible Children
Mission: Teacher Exchange
1620 5th Ave, Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92101

In the memo line of the check, you must write T/EX-Matt Michelin
or the donation will not be credited towards my account.

3. If writing a check is too much of a hassle, then try donating with your credit card! Donations may be made by calling Invisible Children directly at 1-619-562-2799 or faxing your CC information to 619-660-0576. If you use this method, please ask for Cara Pryor and mention my name and that I am a part of the teacher exchange. Cara will be making sure that all funds are documented and managed appropriately.

Fianlly, if you haven't yet subscribed to my blog yet, then please do so. I'll be updating about the situation in Uganda, my fund raising efforts, and eventually, my experiences in Uganda. The best part of it all is that it's FREE! My blog posts will be delivered to your e-mail box any time I add an update! You can enter your e-mail address in the box to the left, or subscribe below. And for Pete's sake, tell all of your friends about this fantastic opportunity!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Again, thank you for all of the support as I prepare to return to Uganda. Your help makes all of the difference in the world to me (and hopefully a bit of difference for the people of northern Uganda too).

Best wishes to all!
Apwoyo Matek!
Matt Michelin

Read This!

Reader input:

I received the following commentary from a reader of this blog after my last post, "Congo Craziness". Twon Dako is a northern Ugandan, and offered up a perspective that is often missed. In the age of the Internet and the World Wide Web, it is very easy to type in a search term, gather countless articles, and gobble up all the information presented. Unfortunately (especially when we are thousands of miles away from the news) we often miss the context of that news, the human connection.

As posted at 9:15 p.m. on January 27th:

As a northern Ugandan who has followed the blogs from your last trip (many of them transporting me right back to familiar locations and people), I am so grateful for your enthusiasm for helping the children and schools, and also fully aware of the sacrifices you make towards it. Apwoyo matek!!!

I also wanted to comment on the latest military action in the DRC aimed at ending the LRA threat. I think I speak for most Acholi in saying to us, news of the offensive was very sad and heartbreaking, ending hope for the only viable way to achieve real peace in the region.

From the perspective of our experiences over the last 23 years, this looks uncannily like déjà vu, reminding us of Operation Iron Fist I (2002) and later Iron Fist II (forays into southern Sudan declared to eliminate the LRA once and for all) and many others before that. Here are what they all have in common:

Each time, as the local population in the war zone presses for dialogue with the LRA to end the war, and it looks like there is peace on the horizon, the government and army gradually ramp up their rhetoric against the LRA, and for a military solution, then they launch a sudden scary-named end-all military operation, with a lot of bravado. The operations involve aggressive strategies such as the use of helicopter gunships and bombing indiscriminately without a care for abductees, but generally not engaging them closely enough to harm the LRA leadership or rescue a significant number of abductees.

As the LRA very predictably scatter and retaliate against the civilian populations, and as they widen their forage for food and supplies (having lost their bases and supplies), the Uganda army and government then step aside to watch from a safe distance, leaving civilian populations totally unprotected. As a result of Operation Iron Fist in Sudan, the LRA intensified and extended the range of their raids and abductions in Sudan, and in Uganda even farther than Acholi, into Lango and Teso in eastern Uganda, places not previously affected. And reaching levels of brutality never witnessed before. Then just like the current military offensive in the DRC, with Iron Fist, the Ugandan army asked Sudan for many subsequent extensions to give them time to wipe out the LRA. I don’t need to tell you what the outcome was.

And then when proof is demanded of the loudly proclaimed success of the operation, the army provides photographs of an assortment of trophies from Kony. Following Iron Fist, I think it was Kony’s favorite “Kaunda” suit and photographs among other things. This time in Operation Lightning Thunder it was a wig, guitar, pots and pans, and later computers and satellite phones. All this proof is provided with impressive claims of very narrowly missing the capture of Kony by a whisker - they nearly grabbed his shadow, and how it is only a matter of time before LRA are history. (It is a big joke with many Ugandans.) We’ve heard it so often it sounds like a broken record!

As the death toll, horror, destruction, and displacement from reported increased LRA atrocities mount, then the Uganda government propaganda arm loudly proclaim to the UN, the world and any international donor partners who will listen how evil the LRA are, while avoiding all responsibility on their part, and giving a litany of excuses for the failures to meet operation goals (bad weather, dense jungle terrain this time), and no explanations for their failure to protect civilians – always getting to the scene of a just concluded massacre or discovering a fresh mass grave.

All this may not make logical sense to most straight-thinking people but through the half-hearted military operations with predictable results they can now provide fresh proof of the evil and brutality of LRA, further demonizing them (if that is possible), and more importantly creating justification for more aid for military spending, and more empathy for their side. At the same time, it is a great excuse for the continued total marginalization of northern Uganda and abdication of government responsibility towards its northern citizens. Surprise, surprise - the president last week suspended the implementation of the PRDP (Peace, Reovery & Development Plan) worth hundreds of millions of dollars!

So, was the Uganda army attack December 14 attack and the few LRA “trophies” captured worth the 640 plus Congolese, Sudanese and abducted Ugandan children’s lives with massive displacement and human suffering incurred in the region? Is it worth the new risks and exposure of victim communities? Could a little more patience and diplomatic or psychological strategy have yielded better results in this hostage situation? You be the judge.

I pray that our worst fears are not realized so that you and all the volunteer teachers will still be able to go to northern Uganda this summer.

Twon Dako (not my real name)

January 27, 2009 9:15 PM

Thank you, Twon, for providing us with your unique perspective. I hope that, in sharing your thoughts, others will understand the true frustration and desperation of the people of northern Uganda. Apwoyo tutwal.

Installment #5--Children Children Everywhere

Saint Jude’s was fun an experience. It is a children’s home that fosters children whose parents are unable to care for them. Some of the children have lost their parents to the war or to Aids, and many have parents who are unable to financially support their children, but hope to one day come and collect them. We went to play with the children, and they presented a couple of song and dance numbers for us. We threw footballs, Frisbees, the some kids played football, some had races, and many of the small children just wanted to be held. Many of the small children who were held fell right to sleep in the arms of the volunteers as soon as they were picked up. After a few workshops and classes in the morning, and then St. Jude’s, we decided that it was time to unwind a little bit. We went over to the Kope Café and had a movie night. Amy went out and bought a couple of crates of beer, made some popcorn, and bought a bunch of g-nuts (just like peanuts in the states). The Kope Café (Jamie, the Invisible Children’s Intern Coordinator and House Manager started the Café to benefit HEALS-an Acholi community and dance center-so he has a bit of pull) has a projector and a big white patch on its wall, and one of the volunteers supplied the computer and the movie (Charlie Wilson’s War—pretty good). After the movie, it was back to IC house to pack and get ready for the big adventure out in Pabo!

Peace (but not really) update

Joseph Kony is one frustrating dude. After not showing to the signing of the final articles of the peace process in April (and leaving the government of Uganda, the Sudanese mediators, and countless others involved in the process absolutely dissapointed and discouraged), Kony has done it again. Kony scheduled (yes, he is the one who asked for this meeting) a meeting with a large group of elders representing the Uganda people's interests, and then failed to show (after keeping them waiting for five days). Most suspect that this was simply one more stall tactic amidst a string of games and lies that Kony has been spinning.

(UN compound in Juba, Sudan--Photo borrowed from zagordemores flickr photos under creative commons license)

All the while the peace talks have been going on, it appears that Kony and his men have been up to their same old tricks. The UN, and several organizations have substantiated claims that the LRA has abducted several hundreds of children from southern Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (though there have been no reports of abductions in Uganda). There is a small glimmer of hope though as Acholi leaders and several of Kony's advisors will be meeting in the UK to try and salvage the peace process.

Here are some of the most recent articles on the abductions and peace process:

Uganda's Knife Edge
Ugandan Rebels Take Up Arms Again
Uganda: LRA Abduct 100 Children
Army Accuses Ugandan Rebels of Kidnapping 130 Children in Recent Weeks
Uganda: As Kony Stalls Peace Advances
Uganda: Acholi Leaders to Meet Kony Advisers in UK
Uganda: Why Did Kony Slam the Door in the Face of Peacemakers?