mob justice

It seems that with every trip I make to Uganda, I learn more about the ugly side of life here. Last night a young man lost his life for trying to steal a mattress. I am not kidding. A mob beat him to death over a mattress.

In trying to understand this, I asked David to explain how that can happen. Here it is.

Thieving is common here, and life is cheap. If a thief breaks into your home and you catch him, or them, (there could be 2 or more), there is the possibility that they may kill you rather than face being identified later. So thieves are lumped together with murderers because they are sometimes one in the same.

Sometimes the thieves have guns. Almost everyone in Uganda knows how to use a gun because of a government program that exists.

By the time the police arrive, an angry mob has beaten the young thief to death. Last year I heard a young thief was trying to steal a scooter and was burned to death by the mob.

So how does this happen in a country that claims to be 80% Christian and 20% Muslim?

I have no idea.

I will never understand this place.

lifting the spirits

Today was pretty cool. had a lot of great moments as we sat together with the students and talked about the year gone by and the future. They had some concerns about wage increases, medical coverage, supply problems and electr4ical problems. And it would be a shame if I didn't mention that some of them want an extra chipati for breakfast, fancier lunches and travel money. Of course all of this would be possible if they made more guitars!

We decided that our biggest challenge is electricity. We need another diesel generator to run the power in the climate room so that our production won't be interrupted by power outages. So I made them a deal. Whatever they can raise locally towards that, we will match 2:1. You ought to have seen them come up with ideas! They are going to throw a fundraising banquet for 300 people, build and sell a guitar for the event, and have lots of speeches. It was nice to see the entrepeneur in them come alive. It was beautiful.

Anyways, here's a pic of Chris, Josh and Alex having fun at the warehouse with a batch of new guitars. Incidently, we've now switched from Fedex to TNT couriers and thier African counterpart, and we're saving 50% on shipping from Uganda to Canada.

peace

jd

Casting Crowns Gets Guitar

Well today was a fun day. I received an email from Hector Cervantes of Casting Crowns - he has received his guitar and loves it! Nice. Maybe it will end up onstage in front of thousands...

I had a fun thought and I'm wondering if you could let me know what you think. I'm thinking of asking Mwesige David, our shop foreman, to do a blog of his own. Would that be interesting?

We're working on touching up a few guitars today. And then we're going to spend the 2nd half of the day hearing from the guys about the past year.

It seems that every day we are getting someone new following this blog so if thats you, then welcome to the blog!

*** I just had a call from Walter Loewen of Spruce Grove , Alberta, my hometown. Walter is in Kampala (30km away from us here in Mpigi), and needs a guitar for a conference he is a part of. It seems that with the British Airways strike, all thier luggage and thier guitar is temporarily missing. So here we go! I'm glad I brought a pick up with me! Its going to be an interesting day as we'll be under the gun to get this one right, the first time...

peace

Skype On!

We have video Skype!!!! Unbelievable. Soooo great. I talked with Irena and Noah tonight with Video! The connection was a bit worse than doing the same thing in Canada, but not much. Oh God is goooooood.

We have pics now from one of our first attempts at blessing the community around us here in Mpigi. Attached is a pic or two of some kids from a needy elementary school. We were able to buy them some school supplies, (notebooks, pens/pencils and math sets for each student), and lunch for a month!

We'll only be able to continue this type of thing if our fund raising grows - right now we are (all of us at DA) being paid only a little at a time because funds are VERY tight right now. If you want to help a bit each month it would totally help us out. You can find out more using the 'Donate' link at our website www.duncanafrica.com

fret work 101

Well, I finally got here. Woke up just fine this morning and no sign of jet lag. nice. David and I had a good time re-connecting on the ride from the airport to Mpigi, which is about 1.5 hours in the car - I think.

We've made plans to just work on learning to 'finish' the guitars better, to a higher degree of 'perfect'. On Monday, we're going to sit and talk with all the students and hear from them. Its been a hard month now as we have had a hard time paying wages both here in Uganda and in Canada.

Its been neat to see the students again - they feel more like old friends than students really. One of our guys is gone now - he had his heart set on becoming an electrician. So we blessed him and sent him to electrician school in Entebbe. He was so smart that guy. Kasozi Paul is his name.

Anyways. I'll try to post more now as the internet is working.

peace

j

YVR

Hi Again I'm off to Uganda for my fifth time. I have all our supplies jammed into my bags and just a couple t-shirts to get by with.

Its going to be an intense two weeks. I'll be away from my wife and son for the first time. Thats not fun. But I'm looking forward to seeing the students again. We'll be talking about the past year and looking at the challenges we had and how we can improve on at least 28 different issues.

I'm hoping we can sell a few guitars while I am away. I've left Chris and Maureen in charge while I'm away. This will be a mini-test of what it would be like if I was gone long term.

Chris is so great at prepping and setting up the guitars - just a tremendous gift for finding the perfect string height and feel for each guitar. Did you know that when you get the string height just right, the whole thing sings better? True.

Anyways. Thanks for tuning in. I'll try to post while I'm in Uganda, but no promises. Attached is a pic of a guitar we're sending to Casting Crowns' Hector Cervantes.

Peace.

jd.

coffee shop fundraiser

hey - today is an exciting day. we fired off another wire transfer today. not a lot of funding left in the ol' bank account right now. God will supply.

we're hosting a coffee shop fundraiser in White Rock, BC tomorrow night. This Old Mountain, Lance Odegard, Dave Siverns, Ezra Kwizera and I will be performing at the Small Ritual Coffee House, and Brent Unrau will be talking about his own form of art and how all of these crazy art forms are tied together in Christ.

OK. Gotta run. peace to you and yours...