My student Joseph and friends of his at Kyangwali camp in Uganda formed an amazing organization called Coburwas (www.coburwas.org). In July I had the privilege of visiting Kyangwali and seeing for myself what Coburwas is doing. Below are some reflections of mine from a recent email . . .
In the 1990's, eastern DRC erupted into a brutal war fueled by intense tribalism and competition for Congo's rich natural resources. As a young boy, Joseph fled from the fighting in DRC, and he and his family became refugees in Uganda. The refugees were taken to what became Kyangwali, then a dense forest on the shores of Lake Albert. They were given some seed and basic tools and told to survive. In the early days, many died of starvation and disease, and the deep-seated tribalism from Congo was just as present and insidious in the camp. In the resulting hopelessness, many left for the Congo, deciding to face the devastation there rather than die in the camp.
It was from this situation that Coburwas arose. In Kyangwali, Joseph connected with another young man named Benson, and the two of them and some other youth from the camp dreamed of a society where people were not divided by tribal or national lines, where lives were not shattered by war. They formed Coburwas (the name comes from the different nations represented in the camp), and they began to work together in the fields to raise just enough funds for a few to go to school. Everyone in the camp said they were crazy - and with some reason, for 40 youth working for several weeks in the fields would only earn about $150 for all of them combined. But they persisted, and the fruit of their work now is astounding. They have built 2 hostels in the town of Hoima where 80 boys and girls live and are able to take advantage of Uganda's universal secondary education; they care for 30 young orphans, with their own preschool, and even their own primary school that Joseph raised funds for while at ALA (expected to open later this year); they also do great work fighting malaria and other diseases, and combating rape and violence against women. Now they are highly respected in the camp, and are regularly invited by the camp commandant to help make policy decisions. All of this from a group of young refugees with no rights and nothing to their name except determination.
I had heard all the stories about Coburwas and Kyangwali, but seeing it was something else altogether - meeting the students at the hostel, seeing the almost-finished school that Joseph had been raising funds to build. There was a deep sorrow for the intense pain that the people in Kyangwali have suffered. But for me, the dominant emotion was a deep joy and gratitude that I get to play a small role in the culture of hope that Coburwas has created. There was a sense of walking in the shadows of giants - of Joseph, who has made such a massive impact as a teenager, and Benson, who has faced atrocities that I can't even fathom, yet now is a pastor and the leader of this vision of hope and peace. Seeing Coburwas, I felt like I had a picture of what the church is meant to be - Coburwas has created a true counter-culture, a vision of hope in the midst of Kyangwali's hopelessness. While I was there, I met a man who had traveled from deep in the Congo because he had heard of Coburwas' vision of a non-tribal community, and he had to see it for himself. I learned later that he had once been a general in one of the rebel armies; now he is returning to DRC to form a new branch of Coburwas there. And by God's incredible goodness, I have gotten to be a part of achieving this vision, through befriending, teaching, and learning from Joseph these past two years.
On the last night in Kyangwali, we killed a goat to celebrate and watched the World Cup final by generator. Early the next morning, we said our goodbyes to Joseph and the Coburwas crew, but my hope is that the "til we meet again" will come sooner rather than later.
