Ugandan missionaries reach out to the needy

At the mention of the word missionary some people think of foreigners. Having Ugandans as missionaries is almost unheard of or could be less appreciated.

Getting into missions
Solomon Nyakuni and Alice Akello are some of the missionaries from Uganda to Kenya sent by an indigenous mission’s agency, Global Link Afrik (GLA). The duo speak with excitement about experiencing a new environment and being part of the commission of God in different setting.

“It has been a great six months of intense reading of the Bible and Christian literature because there is value attached to reading and being grounded in faith,” cites Nyakuni who serves in Kiambu County, Kikuyu town in Kenya. “Concern for others’ spiritual wellbeing and care for one another here is venerable. I get to be part of the small group and I’m accountable to a large group and I share my life as I serve!”

At work
The nurse who hails from Arua District, has served in Busia District,Uganda as a missionary for a year. With this experience, he is well-equipped to serve in any part of the world for God.

“There is a cultural gap. People in Kenya are fast and aggressive in pursuing tasks and achieving goals unlike Uganda where we are into maintaining people-relationships which sometimes gets goals crumbling,” Nyakuni observes.

Akello is attached to ADS Mt Kenya Hospital in Kirinyaga. For her, life is quite similar to Uganda but only faces language barrier. “I deal with people who speak Gikuyu but it is translated into Kiswahili [ that I don’t even understand well]. You can imagine,” the nurse says breaking into a hysterical laugh.

“Having served in Yumbe District for a year as a missionary, this gave me a platform to be resilient and adaptive. I can confidently say it is great here and there are many lessons to draw from such a venture,” says Akello.

When I visit the head office in Kigoowa- Ntinda, I’m told two missionaries will serve Kenya this year. On meeting Gillian Edube, the programmes director of GLA, she is having rice and soup before she signals me to wait a bit!

“We are preparing missionaries to go and serve and there’s little time to have a meal,” Edube explains as she wipes her lips. “We target young professionals who have just completed their education and are keen on serving in mission. So, we attach them to the hard to reach communities where they serve for a given time. We strive to equip them effectively before they are sent out there,” notes Edube.

“We are well-prepared and I can only say God is good for the opportunity to be serving in Kenya,” Akello reaffirms.
GLA partners with different organisations which caters to the loving costs and allowances for the missionaries.

What is the inspiration
Samuel Opolot, executive director, says GLA is born out of the desire and indeed the need to help those who feel called to serve. “I remember a girl who had just completed Makerere University coming to me convinced that she was called to serve in South Sudan. I struggled to find an institution to help her,” he recalls. He adds that when he was a student worker, this was one of the scenarios he and colleagues had to deal with. Together with a group of friends they worked together to start Global Link Afrika – with the goal to be a link for those seeking to serve.

“We grew up with a mentality that missionaries were white men. It is not true. We as a church are invited to this,’ he explains. “We must change this and embrace the challenge to serve others. Imagine a remote place that has a health centre II or III with a population of more than 3,000 people and there is no qualified nurse or midwife, for various reasons ranging from, accessibility or insufficient resources to afford a qualified nurse. That population needs those services too!” Opolot observes.

experiences
“Despite my family’s objection to the idea, I went to serve Rushere community in Kiruhura District. Before serving here, I had been in Moyo District at Erepi Health Centre where it was hard to find a qualified nurse. I had to serve as the officer in-charge of the health centre,” Gerald Ludhuba says. Ludhuba is the predecessor of David Wasukira in Moyo District where the latter has started a local bakery as a solution to the prevalence of famine and poverty, among other issues. He has also introduced farming, especially rearing rabbits. Wasukira is the current officer in-charge.

The state of missions
“Missions in Uganda are at a crucial stage where Uganda is not just a mission field but increasingly becoming a mission force,” observes Rev Dr Denis Kilama, a senior pastor at Lugogo Baptist church in Kampala and the DVC, Development and Partnerships personnel at African Renewal University. “Ugandans are beginning to realise that missions is no longer a white man’s affair but an affair of the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world. It has taken us a century to understand!”

Dr Julius Twongyeirwe, Berea Baptist Church pastor and executive director, Proclamation Task, recently together with like-minded ‘missiologists’ launched the Association of Christian Evangelical Missions in Uganda (ACEMU), a body that seeks to connect, communicate and collaborate missions agencies in Uganda. It’s through this body that the world renowned perspectives course is going to be launched later this year. This curriculum has been at the centre of mission’s mobilisation in countries such as USA, Korea, Nigeria, and Kenya.