We have been dipping ourselves in shea butter and climbing shea trees in Northern Uganda for the past two days. We are in the Northern province of Lira after a bumpy 4 hour ride that involved crossing the Nile River... I was afraid to come here at first because of the Lord's Resistance Army's control over the area but Ssanyu was fearless from our initial planning meeting in the US. The LRA has been wrecking havoc on the local people, although as we learned today from the village official there has been relative peace for the last three years. Still, I can't say I'm comfortable crossing military checkpoints...
Today we drove through the bush further upcountry from Lira to the Okwang district with cinematographer Erik Shirai to film the Rwot Ber Women's Association, a women's group comprised of shea nut gatherers. Meeting with the women will help us better understand their needs and their relationship with the shea trees. They spoke of needing sewing machines to create jobs outside of the shea trade and to clothe their children...
The shea trees against the clear blue sky is a breathtaking sight to behold. Ssanyu and I climbed one that had been damaged by men who burn the base of the tree to to make coal, the largest threat to the shea trees survival. Deforestation as well as coal are destroying the harvest, but a healthy tree can provide more income from the nuts than the coal which provides quick money...
It is nothing less than heart wrenching the moment we learn who is HIV positive in the groups of women we meet with . This is the second women's group we have met since we arrived in Uganda, the first being in the Eco Village on Lake Victoria near Kampala. Both groups of women have been devastated by AIDS. In Okwang the infected women are mostly rape victims of LRA soldiers, while in Lake Victoria, the problem is primarily marital infidelity.
We can't wait to share the video footage Erik shot of the organic shea butter process from A-Z and of the Rwot Ber Women's association, but for now, here are some photos from today.
Peace & Happiness
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