It was another full day of interviewing the juveniles out at the Remand Home for most of us. Unfortunately for me, I was on administrative duty for most of the day and spent precious little time with the children and the students. The day began quite well with a 7:00 a.m. meeting with an...
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Jim's Posts
The Masindi Project II, Part 2
After breakfast, we secured two additional cars to take the three teams of lawyers and law students out to the Ihungu Remand Home for a full day of interviewing. On our way, we picked up the probation officer so he could also be there when we arrived. It was clear that the juveniles were...
The Masindi Project II, Part 1
Nearly two and a half years ago, my love affair with Africa began in a juvenile prison in a sleepy town in central Uganda called Masindi. I arrived with three other law graduates from Pepperdine hoping to do what we could to assist twenty-one minors who had been arrested and charged with crimes, but...
A “Plea” for Ugandan Kids
This past week marked the beginning of Phase Three of the Juvenile Justice Pilot Program I have been working on for the past five months. Phase Three is the culminating judicial phase of the Program, with Phase Four only involving the resettlement of the children into their home villages by the probation officers. Phase...
Take-Your-Daughter-To-Work Day
The juvenile criminal court session associated with the Pilot Program we are running in Kampala officially opened on Monday. All sixteen cases involving children imprisoned in the Naguru Remand Home were given a trial date over the course of the next three weeks. The first is scheduled to start on Wednesday. If things go...
Catching Up
The phrase “You are what you eat” apparently dates back to a French doctor who, in 1826, said “Tell me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are.” If this is true, then I am a Chick’N’potle Bell. When I got off the 25-hour flight to the United States three weeks...
Back to School, Back to Cali
After finishing his first term in “A” levels three weeks ago, Henry headed home for a two-week break with his family in Hoima. While there, he snapped some pictures of the calf that was born during his first term, and the chickens that have grown from the baby chicks they were a couple months...
Searching for “So That”
If we are honest with ourselves, our true motives for our actions are sometimes difficult to fully understand and appreciate. For those (like me) who are quite adept at rationalization, this task becomes even more difficult. If it is this difficult to identify our own motives, then surely ascertaining and articulating the motives of...
Are We Really Helping?
Over the course of my time here in Africa, I have had numerous discussions with others about whether the money and services being provided by Americans (and other Westerners) are actually helping – or hurting – countries like Uganda. In other words, does the constant flow of financial and developmental assistance to third-world countries...
Caring For, Rather Than Caring About
Caring about those in need is good. Caring for those in need is better. Why did it take me so long to understand and act on this? Neither Joline nor I had ever been on a “mission trip” until we were in our forties. My first such endeavor was coming to Uganda in January...