*please note, if you’ve not yet read our post titled "A Silent Suffering" please do so*
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today is a transition day.  we transfered hotels from Kampala to Entebbe and are awaiting our 5am flight to Burundi via Nairobi.  With most of the day off we were surprised with the gift of a little wildlife time in a refuge.  My passion for photography in Africa revolves around it’s people and their stories.
That being said, I’m not one to turn down hanging out with a bunch of monkeys.  Here are a few pics from our day, including my good friend Travel Thomas (my son’s train I travel with) and a particular shot that shows how dedicated these particular monkeys were in "serving" each other… Next time I want Lauren to be here with me.
Take nothing for granted today friends…  Blessings and good morning to the USA.

posting images without a brief history and explanation would to a disservice to the people pictured…

that being said, this blog will contain information that is both personal in nature to those pictured,  as well as the mentioning of specific private areas to the female body.  If this makes you uncomfortable, please do not continue reading.  The images  below are safe for all eyes.

FGM, also called FGC, stands for female genital mutilation, or circumcision.   This involves the cutting of the female genital area, specifically the clitoris, from a woman thereby robbing her of sexual stimulation and often as a byproduct, her drive. Only about 5% of Uganda reports practicing this procedure, while it is found to be much more prevalent in other African countries.  More info can be found at the World Health Organization website, www.who.int.  A side note… it seemed as though the whole of the 5% lived in the area we were documenting.  While that’s a possibility, perhaps the true number is higher than reported.

As we continue our documentary, we are seeing this cultural practice, at least in this area, stem from two possible points of origin.   The first possible explanation is the result of marital unfaithfulness.  Years ago, tribal men would go on long expeditions across their country in hopes of bringing home cattle, sheep, and other sustenance for their family.  These expeditions could sometimes last years.  It’s been said that in many cases the men were pronounced dead by elders.  The women were shocked at times to see their husbands return, in turn, the men were shocked to see their wives with small children or  pregnant, often from the men who stayed home to protect them.  The councils came together to find a solution and the result was FGM in different forms of severity.
The second possible origin, perhaps working in hand with the first, hails from Egypt.  An Egyptian gynecologist has reported the possibility that Pharaoh with all of his wives would often find, for example, by the time he was finished with wife #100 and got back to wife #1, she had been with another man.  The solution was the extraction of a woman’s sexual gentile foundation.

Today FGM is seen as a right of passage for the young woman.  Some as young as 12. I’m very saddened to say I was shown a picture of a girl who couldn’t have been more than 5. It’s been made into a cultural celebration, a right of passage, that involves family and community alike to come and witness the spreading of the girls legs, her cutting and her bleeding.  upon healing, she is ready for marriage.

Origin can be argued, the devastating effect that this procedure has on the woman can not.  Imagine the same crude blade being used for some 50 girls, no pain medication and no sterilization.  AIDS transition most certainly a risk.   We have interviewed women who went through shock, have uncontrolled urine leakage, excessive bleeding, and one women who was left paralyzed.  Sexual intercourse is extremely painful for these women.  As a result, intercourse is less frequent and often can lead to marital rape, an often occurring and little discussed issue.  News reached us quickly that just days ago a woman hung herself because she could no longer stand the pain of intercourse with her husband who showed her no mercy.  There are, however, those husbands who stand by their wives.  More on their story below.

We’re not experts and alone stand no chance at solving this complex issue. Thankfully  women across the area have opened up their mouths to speak on a subject that now lies in controversy in a land that until recently has considered the discussion of sexual matters very taboo.  Freedom lies in education.  REACH, a group of professionals in the area works with locals, churches and government to try and eliminate FGM from the present and seal it in the history books.

Make no mistake, the work we’re doing here is not an attempt at the Westernization of an African culture.  This is the African culture beginning to take a stand for human rights and reclaiming it’s true culture and heralding the return of the family unit, one husband, one wife.  We at emote360, partnering with Antioch Church are proud to stand beside them and help equip them with media to reach the masses.  While we work with an appreciative Ugandan President and Parliament, it’s our prayer that this open door leads to the freedom for women in other nations. 

Before I post some images, let me say this. Producer and videographer Elizabeth Fischer and I have heard many disturbing stories in the last few days resulting from women who have undergone "the knife." 
This from a country reported at a practice rate of 5%.  There are countries much higher than this.
Literally, hundreds of thousands of women in our world are at this very moment engulfed in a silent suffering. 

Please keep these women in your thoughts and prayers.  Our team continues to Burundi in a couple of days, then to Rwanda.  We appreciate your prayers as well for our work and families we have left behind to honor our Lord.  This has never been about spreading religion, just loving our neighbors no matter the distance.  It’s amazing to see how quickly that love spreads.

Every story needs an establishing shot, right?  This was from the lawn of our hotel, the Masha in Kapchorwa, Uganda.  The air was thick with smoke from the surrounding burning fields.  The sunrises and sunsets on fire from the African sun.  Around the 3000′ level on Mt. Elgon, we saw some relief from the heat.  The land is lush, even during the dry season and the people… Oh the people.  Not afraid to love their God and not afraid to hold your hand through a conversation.

(please forgive me.  our group notes are in another room and I haven’t access to them.  some images may  not contain names)

this women stands with her child on the edge of Elgon forest.
the woman had undergone FGM in her younger years.  Her husband left her and her childbirth was difficult.  many painful memories.

the elimination of FGM presents issues for some in the community.  the woman pictured here relies on FGM for economic reasons.  They call her a cutter or surgeon and she makes her living off of FGM patients.  She wants the government to subsidize her income if FGM is outlawed.  An end note… our last day in Kapchorwa saw her resign from the position of cutter as she puts her faith in God to provide and alternative method of income.

thankfully, many men and community leaders are opposed to FGM.  This man stands in the valley as a former endorser of FGM practice, now turned opponent.




a woman carries her water as one of her many daily tasks.  undergone FGM?  I’m not sure, sometimes the photographer in me just likes what I see.  she was very happy to have been photographed.

a tribal leader very much opposed to FGM.  he also participates in a drama group which performs a play about FGM.  after showing him the capture i told him he looked handsome, he most certainly agreed ; )




paralyzed by FGM, this woman tells us an amazing story of how God healed her from a constant urine leakage and enabled her to deliver her child without a C section, even though the doctor said it was impossible.

my wife won’t mind that i told her she was beautiful.  let this kind of beauty, true beauty, soak in to your mind to replace the constant barrage of "media" beauty we see in th US.  this woman is full of life.  her husband has stuck by her side and tends to many of the duties normally assigned to the wife.

Pastor Henry is teaming with the REACH office to wipe out FGM in his area.

a woman in traditional attire stands on a rock overlooking Kapchorwa.

her husband married other women largely because she could no longer stand to have intercourse with him. she is now alone, left with only a house that is falling into pieces.  she pours her heart into the video interview in hopes of saving the girls in her area from FGM.

from inside a cave, the place of his birth, a community and tribal leader tells us why he is greatly opposed to FGM and wants to see its destruction.  on a side note, i saw some bats and stepped in guano.




some young men standing around after the interview, opposed to FGM…




a woman prepares her food during the heat of the day from within her mud brick home.  on the grounds where we filmed the drama production of FGM.  i thought it was hot outside, i couldn’t believe the heat in which she was working inside.  I think i’m still acclimating…




a young girl stands in the doorway near the courtyard where we filmed the drama.  what will FGM in her lifetime?




how many of this young girls relatives have suffered from the knife?




here are a few happy and healthy kiddos who lit up my heart…

en route to an interview regarding one of the worlds least known human rights violations, we see this.  we are surrounded by beauty and hope. Snapping this while we were walking and not having time to take a proper landscape shot because of schedule was a bummer.  All things back in perspective, the image still speaks to me and finds me thinking of hope in Uganda for future generations.

we’re finally on our way.  a flat tire that couldn’t be fixed in time ( was it really a flat tire?) kept us from leaving Redmond on time.  we weren’t sure if we’d meet our connecting flight in Seattle that would take us to London.  What a blessing to find once we arrived in Seattle we had a van waiting for us that took us to the British Airway terminal.  Once we arrived a gentleman from British Air said, "come in and have a drink, and hey, it’s BA, it’s always complimentary." 
I love good service.
A 7 hour layover in London, a 7 hour flight to Uganda, a 5 hour bus ride and we’re there…
Blessings,
–B

Monday begins another journey of a lifetime, wrapped up into three weeks.  I will have access to the internet at points and will be keeping a daily journal I’d like to share, with of course, images.
Looking forward to sharing the world with you.

happy valentine’s month…
for the remainder of the month, we’re offering 14% off of wedding packages booked Sunday-Friday.
to qualify, you must put down a deposit on your day.

blessings and enjoy your v-day!