"When The Student Is Ready, The Teachers Appear"

You know, I was so happy to see the two people sitting next to me in this shot, I didn't even mind it when Gloria proclaimed, "You have gained much weight! You must be very happy!"

I had to keep it in proper perspective. When Gloria and Sam first met me in Gulu back in 2007, I had only been living in Northern Uganda about a month. But between the stress of trying to set up a radio training facility, and gnawing on emaciated chickens whenever I was lucky enough to find one, I had probably already lost 10 pounds. Five months later, I had also lost my beloved sister Julie, and very nearly my will to live. By the time I left Gulu in February 2008, I had shrunken to my prehistoric, 1979 Size 4.

And of course, in African cultures, skinny means hungry, desperate and poor. Plump, meaty, and boob-y means prosperity. Based on the image above, I'm mighty damned prosperous, no matter what Bank of America says. Anyhoo, I digress. I've just gotten home after a lovely reunion with Sam and Gloria here in Nairobi, and I've probably never felt prouder of two people, or myself, in my entire life.

Back in 2007 Gulu, Sam was working as a news reporter at Choice FM in Gulu, and Gloria was a freelancer, based in Kampala and hustling for assignments wherever she could find them. But like many of the amazingly resourceful and earnest reporters I met in Uganda, they didn't have a clue about how to produce a radio feature story. During my time in Gulu, I was able to nurture, nudge, cajole and guide them toward doing just that, and it appears to have paid off wonderfully.

Sam eventually left Choice FM and now works as a feature writer for the Daily Monitor, which is owned by the same company I'm working with in Nairobi. Gloria is a features editor for the government-owned radio station in Kampala. Between raucous laughs and medicinal gulps of cold Tusker Malt tonight, these two wonderful people kept giving ME credit for what they've been able to accomplish. It was just so incredibly touching.

I mean, you couldn't wrap your mind around some of the hurdles most African journalists have to clear to practice their craft! Hell, before Sam walked into Choice FM and volunteered his services, he had been a soldier. A child soldier. I'm talking with the Lord's Resistance Army, folks. I interviewed him once for a story, and when I asked if he had been forced to kill anyone, he calmly replied, "Of course." Like I would say, "Of course I had to go to Google to track down this report I needed information from."

Gloria is married, has had some health challenges, and now has 2 children. All along, she's had to stand toe to toe with mostly male editors who thought she had no business being in a newsroom. I KNOW she's put up with the kind of severe harassment and abuse that would have sent me screeching all the way to the Supreme Court. I know she's had to reach deep inside herself for the courage and persistence to keep going, in ways I just can't fathom.

Like I said in the last post, I'd been feeling kind of "BLECH-y" in recent weeks, neither fish nor fowl, not sure where I belong or why I'm here. But while these two talented journalists were telling me how much I had taught them, they couldn't know what the real deal was. Two of my absolute favorite sayings of all time are:

"Through the fire, fine metal is made."

(That would be 8 months in Gulu, thank you very much.)

The other saying is,

"When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

Sam and Gloria think they're in Nairobi for a UNESCO training about peace and reconciliation in Northern Uganda. Nada. They came to lead me to a deeper understanding about myself and why I'm doing what I'm doing. I couldn't be more grateful if I were holding THREE cold Tusker Malts in this photo instead of just two.

Thanks for the memories, y'all.