Summer Trip to Uganda, Anyone?
It feels like I just returned from Uganda, but I am now deep in the planning stages of the next trip — #19. It will start out with a week of mediation training led by Pepperdine’s world-renowned Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, and then transition into our annual five-day prison project, after which two training conferences will be held on plea bargaining and appellate mediation. Three weeks in all.
And yes, we still have several open spots for lawyers looking to give voice to the voiceless and have a life-changing adventure deep in the heart of Africa. If you can extricate yourself from your law practice for about ten days beginning on June 16th and are able to self-fund your trip, shoot me an e-mail in the next week or so at jim.gash@pepperdine.edu. Prior experience in the criminal realm is preferred, but not required.
Last month’s trip was a whirlwind, during which I had the chance to:
Meet up with one of my former students who was in Uganda working on her dissertation;
Re-connect with a good friend from Wales who is dedicating his adult life to trying to keep Ugandan families intact;
Secure housing for our 12 students spending the summer in Uganda and finalize their court assignments;
Witness the integration of new video system on which we have been advising our Ugandan friends, which will allow kids to testify remotely against their assailants;
Renew deep friendships with dear friends in the judiciary, including the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Secretary of the Judiciary, the Chief Registrar, and numerous High Court Judges;
Celebrate the birthday of my God son and dine with his family – the Kiryabwires;
Mark turns two
Re-visit one of the worst places on earth – the National Rehabilitation Center – where juveniles are sent after being convicted of crimes, and plot with several Ugandans and Americans (Sixty Feet) about how to make much-needed changes;
Collaborate with new and old friends in the Kampala office of the International Justice Mission and plan numerous projects together in the near future;
With Shawn Kohl at IJM’s Kampala Field Office
Return to the maximum security prison (Luzira) where REMAND was filmed to envision a program whereby faith-based identity transformation is introduced to assist with rehabilitation;
Journey six hours each way to have lunch with the Chief Justice at his village home on a hill overlooking the majestic Queen Elizabeth National Park;
At CJ’s home near Queen Elizabeth Park
Providentially, the trip to see the Chief Justice took us right by Henry’s medical school, so we had a chance to stop and see him between classes.
Andrew and I with Henry at KIU
Henry continues to excel and is closing in on the end of his second year of study. For those who read prior posts, his lost immunology exam was eventually found and, when graded, showed that Henry passed the test with flying colors. This left Henry among a small group of students who passed every exam on the first try.
Henry’s family remains embroiled in a testy dispute over the land on which he grew up, though things seem to be moving in favor of his mother as she tries to prevent Henry’s aunt from trying to illegally seize the property in the wake of Henry’s father’s death.
On the very exciting front, Henry’s younger brother Joseph was just admitted to law school! After being released from twenty months on remand in a juvenile detention facility with Henry, Joseph decided he wanted to be a lawyer in order to help prevent what happened to him from happening to other kids. Joseph will enroll in Kampala International University in August.
While I was on the book and film tour with Henry, several people approached me asking how they could be helpful to Henry’s family. One important way is to contribute to Joseph’s legal education. (Henry’s medical school tuition is being covered by my parents and Colin and Amy Bachelor). I am more than happy to answer whatever questions anyone has about Joseph’s tuition and living expenses, or the cost of Henry’s living expenses while in school.
On the REMAND front, we had the final preview screening at the historic Egyptian Theater in Hollywood a few weeks ago. We were thrilled with the attendance and the film was well received. In fact, we were offered an automatic entry into a film festival by one of the attendees. A new website is currently under construction and a wide-scale effort to enter numerous film festivals will begin later this month.
Divine Collision continues to be well reviewed and continues to open doors for me to share this story of transformation on two continents. I had a chance to speak to about a thousand Pepperdine students at their final convocation (chapel) gathering a couple weeks ago, and will be speaking at a break-out session at Pepperdine’s annual Bible Lectures this coming Thursday (3:30-4:15 in the Raitt Recital Hall). Guideposts magazine ran several stories about Henry and our family in the May print edition and on the web.
Love how God continues to unfold His story in your life and how you continue to share it.
I just read your piece in Guideposts – What an amazing & inspiring story. God bless you and your family and Henry & his family.
this is a test. I sent you an email about my trip to uganda and it wouldn’t accept my email address. Please reply ifyou get this than I will email you again.
Loraine, sorry I didn’t get your e-mail. Please send me another e-mail at jim.gash@pepperdine.edu with your e-mail address. You can also call my office at 310.506.7582.
Thanks Professor Gash for your generosity and kindheartedness. And for what you are doing for us in Uganda, GOD alone shall reward you!
I must say, proudly, that I am one of the recipients of your generous heart and I am truly grateful to you. Because of you I get to attain an L.L.M and from one of the best Universities in the U.S.- Pepperdine. Thanks a lot!
I cant wait to see you again in Uganda; it will be such an honor.
Jim, again I read your family’s story in Guideposts.org and have been so touched how God by His Spirit has led you and your family to reach out to people who are in need and most of whom have no idea what it’s like to live in the freedom that we enjoy. I praise God for the work you are doing and my prayers are with you. Your brother in Christ, tom
Hello Jim-
My name is Melanie. I enjoyed listening to your book recently and look forward to seeing the film! I am a nurse and was wondering if the Gregstons still do the mobile medical clinics?
Melanie, I am Dr Jay’s Mom and yes, they are still doing medical missions. They did not make a trip this summer after making 2 last year. You can contact him at dueunto.com I’m not sure when they will be traveling again but I think it will be sometime next May-June. Please feel free to contact him.
Hello Jim,
I just finished listening to your audio book Divine Collision and I enjoyed every bit of the story. At times, I got very angry reading about how wrong the Uganda Jurisdiction system was handling the juveniles. Thank you a thousand times over for your support in answering the call God has gifted you with in helping people of proverty and injustice. I would love to travel with you and the group to Uganda someday.
Thanks for finally writing about >Summer Trip to Uganda,
Anyone? – Divine Collision <Liked it!
certainly like your website however you have to check the spelling on several of your posts.
A number of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding
it very troublesome to tell the truth on the other hand I’ll certainly come again again.
Superb blog! Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers?
I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little
lost on everything. Would you recommend starting with
a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m totally overwhelmed ..
Any recommendations? Cheers!