Leading the Uganda Studies Program in Mukono, Uganda, are Mark Bartels and Cindy Toms Smedley. Bartels completed his bachelors and masters degrees at Wheaton College (IL) in five years. Prior to becoming director of the Uganda Studies Program, he was a high school teacher in Sylmar, Calif., and worked at Honey Rock Camp in Three Lakes, Wis. Toms Smedley is a graduate of Messiah College (PA) and Boston University and was formerly on faculty with Eastern Mennonite University (VA). She is also currently voluntarily consulting with Child Voice International to determine an educational pathway for post-conflict women in the Gulu (Northern Uganda) IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps.

 

Where and what were you doing prior to moving to Uganda?

BARTELS: My wife and I lived in Pasadena, Calif., and taught at a Lutheran high school. Abby taught English and literature and I taught government, economics, religion and coached soccer.

 

TOMS SMEDLEY: Prior to moving to Uganda, my husband Michael and I lived for a short time in China. He works with Hope International (a Christian microfinance/economic development NGO) and I worked at Peking University (Beijing University) preparing Chinese university students to study abroad at Oxford-Brooks University. 

 

What compelled you to pick up and move to the other side of the world?

BARTELS: Because Abby’s parents were at Uganda Christian University, we had a family connection. [Abby’s father Stephen Noll is the university’s vice chancellor- the American equivalent of president.] In addition, we had an interest in living and working overseas. We weren’t actively looking at the time, but when this opportunity came we felt it was the next step for us.

 

TOMS SMEDLEY: I first experienced the CCCU as a participant in the New Faculty Workshop, which had a significant impact on my teaching at Eastern Mennonite University. Consequently, I gained great respect for the mission of the CCCU and the ways in which they serve Christian higher education.  As our time in China came to a close, we looked to a CCCU program abroad in which to serve.  Living in Uganda offers both Michael and I a unique opportunity to serve in our fields – he continues to work in economic development with Hope International and I am able to work with students in a rich learning context.

 

What is your vision and passion for the Uganda Studies Program and its students?

BARTELS: Our vision for USP students is that they would gain a deeper and stronger faith by interacting with people of a different culture. In Uganda that means dealing with issues from which Americans tend to be insulated: poverty, corruption, injustice, AIDS. The answers that North American evangelicals formulate for these issues prove insufficient and often detrimental when confronted with the realities in East Africa. But many Ugandans themselves know the best ways to approach these issues. Americans can participate in living out the realities of the Kingdom of God (fruit of the spirit, justice for the oppressed, healing for the sick, etc.) in Uganda by following the lead of faithful Ugandans who know much more than we do about Uganda, the problems, and, often, the Kingdom of God.

 

TOMS SMEDLEY: The Uganda Studies Program seeks to serve the university community and the local community by assuming the stance of a learner.  It is easy to adopt a narrow view of physical poverty when approaching a developing country, however, Uganda possesses great spiritual and social richness.  The focus our discussions and learning together is how to fully embrace and understand this contrast.  Our goal is walk beside students as they gain better understanding of the global church and our brothers and sisters in Uganda.

 

One of your goals is to demonstrate that Americans can work alongside the Ugandans but that we are not the experts about their country and their issues- the Ugandans are. Why is that important to you? What is the significance?

BARTELS: I think I touched on this above, but the bottom line is that it is much easier (for me as well) to bring an implicit or explicit attitude of American superiority to Africa than it is to bring the humility of Christ. Of course, the former is much less conducive to Kingdom work and values than the latter.

 

TOMS SMEDLEY: Last week, we held a ‘tea time’ where students came together to discuss the difficult issues of globalization and development. Essentially, this is a weekly time set aside for students to gain better understanding of concepts covered in classes and on experiential trips. This discussion group and learning time may sound no different than one that would take place on a US campus. However, mingled in with our American students were Ugandan Honors College students. 

 

As different ideas and implications of specific development came into conversations, our students were no longer talking about an absent group of people in a distant land. They were discussing real life implications for students sitting right next to them. They were able to listen intently as Doreen (Ugandan Honours Student) told of the very real impact of certain development agencies in her home village.  The insight that our students gained from their Ugandan peers changed the way they viewed their role in Uganda.  One student remarked that too many decisions about Uganda are made in the absence of the people whom the policies affect. The tea time discussion aided our students in understanding how to encourage and support their Ugandan friends as they go about work in their own land.

 

What can American students who come study in Mukono for a semester learn from the people of Uganda they come in contact with?

BARTELS: They will learn that, by comparison, they have lived an extremely comfortable, safe and insulated life. But they will also learn that human nature is universal. Ugandans respond to life in much the same way Americans do. Many are selfish, greedy, and manipulative. And many others are selfless, generous and sacrificial.

 

How would you like USP students to change and grow by the time they return to the States?

BARTELS: We would like them to have a real and growing faith in Jesus that they maintain in spite of the harsh realities of life.

 

TOMS SMEDLEY: Our goal is that students gain a better understanding of God and themselves by knowing more about the global church and the faith of Ugandans.  Additionally, we want students to fully embrace vocation as the place where their ‘deep gladness meets the worlds deep needs’ (Buechner paraphrase).

 

What benefit is there for Ugandan and American students to mix as they do at UCU through the Uganda Studies Program?

BARTELS: We learn about our personalities (and how they affect our actions) by being in contact with people who have different personalities than we do. We learn about our culture (and how it affects our actions) by being in contact with people who have different cultures than we do. Obviously, getting to know individuals of another culture generally serves to break down stereotypes and prejudices. Meeting talented, intellectual and faithful Ugandans helps American students let go of the stereotypes of Africans as helpless, uneducated and unchristian that are so often perpetuated by the media.

 

Specifically, what do you see taking place when USP students take part in home stays?

BARTELS: They learn much about Ugandan culture, sure, but they also learn that valuing another culture is not about words or money but about actions and presence. Participation in another person’s life is the truest way to communicate value.

 

TOMS SMEDLEY: We see American students being adopted in Ugandan culture of hospitality. Students return with a deep appreciation for the unique aspects of Ugandan culture. They often experience a Ugandan wedding or introduction ceremony, a family funeral, being adopted into family rituals and house chores, and many times they are given a Uganda name to signify acceptance into a particular community and tribe.

 

How have you changed personally and spiritually since making Uganda your home?

BARTELS: You’d probably be better of asking my family and close friends this question. I read Scripture differently, I understand human nature differently, I view God differently. Any one of those could be its own essay.

 

TOMS SMEDLEY: My husband and I have grown to better understand the true role of community. My western view of community might have been limited to a narrow interpretation of the close friends, bible study, or church members.  In Uganda, the community of believers is a broad body that seeps into every form of life for support and fulfillment.  The concept is reflected in cultural traditions and daily interaction. For example, child rearing is seen as responsibility of the whole community.  I was surprised to hear Ugandans tell the mothers in the community, “Webale kukuza baana baffe.”  This translated literally means, “thank you for raising our children.” The connotation of such a statement is that the mother is serving the whole community as she cares for her son or daughter. Each person in the community has a role to serve, and motherhood is celebrated as nurturing a member of the community.  Additionally, people are not limited to caring for their own children, but help to raise any child in the community. This has revolutionized the way that we understand the many parts of the body of Christ.