Sisters woman travels to Uganda

Dr. Val with a Samburu woman.

Nearly a month after returning from a journey to visit her sister in Uganda, Deirdre Kanzig is still telling tales of the trip, sharing photographs, and pondering the impact of the experience.

Kanzig spent three weeks traveling in Uganda and Kenya with two of her sisters, Holly Akenson of Idaho and Siri Dharma Khalsa of Eugene, to visit their other sister, Dr. Valery Shean, a veterinarian with Christian Veterinary Missions, who is based in Soroti, Uganda.

"It was an incredible blessing for the four of us to be together as sisters in Africa," said Kanzig.

"Val's been there for nearly 12 years and none of our family had ever been able to visit before."

"Dr. Val," as she is affectionately known by the people of Soroti and the outlying areas of Eastern Uganda and western Kenya, helps care for cattle, goats, camels, and occasionally non-domesticated animals. Visitors to her cinder block home in Soroti are greeted by Val's pet, a full grown warthog named Trixie, saved two years ago when some neighborhood boys brought the orphaned creature to Val and persuaded her to help it.

As a Christian, she is also attuned to the spiritual lives of the people she works with and they have accepted her fully into their lives, according to Kanzig.

One pastor who has known Val for over 10 years said, "We love Val so much and consider her to be African...if we could make her black, we would."

Having Val as a guide, the sisters had time to work alongside her during the trip, including the vaccination of 250 chickens one day, and they also got to go to places well beyond African tourist routes.

"After the intial adjustment of being completely immersed in the culture, I was filled with fascination and wonder," said Kanzig. "At first I was more focused on the differences, but before long the basics of being human came through --mothers caring for children, people working to provide food and shelter, families and friends talking and singing in the evening.

"We all want health, peace, education, meaningful work, adequate housing, and good nutrition."

Two of the most interesting groups of people Kanzig encountered were the Karamajong tribe of Uganda and the Samburu tribe of Kenya. The Karamajong have a reputation of stealing cattle from other tribes, sometimes resorting to violence.

"I was truly impressed with my sister Val's willingness and ability to work with dangerous cattle thieves," said Kanzig.

"Her ability to connect with them on a spiritual level as well as the practical level of helping them care for their precious cattle has played a part in the Karamajong's movement toward more peaceful living."

In December, the government imposed disarmament throughout the country in an effort to rid Uganda of guns used since the era of dictator Idi Amin. The initiative seems to be working. The Samburu people are semi-nomadic and are largely herders of cattle, camels, and goats.

"They were very friendly and welcoming to us," said Kanzig. "Sitting in the shade of the huts learning from the women how to create elaborately beaded jewelry is something I will always remember because it was such a simple, friendly connection."

The Samburu people continue to wear traditional garb, including incredibly ornate necklaces, bright orange and red clothing. Men wear warrior head gear. However, Kanzig believes that their way of life will continue to change as modernization creeps into the remote areas.

"They have such a resolve and hardiness to them," she said, "but change is in the wind."

The sisters concluded the trip with two days of safari in Kenya with Val as the guide.

"Near evening of the first day we came upon a cape buffalo kill with 10 lions feeding," said Kanzig. "We were able to come back the next morning and get some great photographs in better light with the lions less than ten yards from the truck."

As they were preparing to pull away from the buffalo kill and the lions to head to Nairobi, they discovered they had a flat tire.

But that's another story.

Suffice it to say they endured... and survived to tell the tale.