Josephine Kizza and Jasmine Payget’s Visit to Adelaide
Josephine Kizza and Jasmine Payget’s visit to Adelaide
On Sunday 16th November 25 Friends and Quaker Shop volunteers gathered at the home of Inga Tolley for a shared lunch followed by a presentation by Josephine Kizza from Uganda. Jasmine Payget, the newly appointed QSA Community Reach Officer, is accompanying Josephine as they visit Friends in Sydney, Canberra and Hobart as well as Adelaide.
Josephine said that the 1986 war in Uganda left the population in central and southern Uganda struggling for food and necessities. Josephine, who is a teacher, together with her husband John, found themselves without a home and were forced to camp on land belonging to John’s family. Determined to make the best of the land they had, Josephine learnt about composting and organic farming. She said that a gift of two piglets from John’s father was a turning point and, from that time onwards, they were determined to create a flourishing organic farm. They named the farm “St Jude’s” after the patron saint for hopeless cases.
Barbara Wilde, a Friend from Hobart, was visiting Uganda to monitor another project supported by QSA. Barbara heard about St Jude’s, which by this time was a model organic farm providing knowledge and giving hope to local people. Her meeting with Josephine led to support from QSA to St Jude’s Family Projects for the past 20 years. During that time families throughout the region have managed to establish organic farms and small business ventures. Women, who were at risk of destitution after the death of their husbands, have learnt how to retain control of their land and to help their children flourish.
We heard from Josephine about local challenges: climate change bringing drought, multinational companies promoting “quick fix” fertilisers, and the pressure of overpopulation. Many men in Uganda retain long-standing cultural prejudices towards women. Josephine is confident that harmful cultural mindsets can change with education, and to this end, St Jude’s has established a college as well as a model permaculture farm.
Jasmine gave a brief overview of other projects supported by QSA in Africa, Cambodia and India. Rowe Morrow’s book Permaculture for Refugees was recommended by Jasmine as a valuable resource for training in permaculture. She said that QSA ensures that all the projects it supports reach out to include all, particularly those with disabilities. In a personal aside, Jasmine said that her former experience in water catchments has meant that projects involving water find a special place in her heart.
Josephine concluded the presentation by donating to The Quaker Shop via Ginny Phillips packages of coffee beans which were grown and roasted at St Jude’s. The next day Josephine, Jasmine and Inga paid a visit to The Quaker Shop, which for more than 55 years, has raised many thousands of dollars for QSA to support St Judes and other worthwhile projects. Pictured above are Jasmine Payget, Inga Tolley, Josephine Kizza and the Quaker Shop manager, Viginia Phillips.
Jo Jordan, SANTRM
