Pressure is being put on G8 finance ministers meeting to honour their promise to boost aid to the poorest countries. Here the Bishop of St Davids, the Rt Rev Carl Cooper, who has recently visited Uganda, describes why aid is needed there and what Welsh churches are doing to help.

Hoops of joy and dances of celebration broke out in the dusty street as I turned on a tap and cold, clean water splashed into the bucket beneath.

Water is never something we’ve made a huge song and dance about in West Wales where we get more than our fare share of rain but here in Kabayese, in the countryside of Uganda, it was enough to inspire dancing in the streets and down the aisles.

It was my privileged task to commission two new gravity water schemes which will change peoples’ lives in this part of Africa. They will also change my life – never again will I take for granted the blessing of clean water on tap. Seeing the joyful and enthusiastic singing and dancing as the villagers gave thanks for their single, communal water tap will remain one of my most cherished memories.

The schemes, in the Anglican diocese of Kigezi, have earned international acclaim. The Rev’d Canon George Bagamunda, head of the water team, recently met with Hilary Benn to discuss how the UK Government can offer its help and support. I would like to think that our Welsh Assembly could also consider this forgotten part of the world when prioritising its international aid.

I had been invited to Uganda by an old friend of West Wales. George Katetswigye, a Ugandan priest, came to study for a Master of Philosophy degree in Cardiff in 1990 and subsequently served as a parish priest for a few years in Llanfyrnach and Llanglydwen, in the diocese of St Davids.

Following his return to Uganda, George’s gifts were soon recognised and he was elected Bishop of Kigezi, a post he has held for 10 years. His fondness for Wales and his friendship with St Davids Diocese has gone from strength to strength and he has encouraged links between parishes, communities and individuals of the two dioceses.

The Diocese of Kigezi is located in the southwestern corner of Uganda, 300 kilometers south of the equator. It corresponds with the Kabale District, one of the 56 administrative districts within the country. The Diocese covers a total land area of 1,827 square kilometres and has a population of 461,785 people. Kabale is one of the highland districts of Uganda at an altitude ranging from 1500 to 2500 metres above sea level. The beautiful hills and Lake Bunyoni have led to the area being known fondly as “The Switzerland of Africa”, though its similarity to certain parts of Wales is also striking. On occasions I thought I could have been looking at the Preseli hills or the Brecon Beacons.

Kigezi Diocese is known for two things – the vibrant faith of its people and its service of the community. We witnessed much poverty and deprivation. It was heart-breakingly humbling to be with people whose stomachs were distended because of lack of food, whose clothes were no more and dirty rags and who walked for many miles to collect unclean water that would probably make them ill, or even threaten their lives. During Bishop George’s time in Cardiff he needed to see a chiropodist, who was amazed at the fact that we was incapable of curling his toes. The reason was that, like most people of his area, he was 15 years old before he got his first pair on shoes.

Housing conditions in Kigezi amount to no more than a shack with a corrugated iron roof. Although the Ugandan authorities will speak of free primary education and free health care, the reality is very different. Pupils are still expected to buy school uniforms and requisites e.g. books, pencils. This immediately puts education beyond the reach of the vast majority.

The cost of medicines and the obligatory payment for hospital consultations result in even a very basic heath care provision being beyond the financial capability of almost everyone. Many are orphaned by the AIDS pandemic sweeping Africa. I was privileged to visit a centre for AIDS orphans run by a Christian organisation called ‘Compassion International’. Here the children rejoiced because they had food to eat and an opportunity to learn useful skills. They considered themselves the lucky ones. Many came from so-called ‘child headed families’, where both parents had died of AIDS and the household was under the care of the oldest child, sometimes as young as 9 or 10 years of age.

The Church in Kigezi is in the business of providing education, health clinics and clean water. It was wonderful to discover that the local MP, Mr David Bahati, also had a Masters degree from the University of Wales and had spent time studying in Cardiff. Wales’ influence often stretches further than we realise.

At a mid-week service in Kacereere, a very rural village, 3,000 people attended and made the place come alive with their characteristic dancing and singing. We were joined by a local tribe of pygmies, who walked for hours from their jungle home to be part of our celebrations. My new claim to fame is to be the only bishop in Wales who has danced with pygmies.

Everywhere we went church congregations were counted in thousands. Acts of worship lasted for four hours and longer. Spirituality and faith values were accepted as central to public life as well as in private devotion. Our political and civic leader in the UK and Wales need to appreciate that most of the world has not relegated religion to the private sphere of lifestyle choices.

As Christians we often remind ourselves that Christ is particularly found in the poor and needy. I return from Uganda knowing that God has revealed himself to me in a very special and challenging way in the wonderful and beautiful people I was honoured to meet. Although I am comparatively wealthy in the things of this world, I have become acutely aware of my and our poverty of spirit. It should be easy for me to share of my worldly wealth with my fellow women and men in Uganda. I trust I will also have the courage and humility to receive their gifts of spiritual generosity.

As one who enjoys the way in which languages give expression to identity and culture, it was a particular pleasure to learn enough Wachiga in order to lead certain bits of public addresses. Consequently, may my last words be words given me by my Ugandan brother and sisters – Mwebale munonga kur kwa chira erizova om’li omu Obureberezi Kigezi [Diolch o galon am eich croeso cynnes yn esgobaeth Kigezi / Thank you very much for your warm welcome in Kigezi Diocese].

Clergy destitute when they retire
In a country where there is so much poverty and day-to-day living is so difficult, I would not have expected retirement schemes to be on the agenda. Yet, provision for retired clergy was identified as a top priority by Bishop George as a project his friends in Wales could help with.

The clergy of Kigezi diocese minister under very difficult conditions. They should receive a meagre stipend [salary] of £10 per month, but few do. The vast majority live off the land that accompanies the parsonage house. If they don’t grow their own food, they starve. It’s as simple as that. They have no means of transport and rely on the extremely uncomfortable cattle and produce trucks that allow people to clamber aboard, often travelling for hours on very rough roads.

Their situation in retirement is dire. They are obliged to vacate the parsonage thereby relinquishing their source of food as well as their home. Neither the diocese nor the parish has the resources to offer them any capital or income. They become destitute. The fortunate ones are taken in by relatives whose scarce resources are stretched even more thinly. The many unfortunate ones are literally on the streets – homeless and hungry.
They are trying to improve the situation. The diocese owns Njuyeera Island on the picturesque Bunyonyi Lake. They have started to develop this island as a tourist destination. I visited the Island and it is a most beautiful place, which will attract many visitors from the developed world. The income from this Island will be used to provide retired clergy with a lump sum of at least 1,000,000 Ugandan Shillings (UGX) [£290] and a monthly income of 50,000 UGX [£15)

In order to complete the Island Scheme and make it fully functioning for visitors, the diocese needs a further £30,000. I am inviting the clergy of St Davids Diocese to commit ourselves to making this possible for our brother and sister clergy in Kigezi. Such a gift would speak powerfully to them of our fellowship in Christ, and would give them a glimmer of hope in a very bleak place.
+ Carl St Davids
The Right Reverend Carl Cooper
Bishop of St Davids