UGANDA Journey of Hope Begins - Bon Voyage!

L to R:
Bill Pelke, Rais Bhuiyan, Genifer Kaye, Charity Lee and Bill Babbitt

(I just found this photo on fb wall and the journeyofhope diary. Journey may have Genifer Kaye to thank for this photo) For more photos and diary entries, plz go to the top of Journey of Hope Diary here and also to a descriptive overview of the anticipated trip/events here

Another Journey begins (written by Bill Pelke a few days ago)...

This may be the most important Journey of my life and for the "Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing".

I boarded a plane in Anchorage, Alaska and am on my way to Seattle, Washington, to meet up with Bill Babbitt. During our 4 plus hour lay-over we will meet for lunch with James Basden. James and Bill have a common bond. Both of them had brothers that were executed. James has been very supportive of our African Journey of Hope.

From Seattle, Bill (2TT’s Babbitt) and I will fly to Dallas, Texas where we will stay overnight, and then head for Uganda tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow morning we will meet up with Charity Lee who will accompany us on this Journey.

The three of us will have breakfast with Rick Halperin, Journey of Hope board member, dear friend, and Human Rights professor at the Southern Methodist University (SMU), and Rais Bhuiyan, the man who forgave his attacker in the 9/11 aftermath killings that took place in the Dallas area.

Several others will be joining us, hopefully Stan Allridge, whose brother James was executed by the state of Texas in 2004. I stood behind Stan, Sister Helen Prejean, Dave Atwood and others and watched as the state of Texas put poison into James blood and killed him. Stan also watched another brother be executed in 1995.

I have never met Rais before so I am looking forward to that.

And then Charity, 2TT’s and I head for Uganda. We have to fly to Amsterdam, then to Nairobi, Kenya and from there on to Entebbe, Uganda, where we will meet up with death row exoneree Edward Edmary Mpagi. I haven’t seen Edward since 2007 on the Texas Journey of Hope.

Randy Gardner will join us Uganda several days later.

This is a dream come true for all of us. Not only for Bill, Randy, Charity, Edward and I but also for Kathy Chrism who has been helping Edward from afar for many years now to build his orphanage/ school in Uganda.

Kathy runs the organization "Dream One World" and her dream is being fulfilled with our Uganda trip. There are few things I have done in my life that I would consider as God inspired, as this trip. It came together on short notice and the support fell into place. The organizing has gone like clockwork as if all the stars were in line for this great event.

We will be taking our message of love and compassion for all of humanity and helping Edward not only to abolish the death penalty in Uganda, but also helping "Hands off Cain" and the "World Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty" while being in Rwanda where we will meet with the African delegation trying to bring about abolition there.

Then we go to Nairobi, Kenya on a mission of justice and reconciliation where we will be speaking in a large church before coming home.

More later.

Love and Peace, Bill

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NOTE: Here's a quick look at the "Dream One World" Project - and what an effort for peace this looks to be! GO here Go with God, Edward, Kathy, Bill and the rest of the "crew".



Look below for other ways to connect with The Journey...