One of my questions is about fact and evidence. In an episode, someone says she thinks Renee didn't graduate from high school. That is left hanging as fact, but according to NPR and The New Yorker, she did in fact graduate, in 2007. That seems like an easy thing to either verify, dispute, or take note of in the reporting. So I'm left to wonder about other, more complicated and weighty issues.
I find myself wanting so much more evidence as I listen to the podcast. It seems like the “reporters” are more storytelling rather than investigative reporting. I prefer the style of the reporters who produce the “In the Dark” podcast, so maybe I’m just comparing that level of reporting to this (and coming up short).
I listened to the first episode twice and am left with a lot more questions than answers, and some things I hope the podcast touches on in the future. Questions about evidence and facts, for example. And I hope to hear from Ugandan officials in the future and Uganda coworkers of Renee's. I also hope they dig into some of the history of foreigners here, colonial history, development, etc, and what are the current realities in Jinja in terms of healthcare, religious belief, etc. So some historical and cultural context, I guess. That's just the beginning of my thoughts here!
I agree. This is all so complex. Keep listening! It is so compelling I couldn't stop and finished the second episode already. They begin addressing some of those questions about the history of missions and colonialism and begin telling the story from the perspective of Ugandans. I'm hoping it goes much deeper in future episodes though. For now I need to pause and process what I've already heard.
I needed to pause, too. I did listen to all three and then am going back through to listen again and take notes, so I can be more aware and intentional. The second listen through on the first episode had me wondering a lot about sourcing and documentation of all these things. Looking forward to the next few episodes.
I am listening to the third podcast as I write this, and have many thoughts. In the interest of full disclosure - I'm a white woman. I grew up overseas in the developing world, started my career there as a public health nurse working in a woman's and children's hospital. Have lived and worked as an adult in Pakistan, Egypt, and Northern Iraq. Live in the U.S. now where I teach community health workers. I have read the comments with interest and appreciate this venue for discussion, non ad-hominem attacks, and serious dialogue about really important things. What I want to bring up in this comment is the role of the Western church in creating White Saviours. I think this has to be a part of the conversation. It also exists outside the church (Greg Mortenson and the accusations that he was stretching the truth in Three Cups of Tea) but for the purposes of this group - it's more important to look at the church and the idolatry of ministry and missions. We create the Renee's and then we trash them. The comment about the young women who all thought they did it right and everyone else did it wrong is a perfect example. My guess is that everyone of them were funded by donations. They didn't have to be accountable. No one would ever check to see if their stories were correct, because churches want to have heroes. In order to have heroes, we must have stories. To bring an 18 year old up on stage and hold her up as the one who didn't go to prom because the world was more important cannot help but go to their heads. It's unconscionable that a church would do that - yet the churches are not on trial. These young women have zero life experience and they are applauded as heroes of the faith and mission. The more difficult the circumstances, the more lives saved, the more heroic people become. What is it that creates a culture where people have to make things up in order to get money? As long as we have churches that create a star culture of missions, that don't recognize the need for accountability, and that don't see the need for the very highest training to go overseas, then we will continue having people who go overseas and think they are hot shit in a champagne glass.
But - along with that, comes this whole idea of working beyond training. Even with the best training, and I worked with doctors who had the very best training. With world class surgeons who would still say that in the developing world you will continually face things that are impossible situations and you with a good dose of humility and shaking hands intervene anyway. Every nurse I know who I've worked with overseas has worked above and beyond their license. We had a phrase in Pakistan that nursing students would be asked to stitch the person "from the fascia layer up." No one had ever learned that in nursing school. They learned because the surgeon had to move on to something else. Every community health worker that I work with in the U.S who has come from another country will tell you that they worked beyond their education at some point. Does that justify it? No - but for the westerner who has never lived in the developing world it's a really important point. I'll stop here.
Also - when I say "make things up" I'm referring to what Renee says in the third episode about her blogs. I'm curious to as to whether people read the New Yorker article about Renee Bach. I know Rachel posted it.
There are many things I want to highlight here. Because this can't be a conversation limited to this one woman and her specific situation. Yes, that matters, but we aren't here to solve or resolve that. We're here to use that as a launching pad into this broader discussions - the "pedestal" and idolization of missions, the role of accountability and the sending church or donors. There is a book called When Narcissism Comes to Church that I would like to read, maybe that will be helpful.
The harder the work, the more heroic the person, the more money they can raise...it gets gross pretty quickly.
How DO we help churches to hold people to account better? How do we deglorify ministry? That culture has been created, maybe conversations like this will start helping to dismantle it? I'd like to work on an ideas list for churches and organizations on how to build accountability and not just turn people into heroes...
(hot shit in a champagne glass...giggle giggle plus an eye roll)!
And thank you for raising this issue of working above the pay grade. We have to hear this from people working in the developing world and from people from the developing world - they know. That is such an important point. We have to be careful of taking a story from one cultural context and planting it within our own for unpacking, judging, even litigating it. You're right in saying that doesn't justify it, but we do need to acknowledge that.
I'm really curious to see the discussion that comes up over this podcast. As someone who was in Jinja at the time that some of this was happening, I've followed the case and what has always frustrated me is the way people are SO polarised. As you said, 'saint or predator', there hasn't really been an option in between, when in fact both sides have been dishonest and twisted facts to prove their own position. There is an in between option and it's where many of us sit. This podcast is the first time I have heard both sides being presented. However, I also find the lack of evidence frustrating, it's a lot of 'he said/she said' and both sides have unreliable witnesses.
I'm impatient for the next episode to be released!
Oh man. It must feel so strange to watch this unfold and people chime in when we really have no idea who to believe or what actually happened. I appreciate what you said about both sides twisting facts and having unreliable witnesses. That leads to some incredibly scary comments on social media and articles. Podcasts just don't seem the best venue for fact-based reporting. Even TV - like Tiger King - I've read up about that show and it was seriously and deeply problematically spun and made to look like a documentary when it was loosely based on fact and highly based on drama.
Also - this is maybe something you could speak into since you lived there, I just get the gut feeling that there is something personal underlying this? Or something the reporters have missed that is much deeper in the relationships and history of that city and maybe these women - Renee and the NWS founders. I could be totally wrong, like I said, it is just a feeling.
It is strange, even I find it hard to know who to believe or what actually happened! For sure, without living in Jinja and understanding the context it is easier for people to believe what they are hearing as facts, when the issues are far more complex. There are so many things I could mention - for example the claim that SHC was a better option than the government hospital - I've worked at that hospital and it's just not that straightforward. There are some wonderful, highly skilled paediatricians, nurses and nutritionists working there who have decades of experience with malnourished children. Yes, they suffer from understaffing and under-resourcing, and that means the quality of care suffers. But actually, that isn't the point. Even if SHC was better than the government hospital, was it the best option for those children (ie to be treated by someone who did not have any relevant qualification or previous experience?) According to international standards, a 'quality' inpatient nutritional feeding centre is measured as having a mortality rate less than 10% - this even includes complex situations like conflict zones, refugee camps and other crises. SHC, according to their own statistics, had a rate of 11% (105 of 940 children). (And to compare, and brag about my former colleagues a little, they are running an inpatient feeding centre in South Sudan, which is a way more complex situation and with no other medical facilities most of the time, with a mortality rate of less than 3%! In a stable environment like UG, rates should be much lower.) So then the question is, as missionaries or international workers, should we be offering people 'a better option' than what they have or should we be offering the best option. In my experience, it's often the former, it's an attitude of 'good enough' - and to me, that undervalues the dignity of those we are called to serve.
I can't speak into whether there are personal issues between the two parties, not having been in close circles with either. But the ONE THING I wish more people knew was that attempts were made to address this issue in a calm and civil manner, long, long before this became a criminal case. Health professionals from the missionary community in Jinja went to Renee and to the elders of her church to raise concerns about her involvement in the medical management of children. Their concerns were dismissed. NWS have shared a letter from the same elders, written one year later, with an apology for their errors in how they handled the situation. To me, this is key! I just find it so sad that it has come to this point, when there was such a clear opportunity for accountability and a change in direction, that was completely missed.
Looking forward to the next episode dropping today. Thanks so much for opening up this forum for discussion - I've stayed out of commenting on social media because it generally has not been a place for reasonable discussion on this issue, but I've appreciated your questions and comments here. Thank you!
This is exactly why I've started this - thank you for your response and I totally agree - Twitter, etc, just doesn't feel like a great place for nuanced conversation, to say the least! :O) I wish I could highlight so much of what you've shared and am grateful you took the time to comment.
That people did try to address the issues long before it go this far, that is so important and good to hear. That there were people both in Jinja and from her church that tried to address the problem. I've wondered about oversight and accountability. Thank you for sharing that, I'll look for the letter on NWS.
And this: "an attitude of 'good enough' - and to me, that undervalues the dignity of those we are called to serve." Oh.my.yes. I've thought about this so often, that there seems to be kind of lower standard that does not take into account the actual human dignity and equality of people served. Not always- absolutely not always, but too often. This needs to be challenged and changed.
These standards for healthcare are also really helpful to read. I figured there were international standards and protocols but hadn't researched into that.
Just to clarify, the Jinja medical community spoke to Renee's church leaders (also in Jinja) and the church defended Renee and her actions, then a year later came back and admitted they were wrong.
The lack of accountability in Jinja is a HUGE issue, so many people go there without a sending organisation and only accountable to people back home who tend to blindly support them and put them on a pedestal. The book 'Kisses from Katie' has unfortunately acted as a kind of 'call to arms' for teenage girls who are 'called not qualified' and Jinja is a magnet for them! Renee is certainly not the only one but she is, in a way, being made an example of.
Oh man, thank you for this, "So then the question is, as missionaries or international workers, should we be offering people 'a better option' than what they have or should we be offering the best option. In my experience, it's often the former, it's an attitude of 'good enough' - and to me, that undervalues the dignity of those we are called to serve." That is a GOOD, solid word.
It's really helpful to hear your perspective on Jinja and the entire situation, thank you for sharing. One line from Episode 2 that is haunting was the host saying, "One thing I found a bit ironic about this story was how many of these relatively young white missionaries were ready to criticize each other but think of themselves as the one white person doing it right in Africa." Ouch. I remember volunteering at an orphanage in China and how I ended up--with just a BA degree in biology--taking children who needed care to the local hospital for surgery or treatment. I am frightened now, in retrospect, not of what I did but rather the thoughts of grandeur that I could believe about myself as I was doing that. God forgive me.
Yes -that line jumped out at me, too. We, humans, are prone to think what WE are doing is somehow different, or better. I'm challenged to be as critical of myself as I can be of others.
It's true, it's a common attitude and I must admit I was/am guilty of saying the same at times! To be honest, when all of this came out in Jinja, I was convicted and changed the way I was working, and I'm glad I did.
To be fair, taking children to the hospital is something any parent or guardian does, without any medical background.
When you start disagreeing with the treating doctor or nurse about the treatment plan (something that in my experience was often necessary) that's when can get into dangerous territory if you don't have the qualifications/knowledge/experience to to back you up.
As someone that works and serves in the Jinja area (post Renee) I have seen firsthand the negative impact that her actions have left in our community. It has created division amongst the missionary community, wounded Jinja's reputation and damaged our credibility as global workers. From a posture of humility and a deep desire to learn from mistakes, I look forward to honest, good, healthy conversations of how we can do good better. I do hope and pray that this conversation will steer away from re-scrutinizing and re-crucifying her (remembering that she is a fellow human being with a heart and a soul) and focus on what can we learn as we seek to do better to love and serve our communities. I look forward to learning more from you!
I'm sad and sorry to hear this. Comments, like yours specifically, gave me the idea of a takeaway post once the podcast finishes - I'd like to process through things I'm learning or things that are being highlighted, even if we already "knew them". I'll never know what happened specifically, but certainly can grow. For example in areas like accountability, humility, language learning, relying on local experts, etc.
Rachel do you know if the podcast is just a group of individuals or do they represent a larger entity? In so many ways I find myself skeptical from the get go of just about any news source in terms of bias or motive. Including, or maybe especially, if they are just operating on their own...
This is one of my big questions. I looked up each of the reporters but am not sure who/what is behind the reporting. I think, based on some things I've seen from No White Saviors, that they requested someone come and report on the story. So I get the idea there is a connection there, but they have also tried to maintain some distance.
I find myself wanting a lot more details about facts and supporting documents, right now there seems to be a lot of hearsay and speculation that isn't being clarified, at least not to my satisfaction.
I plan to look into this more - the sourcing of this. It is a podcast, not a legal document, so its a story with a spin, as all stories are.
I've now listened to all 4 episodes and it strikes me that everyone who is part of the podcast or those producing actual accounts of it are not Ugandan. And the passing comment in ep 3 about how none of the foreigners interviewed, including Renee, ever learned the local languages. I shudder! I remember so clearly watching a foreigner and a Chinese person trying to converse even when they could both understand some of the other person's language--there were SO many misunderstandings, nuances not caught, details missed. It just casts doubt on so much of the information gathering. But am I saying that no international or foreign language reporting can be done? Clearly not, but boy is it a lot harder. My heart and mind feel heavy.
So true. Even though I speak Somali at an OK level, there are still so many cultural nuances missed often. Because language is so much more than just the words involved. This makes me so skeptical of all international/foreign reporting, which yeah, can be done, but can it be done authoritatively? I have read profound and shocking mistakes in places like the New York Times and Washington Post about Djibouti, how much more about other places. One thing I'm personally encouraged by is that the NYT recently hired a friend of mine - a Somali Kenyan, trained at Columbia School of Journalism - to be their East Africa correspondent. It should be self-evident to make hiring choices like that.
I'm still listening through these podcasts, but one question at the top: Rachel, did you encounter or have to think through any of these tensions while writing about Annalena? She also ran medical facilities (or at least heavily helped), and treated TB patients (some who died), but was not a nurse... just a women who believed she also was called to serve the poor. Any insights learned/differences/similarities between these two situations (Renee and Annalena)?
E! You've read my mind. Yes. Have definitely thought about that connection. I did write straight into the savior complex issue in the book but not AS much about whether or not Annalena should have been engaging in healthcare. That said, I have talked to some nurses, doctors, and public health professionals who all said TB care is management more than anything. Meaning, she wasn't doing IVs or surgeries or feeding malnourished children (except in Somalia where she had a pediatrician doing that part and she managed the overall program). She also worked under the local authorities - the hospital did the TB tests and then sent the patients to her, she wasn't allowed to test. And, she partnered with The WHO and UNHCR and local doctors, TB experts, etc.
But there were some who resented her, though I never heard accusations of crossing into inappropriate territory.
That said, I'm still thinking about this. I wonder about the impact time periods and social media might have?
Oh also, Annalena did have a PhD, a team which included trained medical professionals, and studied tropical medicine in London. Her centers were also licensed. Although, in Wajir, during the massacre, she started burying people on her property which she didn't have permission to do, and that did get her into trouble and eventually she was kicked out of Kenya, that being one of the things against her.
Ah, yes, I remember reading about those aspects in your books. I see that there's quite a different nuance in care between malnourishment and TB. PLUS, I think it was SO so wise of Annalena to partner with other organizations! There's necessary accountability, wisdom, and balances of power when you submit yourself to a group of other people.
I binged listened. The first one had me hooked and I HAD to know how the story unfolded. So. Many. Layers. So. Many. Questions. Is she unique? Is she just unstable? Or is this common. Do all missionaries or advocates struggle with this?
I have close- almost familial - connections with missionaries in South and Central America. In their personal lives I have never seen anything like this. In 30+ years of watching them and knowing insider information, I have always seen integrity and authenticity. Those who have worked with them have never reported anything that would raise questions.
And in years of sponsoring and interacting with missionaries in Europe through our denomination, (where there is training, education, cultural and lingual requirements, and accountability) I've never heard of this - though it may exist. And maybe that is why (subconsciously) we have never supported a missionary that we did not have substantial information on, and verified updates from.
It seems there is a fine line between serving and being an advocate for the widow, orphan and needy at the call of Jesus, and being self-serving with a white savior complex.
I really recommend, if you have time, that you read The New Yorker article, too. It provides a lot of nuance. I have a lot of questions about the reporting on the podcast and fact vs hearsay.
In terms of the savior complex, I'd say yes for sure missionaries struggle with this, whether they recognize it or not. Motives, intentions, context, methods...
One of the reasons I started Do Good Better is because, like you said, there is a fine line between serving and being self-serving and I think it gets crossed more often than we (including myself) care to admit. I do believe we need to continue to serve and bless and do good, how do we do it while examining our own hearts and rooting out that complex?
This is from an interview with Jan Peterson, wife of author and pastor Eugene Peterson. I wonder if it helps finding the line between serving & self-serving. It's in the context of hospitality, but I wonder how many other realms of serving it applies to.
"Hospitality is serving people and helping people who are in our home. We listen. If they stay in our home, I fix meals and prepare a bed and so forth for them. I read something about—I think it is Benedict’s Rule of Hospitality—that there’s a difference between serving and being a servant. When I’m serving, I’m in charge. If I’m a servant, you’re part of it. If you want to do something to help me, I’ll let you do it because that’s allowing you in. You’re not being in charge. I’m not being in charge.
I like that clarification. It was good for me. I think we treat people that way. I think we allow people to feel like they have a place in our home when they’re here. They’re not just being taken care of."
One of my questions is about fact and evidence. In an episode, someone says she thinks Renee didn't graduate from high school. That is left hanging as fact, but according to NPR and The New Yorker, she did in fact graduate, in 2007. That seems like an easy thing to either verify, dispute, or take note of in the reporting. So I'm left to wonder about other, more complicated and weighty issues.
I find myself wanting so much more evidence as I listen to the podcast. It seems like the “reporters” are more storytelling rather than investigative reporting. I prefer the style of the reporters who produce the “In the Dark” podcast, so maybe I’m just comparing that level of reporting to this (and coming up short).
I don't know In the Dark, will have to check it out.
I listened to the first episode twice and am left with a lot more questions than answers, and some things I hope the podcast touches on in the future. Questions about evidence and facts, for example. And I hope to hear from Ugandan officials in the future and Uganda coworkers of Renee's. I also hope they dig into some of the history of foreigners here, colonial history, development, etc, and what are the current realities in Jinja in terms of healthcare, religious belief, etc. So some historical and cultural context, I guess. That's just the beginning of my thoughts here!
I agree. This is all so complex. Keep listening! It is so compelling I couldn't stop and finished the second episode already. They begin addressing some of those questions about the history of missions and colonialism and begin telling the story from the perspective of Ugandans. I'm hoping it goes much deeper in future episodes though. For now I need to pause and process what I've already heard.
I needed to pause, too. I did listen to all three and then am going back through to listen again and take notes, so I can be more aware and intentional. The second listen through on the first episode had me wondering a lot about sourcing and documentation of all these things. Looking forward to the next few episodes.
I am listening to the third podcast as I write this, and have many thoughts. In the interest of full disclosure - I'm a white woman. I grew up overseas in the developing world, started my career there as a public health nurse working in a woman's and children's hospital. Have lived and worked as an adult in Pakistan, Egypt, and Northern Iraq. Live in the U.S. now where I teach community health workers. I have read the comments with interest and appreciate this venue for discussion, non ad-hominem attacks, and serious dialogue about really important things. What I want to bring up in this comment is the role of the Western church in creating White Saviours. I think this has to be a part of the conversation. It also exists outside the church (Greg Mortenson and the accusations that he was stretching the truth in Three Cups of Tea) but for the purposes of this group - it's more important to look at the church and the idolatry of ministry and missions. We create the Renee's and then we trash them. The comment about the young women who all thought they did it right and everyone else did it wrong is a perfect example. My guess is that everyone of them were funded by donations. They didn't have to be accountable. No one would ever check to see if their stories were correct, because churches want to have heroes. In order to have heroes, we must have stories. To bring an 18 year old up on stage and hold her up as the one who didn't go to prom because the world was more important cannot help but go to their heads. It's unconscionable that a church would do that - yet the churches are not on trial. These young women have zero life experience and they are applauded as heroes of the faith and mission. The more difficult the circumstances, the more lives saved, the more heroic people become. What is it that creates a culture where people have to make things up in order to get money? As long as we have churches that create a star culture of missions, that don't recognize the need for accountability, and that don't see the need for the very highest training to go overseas, then we will continue having people who go overseas and think they are hot shit in a champagne glass.
But - along with that, comes this whole idea of working beyond training. Even with the best training, and I worked with doctors who had the very best training. With world class surgeons who would still say that in the developing world you will continually face things that are impossible situations and you with a good dose of humility and shaking hands intervene anyway. Every nurse I know who I've worked with overseas has worked above and beyond their license. We had a phrase in Pakistan that nursing students would be asked to stitch the person "from the fascia layer up." No one had ever learned that in nursing school. They learned because the surgeon had to move on to something else. Every community health worker that I work with in the U.S who has come from another country will tell you that they worked beyond their education at some point. Does that justify it? No - but for the westerner who has never lived in the developing world it's a really important point. I'll stop here.
Thank you Rachel for allowing this venue.
Also - when I say "make things up" I'm referring to what Renee says in the third episode about her blogs. I'm curious to as to whether people read the New Yorker article about Renee Bach. I know Rachel posted it.
There are many things I want to highlight here. Because this can't be a conversation limited to this one woman and her specific situation. Yes, that matters, but we aren't here to solve or resolve that. We're here to use that as a launching pad into this broader discussions - the "pedestal" and idolization of missions, the role of accountability and the sending church or donors. There is a book called When Narcissism Comes to Church that I would like to read, maybe that will be helpful.
The harder the work, the more heroic the person, the more money they can raise...it gets gross pretty quickly.
How DO we help churches to hold people to account better? How do we deglorify ministry? That culture has been created, maybe conversations like this will start helping to dismantle it? I'd like to work on an ideas list for churches and organizations on how to build accountability and not just turn people into heroes...
(hot shit in a champagne glass...giggle giggle plus an eye roll)!
And thank you for raising this issue of working above the pay grade. We have to hear this from people working in the developing world and from people from the developing world - they know. That is such an important point. We have to be careful of taking a story from one cultural context and planting it within our own for unpacking, judging, even litigating it. You're right in saying that doesn't justify it, but we do need to acknowledge that.
I'm really curious to see the discussion that comes up over this podcast. As someone who was in Jinja at the time that some of this was happening, I've followed the case and what has always frustrated me is the way people are SO polarised. As you said, 'saint or predator', there hasn't really been an option in between, when in fact both sides have been dishonest and twisted facts to prove their own position. There is an in between option and it's where many of us sit. This podcast is the first time I have heard both sides being presented. However, I also find the lack of evidence frustrating, it's a lot of 'he said/she said' and both sides have unreliable witnesses.
I'm impatient for the next episode to be released!
Oh man. It must feel so strange to watch this unfold and people chime in when we really have no idea who to believe or what actually happened. I appreciate what you said about both sides twisting facts and having unreliable witnesses. That leads to some incredibly scary comments on social media and articles. Podcasts just don't seem the best venue for fact-based reporting. Even TV - like Tiger King - I've read up about that show and it was seriously and deeply problematically spun and made to look like a documentary when it was loosely based on fact and highly based on drama.
Also - this is maybe something you could speak into since you lived there, I just get the gut feeling that there is something personal underlying this? Or something the reporters have missed that is much deeper in the relationships and history of that city and maybe these women - Renee and the NWS founders. I could be totally wrong, like I said, it is just a feeling.
Thanks for sharing.
It is strange, even I find it hard to know who to believe or what actually happened! For sure, without living in Jinja and understanding the context it is easier for people to believe what they are hearing as facts, when the issues are far more complex. There are so many things I could mention - for example the claim that SHC was a better option than the government hospital - I've worked at that hospital and it's just not that straightforward. There are some wonderful, highly skilled paediatricians, nurses and nutritionists working there who have decades of experience with malnourished children. Yes, they suffer from understaffing and under-resourcing, and that means the quality of care suffers. But actually, that isn't the point. Even if SHC was better than the government hospital, was it the best option for those children (ie to be treated by someone who did not have any relevant qualification or previous experience?) According to international standards, a 'quality' inpatient nutritional feeding centre is measured as having a mortality rate less than 10% - this even includes complex situations like conflict zones, refugee camps and other crises. SHC, according to their own statistics, had a rate of 11% (105 of 940 children). (And to compare, and brag about my former colleagues a little, they are running an inpatient feeding centre in South Sudan, which is a way more complex situation and with no other medical facilities most of the time, with a mortality rate of less than 3%! In a stable environment like UG, rates should be much lower.) So then the question is, as missionaries or international workers, should we be offering people 'a better option' than what they have or should we be offering the best option. In my experience, it's often the former, it's an attitude of 'good enough' - and to me, that undervalues the dignity of those we are called to serve.
I can't speak into whether there are personal issues between the two parties, not having been in close circles with either. But the ONE THING I wish more people knew was that attempts were made to address this issue in a calm and civil manner, long, long before this became a criminal case. Health professionals from the missionary community in Jinja went to Renee and to the elders of her church to raise concerns about her involvement in the medical management of children. Their concerns were dismissed. NWS have shared a letter from the same elders, written one year later, with an apology for their errors in how they handled the situation. To me, this is key! I just find it so sad that it has come to this point, when there was such a clear opportunity for accountability and a change in direction, that was completely missed.
Looking forward to the next episode dropping today. Thanks so much for opening up this forum for discussion - I've stayed out of commenting on social media because it generally has not been a place for reasonable discussion on this issue, but I've appreciated your questions and comments here. Thank you!
This is exactly why I've started this - thank you for your response and I totally agree - Twitter, etc, just doesn't feel like a great place for nuanced conversation, to say the least! :O) I wish I could highlight so much of what you've shared and am grateful you took the time to comment.
That people did try to address the issues long before it go this far, that is so important and good to hear. That there were people both in Jinja and from her church that tried to address the problem. I've wondered about oversight and accountability. Thank you for sharing that, I'll look for the letter on NWS.
And this: "an attitude of 'good enough' - and to me, that undervalues the dignity of those we are called to serve." Oh.my.yes. I've thought about this so often, that there seems to be kind of lower standard that does not take into account the actual human dignity and equality of people served. Not always- absolutely not always, but too often. This needs to be challenged and changed.
These standards for healthcare are also really helpful to read. I figured there were international standards and protocols but hadn't researched into that.
Just to clarify, the Jinja medical community spoke to Renee's church leaders (also in Jinja) and the church defended Renee and her actions, then a year later came back and admitted they were wrong.
The lack of accountability in Jinja is a HUGE issue, so many people go there without a sending organisation and only accountable to people back home who tend to blindly support them and put them on a pedestal. The book 'Kisses from Katie' has unfortunately acted as a kind of 'call to arms' for teenage girls who are 'called not qualified' and Jinja is a magnet for them! Renee is certainly not the only one but she is, in a way, being made an example of.
Good clarification, thanks. I've heard that about Jinja. I wonder why that city in particular, but that makes sense how that book motivated people.
Oh man, thank you for this, "So then the question is, as missionaries or international workers, should we be offering people 'a better option' than what they have or should we be offering the best option. In my experience, it's often the former, it's an attitude of 'good enough' - and to me, that undervalues the dignity of those we are called to serve." That is a GOOD, solid word.
It's really helpful to hear your perspective on Jinja and the entire situation, thank you for sharing. One line from Episode 2 that is haunting was the host saying, "One thing I found a bit ironic about this story was how many of these relatively young white missionaries were ready to criticize each other but think of themselves as the one white person doing it right in Africa." Ouch. I remember volunteering at an orphanage in China and how I ended up--with just a BA degree in biology--taking children who needed care to the local hospital for surgery or treatment. I am frightened now, in retrospect, not of what I did but rather the thoughts of grandeur that I could believe about myself as I was doing that. God forgive me.
Yes -that line jumped out at me, too. We, humans, are prone to think what WE are doing is somehow different, or better. I'm challenged to be as critical of myself as I can be of others.
It's true, it's a common attitude and I must admit I was/am guilty of saying the same at times! To be honest, when all of this came out in Jinja, I was convicted and changed the way I was working, and I'm glad I did.
To be fair, taking children to the hospital is something any parent or guardian does, without any medical background.
When you start disagreeing with the treating doctor or nurse about the treatment plan (something that in my experience was often necessary) that's when can get into dangerous territory if you don't have the qualifications/knowledge/experience to to back you up.
As someone that works and serves in the Jinja area (post Renee) I have seen firsthand the negative impact that her actions have left in our community. It has created division amongst the missionary community, wounded Jinja's reputation and damaged our credibility as global workers. From a posture of humility and a deep desire to learn from mistakes, I look forward to honest, good, healthy conversations of how we can do good better. I do hope and pray that this conversation will steer away from re-scrutinizing and re-crucifying her (remembering that she is a fellow human being with a heart and a soul) and focus on what can we learn as we seek to do better to love and serve our communities. I look forward to learning more from you!
This is so sad to hear. I pray that with time there can be healing in that community.
I appreciate what you've said, we need to focus on what we can do better. I'm looking forward to the conversation!
I'm sad and sorry to hear this. Comments, like yours specifically, gave me the idea of a takeaway post once the podcast finishes - I'd like to process through things I'm learning or things that are being highlighted, even if we already "knew them". I'll never know what happened specifically, but certainly can grow. For example in areas like accountability, humility, language learning, relying on local experts, etc.
Rachel do you know if the podcast is just a group of individuals or do they represent a larger entity? In so many ways I find myself skeptical from the get go of just about any news source in terms of bias or motive. Including, or maybe especially, if they are just operating on their own...
This is one of my big questions. I looked up each of the reporters but am not sure who/what is behind the reporting. I think, based on some things I've seen from No White Saviors, that they requested someone come and report on the story. So I get the idea there is a connection there, but they have also tried to maintain some distance.
I find myself wanting a lot more details about facts and supporting documents, right now there seems to be a lot of hearsay and speculation that isn't being clarified, at least not to my satisfaction.
I plan to look into this more - the sourcing of this. It is a podcast, not a legal document, so its a story with a spin, as all stories are.
I've now listened to all 4 episodes and it strikes me that everyone who is part of the podcast or those producing actual accounts of it are not Ugandan. And the passing comment in ep 3 about how none of the foreigners interviewed, including Renee, ever learned the local languages. I shudder! I remember so clearly watching a foreigner and a Chinese person trying to converse even when they could both understand some of the other person's language--there were SO many misunderstandings, nuances not caught, details missed. It just casts doubt on so much of the information gathering. But am I saying that no international or foreign language reporting can be done? Clearly not, but boy is it a lot harder. My heart and mind feel heavy.
So true. Even though I speak Somali at an OK level, there are still so many cultural nuances missed often. Because language is so much more than just the words involved. This makes me so skeptical of all international/foreign reporting, which yeah, can be done, but can it be done authoritatively? I have read profound and shocking mistakes in places like the New York Times and Washington Post about Djibouti, how much more about other places. One thing I'm personally encouraged by is that the NYT recently hired a friend of mine - a Somali Kenyan, trained at Columbia School of Journalism - to be their East Africa correspondent. It should be self-evident to make hiring choices like that.
I'm still listening through these podcasts, but one question at the top: Rachel, did you encounter or have to think through any of these tensions while writing about Annalena? She also ran medical facilities (or at least heavily helped), and treated TB patients (some who died), but was not a nurse... just a women who believed she also was called to serve the poor. Any insights learned/differences/similarities between these two situations (Renee and Annalena)?
E! You've read my mind. Yes. Have definitely thought about that connection. I did write straight into the savior complex issue in the book but not AS much about whether or not Annalena should have been engaging in healthcare. That said, I have talked to some nurses, doctors, and public health professionals who all said TB care is management more than anything. Meaning, she wasn't doing IVs or surgeries or feeding malnourished children (except in Somalia where she had a pediatrician doing that part and she managed the overall program). She also worked under the local authorities - the hospital did the TB tests and then sent the patients to her, she wasn't allowed to test. And, she partnered with The WHO and UNHCR and local doctors, TB experts, etc.
But there were some who resented her, though I never heard accusations of crossing into inappropriate territory.
That said, I'm still thinking about this. I wonder about the impact time periods and social media might have?
Oh also, Annalena did have a PhD, a team which included trained medical professionals, and studied tropical medicine in London. Her centers were also licensed. Although, in Wajir, during the massacre, she started burying people on her property which she didn't have permission to do, and that did get her into trouble and eventually she was kicked out of Kenya, that being one of the things against her.
Ah, yes, I remember reading about those aspects in your books. I see that there's quite a different nuance in care between malnourishment and TB. PLUS, I think it was SO so wise of Annalena to partner with other organizations! There's necessary accountability, wisdom, and balances of power when you submit yourself to a group of other people.
I binged listened. The first one had me hooked and I HAD to know how the story unfolded. So. Many. Layers. So. Many. Questions. Is she unique? Is she just unstable? Or is this common. Do all missionaries or advocates struggle with this?
I have close- almost familial - connections with missionaries in South and Central America. In their personal lives I have never seen anything like this. In 30+ years of watching them and knowing insider information, I have always seen integrity and authenticity. Those who have worked with them have never reported anything that would raise questions.
And in years of sponsoring and interacting with missionaries in Europe through our denomination, (where there is training, education, cultural and lingual requirements, and accountability) I've never heard of this - though it may exist. And maybe that is why (subconsciously) we have never supported a missionary that we did not have substantial information on, and verified updates from.
It seems there is a fine line between serving and being an advocate for the widow, orphan and needy at the call of Jesus, and being self-serving with a white savior complex.
I really recommend, if you have time, that you read The New Yorker article, too. It provides a lot of nuance. I have a lot of questions about the reporting on the podcast and fact vs hearsay.
In terms of the savior complex, I'd say yes for sure missionaries struggle with this, whether they recognize it or not. Motives, intentions, context, methods...
One of the reasons I started Do Good Better is because, like you said, there is a fine line between serving and being self-serving and I think it gets crossed more often than we (including myself) care to admit. I do believe we need to continue to serve and bless and do good, how do we do it while examining our own hearts and rooting out that complex?
On serving & being self-serving:
This is from an interview with Jan Peterson, wife of author and pastor Eugene Peterson. I wonder if it helps finding the line between serving & self-serving. It's in the context of hospitality, but I wonder how many other realms of serving it applies to.
"Hospitality is serving people and helping people who are in our home. We listen. If they stay in our home, I fix meals and prepare a bed and so forth for them. I read something about—I think it is Benedict’s Rule of Hospitality—that there’s a difference between serving and being a servant. When I’m serving, I’m in charge. If I’m a servant, you’re part of it. If you want to do something to help me, I’ll let you do it because that’s allowing you in. You’re not being in charge. I’m not being in charge.
I like that clarification. It was good for me. I think we treat people that way. I think we allow people to feel like they have a place in our home when they’re here. They’re not just being taken care of."
~ Jan Peterson
Full interview here:
https://rabbitroom.com/2020/05/that-would-be-it-a-conversation-with-jan-peterson/
Thank you for this link and the quotes. That's a really helpful distinction between serving and being a servant.