Life in Africa on Fri, 19 Oct 2001 22:19:01 +0200 (CEST) |
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[Nettime-bold] The dawn of a new age - will it be what you expect? |
<<<>>>>>>>>>>>> 1. Strange events in Uganda Some of you know me, many of you don't: I am Christina Jordan, 35 year old mother of 2 young boys, wife of Epko Haitsma of the Netherlands, with whom I have established a permanent home in Belgium. I am originally from California, and I am the founder of the Life in Africa Foundation <http://www.lifeinafrica.com> in Kampala, Uganda, East Africa, where we have lived for exactly 3 years. Over the past 2 months (since a few weeks before September 11) something has been happening in my life here in Uganda, which has been extremely difficult for me and those around me to fully understand. My contact with the rest of the world during this time has been somewhat sporadic, because the pace at which things are happening here - and in the rest of the world - has simply been hard to know just how to handle. The only way I can begin to explain what I have been through is that it's as though I discovered a sealed envelope in my mind. In late August, it "opened"... What I found was a kind of "blueprint" containing new answers to just about all the questions that I have ever tried to figure out in my professional life. Since I work in poverty alleviation, across sectors and continents and "inside" the internet, it's a BIG, very big plan... If it works like I believe it might, it could be huge in it's implications for the global economy, and for the alleviation of poverty as we know it. Considering the magnitude of the issues involved, it has been - still is - very difficult to put it all down into coherent written words. The interesting things to note about this particular plan are this: 1) It is exceedingly SIMPLE because it is almost entirely based on "existing" structures. Hardly any investment is necessary to get started offering new opportunities for empowerment here in Africa AND elsewhere in the marginalized countries, because everything we need is already built... the only thing I have done for 2 months is bring parties together and show them *how* we can set things in motion, and the plan is becoming a reality on it's own. 2) The plan is NOT ONLY good for the less affluent world, it is good for ALL of us, everywhere, from every walk of life in every nation. It facilitates the expansion of markets, which is a very good thing for us all (the economy is NOT shrinking!) and I believe it is immediately replicable all over the third world. 3) Here's where it starts to get weird: there are *other people* I have found - elsewhere in the world and here in Uganda - who also seem to have parts of the very plan I've been working on "mapped out" in their heads, through experiences very similar to mine. As we find each other, the whole thing just keeps growing, right down to the village level, which is very exciting, but... 4) To be frank, the past 60 days have been a journey that has included quite a few very odd "events" along the way that have caused me to start looking for explanations in unexpected places. Based on some recent research into the Bible - a book I admit I have never really studied until the past week - I believe that what is happening here in Uganda just *may* be part of something quite significant in current world affairs. For this reason in particular, I need to share this story now. Since religion has never been one of my fields of expertise, I don't feel I have enough knowledge to be able to know if my interpretation of these strange events is within the realm of theological possibility. If any of you are interested and/or knowledgeable about the 70 weeks of Daniel, I would very much appreciate it if you could read the full story and let me know what you think. I think I am seeing answers to some of it's riddles, but I am not sure if I understand what they mean... Thank you in advance to anyone who may be able to help. I've broken this story up into several parts so it will be easier to follow. 2: The Plan The following is what I can articulate about what The Life in Africa Foundation is now embarking upon. There is much more to tell about the political-economic significance of both the Internet and microfinance, but that would fill volumes. Let me get the basics and the objectives out of the way here, so you will be able to see the other issues in context. The Life in Africa "Changing World" Strategy in Uganda encompasses 3 interlocking programs that involve: 1) locally defined and produced value, 2) a "special" kind of microfinance, and 3) the power of the internet. All of these programs are based on sharing the costs and building upon *existing* offline networks (NGOs and microfinance institutions) to provide ordinary Ugandans down to the village level with access to the global digital economy - almost immediately. 1. The "Internet for Change" Program will offer our members a "menu" of low cost tools for building a business online. They will BUY those tools from existing online businesses in the US and elsewhere who are currently GIVING away more than they can afford to give to their customers who demand to get stuff for free. The most immediate impact will be seen from the ability of our clients in Uganda to engage in "microtransactions" internationally through http://PayPal.com. PayPal does not yet know that they will be capturing the Ugandan market, because everything we need from them is already in place. Through our bank account in the USA, our offices in Kampala, and local transfers between Ugandan commercial and microfinance institutions, almost anybody in Uganda will be able to "upload" money to their own account on the internet to buy whatever they want, or receive money internationally from anybody with a PayPal account outside. Our initial partner, Uganda Microfinance Union, has 17,000 rural clients. Our only investment required to extend this service to all of them is to set up the procedures, and tell them (and the Diaspora) that it exists. With every membership to the internet for change program (which they must join to have access to PayPal), all of our clients will receive 1 blank webpage on our site, and a diskette. They will also have access to low cost web design and marketing services through our online business exchange members to be able to build their own website, without requiring a lot of expensive online time. All of the services will be priced within reach for the ordinary Ugandan, so that s/he BELIEVES she can enter the global market. And if they cannot afford the investment required, every member of this program has the right to apply for a small loan. There is no excuse NOT to get online in some way, unless they really aren't interested. 2. The LiA Micro-success Fund is (I think) the first microloan fund for the poor to be raised 100% democratically, and 100% over the Internet. We started out as a loan guarantee program, which allowed us to make an enormous difference in the lives of nearly 500 people, with only $10,000. The problem was that we didn't earn any interest on the loans, yet we bore all the risk. Now we are raising our fund on the internet, $1 at a time, and converting to direct lending. Our clients currently pay 36% interest per annum on their loans - and that is relatively LOW on the Ugandan scene! By sourcing "free" or low cost loan capital through the internet, we will be able to bring those interest rates down to a level that is fair and sustainable for everyone. If PayPal was smart (which they are, having found a way to make money off of African-sized transactions) they would take a look at the potential for on-lending to microfinance institutions all over the third world... The current costs of capital and/or the requirements placed on microfinance institutions by the international donors are too high for microfinance to develop according to natural market forces. If we can access cheap loan funds through the internet, we can leap over those barriers to economic justice in a single bound. The internet makes it not only possible, but necessary to have as much transparent information as possible about those we reach out to and do business with. In the past, LiA published an online "donor report" with a story about each and every borrower, and how they used their loan... we are now shifting toward the same principle, with a different method: all of our approved borrowers will also receive a free web-page and a diskette. They write the donor report! And it is completely up to them to fill that space with whatever they want. If they want to use the internet to accomplish additional specific objectives, they can become a member of the Internet for Change program. We are stimulating the demand for local internet service providers and internet cafes at the same time, which will serve to bring access costs down, and work toward levelling the playing field. For those of you who do not know what microfinance is, it is the provision of financial services to the poor. The credit aspect works with "alternative" forms of collateral, usually social in nature, based on some kind of group guarantee. If you and your friends belong to a loan group, and you fail to make your payment, then your friends have to make your payment for you. This model DOES serve a purpose for certain economic sectors among the poor, but the structures are far too rigid to allow for creativity, the creation of local value, or the natural expansion of markets. Moreover, there is an unhealthy dependency on debt developing among the poor right along with the microfinance industry, which needs to stop. LiA's program is different: our clients are typically the working poor (not necessarily self-employed), and we finance the accomplishment of their dreams. What we hold as "collateral" is the individual borrower's own vision of their future. Housing, education, agriculture, manufacturing and value added services are our main sectors - we are also open to applications for any other project or purpose that has meaning in the borrower's life. Our methods work for those who have a vision of a better life, and their accomplishments, here in the slums of Kampala, are truly wonderful to see. Since we stopped lending to the trade sector in January and tightened up some procedures, we have provided access to 4-6 month loans of up to $500 to nearly 300 clients. 94% are paying their loans back early or on-time. We have only 1 "problem" case. We do not require our clients to continue borrowing to maintain their membership. All that we ask is that when they do decide to borrow they are certain they understand WHY and HOW they will use credit as a tool to achieve their objectives for personal growth. 3. The LiA Artisans Program will offer each of its members the opportunity to share the costs of buying materials, marketing their products, and learning the techniques and strategies that can help each of them to improve their businesses, increase their sales and improve their production. The program's members represent artists, writers, small cottage industries and crafts-people. They each produce local value... each will receive a free webpage and a diskette. If they want to do more with the internet, they can become a member of the Internet for change program. If they need financing, for whatever purpose, they can also apply for a loan. The main theme here is offering CHOICES to the poor through the "bundling" of affordable services that both enable and *multiply* locally defined and created value through the internet. Everything is relative: the small online revenue streams which are the bane of the current home-based business market are enough to make an enormous impact in the lives of the poor. Over time, as the numbers grow, the market will change and even out. If you are in the third world and in the position to offer a similar set of practical services in your community, we are obviously willing to share with you all of the information you need to get started. The investment required is ridiculously low, because everything we need (except our commitment to making it happen) has already been built by very smart people, all over the world. With my "new eyes" I see clearly that we have - right NOW - all of the ingredients for the alleviation of poverty... in these sectors in my line of professional site and in ALL other sectors, I am 100% sure. Right now, we can BE a GLOBAL economy that gives all people more freedom of choice over how they define value, how they learn about our world, and how they spend their time and money. There is, however, ONE very obvious yet elusive catch: we must take the steps before they will happen. And in order for that to happen, we have to BELIEVE we can - all of us - and do it. 3: The Spirit of LiA Over the past 2 months, as this "process" in my head has unfolded, I haven't quite known what to DO with the information I received. And as I have already mentioned, the entire course of recent events here in Uganda kind of make you go "hmmmmm...." It's taken me 2 months to try to absorb all of this... it may also take you a bit of time before you can let it all sink in. On about August 20, 2001, I began to visualize solutions for some of the problems I'd been facing with The Life in Africa Foundation. Very quickly it became a vision of something that was much, much bigger than Life in Africa. On September 5th, I was COMPELLED to write down what I could at that time, and I put it up on the internet at www.viralsocialchange.org . On September 7th, I met with the local CEO of a global network of internet programming companies. Over the coming days, more meetings took place at high levels with potential partners and they all saw the vision, or were at least willing to give it a try. I believed so strongly in what I knew I was seeing that I had NO FEAR to reach higher than I have ever reached before. Things began to happen, and I know you don't need me to tell you what's been happening in addition to this insanity of mine. September 11 has set a force of change in motion that I realize now I was already *prepared* to see hope in. Eventually I realized that what was happening to me was more powerful than I, one small person, could possibly be on my own. When I accepted that and allowed myself to believe that I was being "guided" by something, I began finding the other people I needed to find. The connections just kept falling, as if by magic, into place. I have never been a religious person nor received any religious training, but I have always been very "spiritual" in the sense that I follow my inner voice more than I think most people tend to do. On Ugandan Independence Day (October 9), I spent a rare day all alone with my children. That was the day I accepted the guidance of my inner spirit, no questions asked. My children and I danced around the house and all over the garden, and I cried tears filled with the most perfect joy that I have ever felt in my life. Suddenly, there was time for everything I needed: my husband, my friends, my staff, my children. All of the parts of who I am, every second of the day, became equally important and meaningful. Once I began to believe wholeheartedly that I have all of the experience and all of the answers that I am *supposed* to have right now, I stopped wishing for things that were unrealistic. I started to look at all of the tools at my disposal in a different, more realistic light. All fear was simply gone - washed away - and the answers were all crystal clear. In my initial spiritual research, at that time, I felt drawn to explore the new age religions and their concept of the Goddess. I read about the collective inner voice in all of us, and found a concept of God I could believe in. On October 10, I shared with my staff my belief that there was a higher power working through us, and encouraged them to listen to everything their hearts told them about what to do next in their jobs. They were transformed! They are strong believers, and this kind of salvation is all they have ever prayed for. They began to believe that their part in LiA's work has a purpose. By the end of that day, we had our program all mapped out. We were electric! we couldn't stay seated in our chairs. By the end of that day, two significant things happened: 1) Susan, LiA's only other female employee, suggested we call a meeting - the first general meeting for all of our clients (nearly 500) to tell them all about what we now have to offer. November 11 was the soonest we could do it; and the cheapest, most practical place would be the gardens at the Temple of the Baha'i, which sits on one of Kampala's 7 hills. 2) Tom, the Ugandan who has been with LiA the longest, decided he wanted to go ask his national leader, His Excellency the President of Uganda, to support our initiatives in whatever way he can. Tom, who has one tie and one jacket and earns a pittance of $100 per month, believed his President would believe in what we were doing. The next day, a client - a funny older lady named Connie, who is the first of our clients "in line" to sign up for membership in all 3 of our new programs - came into our office at around 10 am, for some reason I still do not understand. She had a book with her that she was reading, while she waited for an appointment at 2. I recognized the book as the first novel I'd ever read by a Ugandan author (Mary Okuurut). It is called "The Invisible Weevil". It's about how Africans must and do protect their inner spirit from the invisible weevils in the outside world that can eat away at it. I discussed the book with Connie, who told me the author was her cousin. Five minutes later, one of our volunteers recognized the author's name in yet another connection: Our client Connie's cousin also happens to be the new personal secretary to the President of Uganda - she was appointed just within the past month. Within one hour, we were sitting in her office! There are no words to describe the incredible MAGIC that we felt when we came out of that meeting, with Mary Okuruut's promise that she would play her role in setting up a meeting for our tiny underfunded organization with Uganda's head of state! WOW!!! How DID we DO that?????!!!!!!! Quite simple, really. We believed in what we knew was right, and we had no fear! We felt filled with the brightest light imaginable. But over the next few days, I started to get confused. My thoughts started to wander further in the direction of religion. Since my upbringing did not include much study of the Bible, I didn't know where to begin looking for answers. Now, I was opening the Bible and finding so much violence in the imagery that I began to be very afraid. I was, however, still feeling strongly drawn to explore not only the new age religions, but the ancient indigenous religions around the world. I learned that they are sensing something happening right now. Something is speaking to them, and it is speaking to me too. But until more stuff came together, I didn't yet quite know what it was saying. 4: The 5th Prophecy On Saturday, 13 October, I was at a soccer game with my kids when one of them looked up into the sky and saw the sun, completely surrounded by a rainbow. It was glorious, and everyone saw it with eyes filled with wonder. I didn't see it as significant in any other context at that time, but after the game we went home and I fell once again into my typical pastime of late: chain smoking and pacing in the garden, heart quickening as the connections once again began falling into place. All of a sudden - I do NOT know from where - the following words literally fell out of my mouth: On the 11th day of the 11th month of the 1st of the 1000 years, At the Temple in the City with 7 Hills There will be a coming together of the most pure form of Spirit that is left on the earth - it is that Spirit which has been the most protected from all that is unpure. They shall come together in spirit, and their purpose shall be to comfort all of those who are suffering. Through their light, the world will heal. HUH? Wherever did THAT come from??!!! I counted 11-11-01 on my hand and found 5 - I immediately raced to the computer and typed in a search for "the fifth prophecy." I have NEVER heard of anything called the fifth prophecy before, but there it was! Exactly where I thought it would be! The Mayas and the Incas called it the Fifth Prophecy; In Alaska, they are calling it the 5th Hoop. In Tibet, the Dalai Lama has issued a VERY clear call that speaks DIRECTLY to me and what I have been going through. The more I searched, the more I found: VERY many of the indigenous religious systems around the world have prophesized that *something big* would be happening in the world, right now. Most of these religions speak of a feminine spirit, who will serve as a sort of "midwife" in the process of the world's re-birth. They all believe there will be real People on earth *like me* who will receive the plan and be the ones who show the way! But they also ALL believe that there will be great turmoil, loss, and much suffering in the world at this time. In my reality, with everything else that is going on in the world, what that said to me was that things were going to get better for my Ugandan family and others in untold ways, but that my family in America was going to experience the worst kind of suffering I could possibly imagine. I shattered. My body was consumed with the most terrible rage and utter despair that I have ever felt. I sobbed and sobbed, until the entire household was afraid. I could not accept that the price of delivering so much good could be the suffering of my own people. The pain in my heart was simply unbearable. And then, Abdul came. Abdul is a special young man who helped me to create and build http://LifeInAfrica.com, in the early days. He worked with me for 9 months, in my home, side by side. He was my best friend, an important window for me into the African soul of the Ancients. Eventually he needed to move in his own direction. Reluctantly, I let him go. Before Saturday, I had not spoken to Abdul in almost a year. When I phoned him last week to set a time to get together, he asked no questions. When he found me sobbing and heard the story of my past 2 months, he asked no questions. Instead, he began to tell me his own magical story, which was clearly another part of mine... Abdul's grandmother is a traditional African healer, and Abdul has always been very close to her. I sense (though I do not understand all the nuances) that his entire family has an important status in the traditional structure of their tribe. I would assume that Abdul's grandmother plays an important spiritual role for many. Abdul's family has always believed that he was "marked" in some way - he has a special scar and apparently endured several afflictions as a child, with miraculous recovery. As a child, he was put into Catholic schools, but he rejected their structure at an early age. He eventually rejected the religion, and converted to Islam - of the gentlest, most peace loving kind. At the same time, he drew closer to his grandmother through an exploration of ancient Egypt. He took an interest in alpha-numerics, and began working on a mysterious hyroglyphic somewhere that nobody has apparently ever diciphered. He thinks he sees Arabic... he thinks he knows what it says. He is not yet sure, but he *thinks* it is a message of hope! Now, somewhere along his way, Abdul's grandmother told him jokingly - over something trivial - that he would never be a man until he was 29 years old. Saturday, October 13, the day the sun was surrounded by a rainbow and he came to me sobbing in my garden... That day was Abdul-Rahim Dewo's 29th birthday. For years, his nickname among his friends has been "Pharaoh." Yes, I know. This is now getting really very weird. Imagine it happening in your own life! What would YOU think of something like this? After 4 hours, Abdul left. Neither of us knew anything about how the coming days would unfold, but we knew that our lives were somehow meant to be interwined. As comforted as I was to know that other forces are at play on the same side here in Africa, inside of me I still could not get beyond the loss... the suffering of my people that I would have to bear; the choices that I would have to make. It was then I called Caroline- a French woman I know who also lives here in Kampala. She calls herself a "Christian Dinosaur" who lives a daily life of resistance in absolute faith. Caroline accepts nothing society offers to her blindly, but makes sure that everything she does and everything she learns is confirmed by the word of God in the Bible. I showed Caroline the new age and ancient indigenous texts about the wayshowers, the goddess, and the collective inner voice which is God. She said to me: NO. That's NOT it. Each of us believing in our own inner spirit is indeed a crucial step to enlightenment, but when we do come together as one, there will still be MORE! Caroline insisted that there is ONE GOD, separate from all of us. To figure that out on my own, she said I needed to do 3 things: get some sleep, take some distance, and then go read the Bible. That is what I have done. Caroline was right. There, in the Bible, I believe I see that everything that I have experienced over the past 2 months has been written. I am NOT an expert in the Scriptures in any way, but I believe I see whatever this is that is going on here in Uganda described in both the Old Testament, AND the New Testament. I am NOT trained, nor prepared to interpret the exact imagery or significance of the timing of this whole crazy thing, and I do not claim to be anything other than just an absolutely normal person. When I started to think about my name - Christina - my mind started playing very strange tricks. For half a day I tried to believe I was "holy" and it made me physically ill. That was wrong, I am not some kind of feminine version of the Saviour... I am not pure. I am only a woman "servant" with a mysterious role to play now, at this time. I was WRONG about the suffering - that is clear to me now. Sacrifice and martyrdom don't mean death, they mean giving up your life to what you truly believe. With a beautiful "voice" and subscriptions to nearly 60 email discussion lists right now, I knew that what I had to do was tell others... Perhaps my story will be a Trumpet Call. If I am wrong, it will be God's Will. There will be a purpose. 5: It is written >From what I have read in the Old and New Testaments, I believe we might be now somewhere close to the opening of "The Fifth Seal" mid-week of the final 70th week of Daniel's prophecy, when the great Tribulation and Rapture will take place and there will be an "abomination of desolation". The "desolation" has multiple meanings - clearly I feel it to mean an alleviation of economic poverty, but I also believe it appeals more specifically to the alleviation of spiritual poverty which has been caused by the "antichrist". The antichrist is not terrorism or Osama Bin Laden, but a world system which glorifies technology over humanity, places too many restrictions on our ability to exercise our individual Will, and enables human beings to believe they can play God. There are many references to this time which seem to "fit" with what is going on here in Uganda in the book of Matthew, Paul in 1 Corinthians, Revelation 12 and 17, Acts, and in the book of Isaiah. I'm sure there are more, but here is where I find the most food for thought. Here's an overview of what I *think* could be going on: 1. The world's diverse indigenous and new age religions are now coming together under one God - this is PART of many processes going on, which have already been going on for some time. In indigenous religions, this time is known as the 5th prophecy/world/hoop, etc. and represents a time of "deliverance". In these - as well as the new age religions - the Goddess is called. In the Bible, Isaiah also speaks of the Judas from 4 corners of the earth uniting, and there will be a woman who rides the beast with 10 horns (the horns representing the different religious systems). Could that woman be the same Goddess/midwife spirit which is called in by the other belief systems? 2. Substitutions to make while re-reading the 70 weeks of Daniel in the context of today's world and this particular story: "Israel" is "the world's economic poor" The holy city is Kampala (a city of 7 hills) The "foundations" of the city made by God are a strong IT sector, a strong microfinance sector, and relative peace and freedom under the current leadership. The Temple is the Temple of the Baha'i (who believe in ONE God, ONE humanity) The Bahai faith has been in Uganda for 50 years, this year. References to Judah/Judaea refer to the variety of religions now coming together The river is the Nile, which flows South to North. The source of the Nile is in Uganda. 3. Female imagery from the Bible: The "mysterious woman", the daughter of the King of the South, the whore of Babylon, the woman who rides the beast, the woman who is like a River... I sense all of these present in the chain of events that I see unfolding. The feminine force may also be seen as the force of the indigenous gods who are called upon now to aid in the re-birth. In Revelations 12, it says: And the Woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Is the wilderness what we call the "third world"?? 4. The king who rules a thousand years: Could it be possible that a "ruler" will arise from among the indigenous peoples? Could Abdul's hidden Egyptian message be something significant?? Micah 5:2 But you O Bethlehem Ephranath, who are little among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler of Israel. So many interesting patterns and questions! Could this mean we're getting ready to see some REAL change in the world?! I hope it is clear that I, Christina Jordan, do not in any way, claim "ownership" of the what is happening in Uganda right now. All I do know is that the past 2 months has happened and IS happening. Based on everything I can SEE with my own eyes, I have become convinced that there *is* some kind of pattern in it which corresponds to the prophecies of Daniel. Like I have said already, though, I have *never* studied the Scripture before the past week or so... my perceptions may be way off! If I am NOT mistaken in my interpretation, then I can only say that I am in absolute AWE and AMAZEMENT over how absolutely perfectly everything fits together with such incredibly complex precision! From this perspective, it's just gorgeous! Do you see anything from your perspective that can confirm this? I understand now that all the violence in the Bible is just imagery. If you read what it says, "martyrdom" does not mean death, it means giving up your current life for what you truly believe in! And the end of the world does not mean that we will all die or disappear... it means that REALITY as we know it will change, and those who do not get with the program will be the new "spiritually marginalized populations." But what do YOU think? Could this Ugandan story be a significant turning point? Take a look, and try to see if you think the riddle is solved. Here in Uganda, we are definitely moving somewhere with this huge plan, and it appears that several of us have been "called" for something here.... If you would be interested in discussing the larger plan and/or Biblical issues further with others who are involved, please join our moderated discussion group at mailto:viralchange-subscribe@topica.com All my best Christina "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" Matthew 24:15 /<<>>\<<>>////<<>>\<<<>>>////<<>>\<<>>////<<>> The Life in Africa Foundation PO Box 28825, Kampala, Uganda http://LifeInAfrica.com Echoes of Africa mailto:echoes-subscribe@topica.com How much hope will your dollars buy? http://www.bus2bus.com/lifeinafrica/dollargifts.htm _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://amsterdam.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold