A Little Fancy

Scott walked in the door last week and proclaimed, “We’re going to a black-tie event on Saturday night.”

What? Not our regular crowd and certainly not in a country that boasted a 7:00 pm curfew for COVID until just a few weeks ago. We still rarely go out in the evening because it feels like our city is just waking up.

And, I don’t really have a closet full of formal gowns here in Kampala (or in Seattle).

After sending out a call for help to my friends, I found a lovely blue dress to borrow. Scott settled on a locally made bow-tie I’d given him for Christmas in Pepperdine colors of blue and orange! The dress code was “Black Tie with a Splash of Africa.”

Saturday night comes and we ventured out to one of the nicest hotels in the city. It’s a red-carpet event – dinner and a full production of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice all as a fundraiser for a couple of mental health clinics in the city.

We were the only Wazungu (plural for Mzungu, or white people) in the crowd so we stood out. We also sat right next to the Executive Producer of the event so it felt like we were being followed by the paparazzi. Scott was even interviewed by a local TV station. Always keeping a low profile ….

It was a lovely event. Remarkable really.

Mental health is traditionally a taboo or embarrassing topic for Ugandans. There are many people wo struggle but you simply don’t discuss it outside immediate family. There are a total of 42 Ugandan credentialed psychiatrists to serve a country of 48 million people. It was encouraging to watch the evening and the discussion unfold.

The star of the show was Joseph Atukunda, a 50ish year old man who has battled a number of mental health and addiction issues for years. He is also a very talented actor and a former schoolmate of The Honorable Justice Mike Chibita who now sits on the Uganda Supreme Court. They had reconnected again recently through their alma mater. Joseph shared with Justice Chibita that his dream was to reprise his role as Shylock in the Merchant of Venice.

4 months later, we sat in an elaborate ballroom with a talented group of actors and benefactors who came together to help Joseph realize his dream.

The show’s producers knew that Joseph may struggle to keep up with the rigors of this play and the expedited production schedule so they cast a second actor for Joseph’s part. They split time on stage and Joseph was outstanding. He did it!

At the close of the show, he publicly thanked the audience, his friend, Mike (Justice Chipata) and especially his family. It was tremendously powerful. As we were leaving, I had the opportunity to thank Joseph’s wife and adult son for supporting Joseph even when it was hard. They both graciously acknowledged that it had been very difficult. I’m sure we have no idea.

But tonight - we celebrated a victory.

And this next weekend the production continues its run at the National Theatre in downtown Kampala.