The Price of Stones

I'm in the middle of another great read on life in Uganda. The book is called The Price of Stones, Building a School for My Village. It was written by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri. The book retells the true story of Tweisigy Jackson Kaguri's life growing up in southwestern Uganda and his mission to open and run a school for HIV/AIDS orphans.

I am half way thu the book and already impressed by the writer's commitment to his community and his determination to help children who are orphaned by the death of one or two of their parents from HIV/AIDS.

Jackson Kaguri understood from a very young age that education was the key to escaping poverty. He supported many family and neighbors from his village after he left Uganda to pursue life and education in the United States. He was drawn to human rights issues and upon returning to Uganda for a visit he finds the AIDS crisis growing and the children who were victims to it, left to fend for themselves.


Jackson Kaguri says on page 50, "'There are almost two million orphans in Uganda.' For a country no larger than the state of Oregon, it was a mind-numbing figure. If a tragedy of this proportion happened in America, people would demonstrate in the streets. But here amid the peaceful rolling hills and quiet farms, death crept silently from house to house, taking a mother here and a father there. No news crew splashed the story across the television.' This is a profound and alarming statement and it made me stop to take stock in how I look at the world.

What would happen if the media around the would focus on the desperation of people living with and dying of HIV/AIDS around the world? What if the first thing we saw on the news everyday was a count of the dead from AIDS and how many children were orphaned that day? We would take more notice?

Jackson Kaguri did what most people don't. He had a vision to open a school and he answered the call. He acted. He gave up his life in America. He and his wife gave up the dream of owning their own home and pursuing the American dream because their hearts ached for these children. Both of them did not listen as people tried to persuade them from moving forward with building the school. And the incredible happened after they answered the call; God provided each step of the way.

The Price of Stones is a wonderful story of faith and giving and I am eager to see how Jackson Kaguri builds his school to help the orphans that he cares so deeply about. I anticipate the book will reveal miracle after miracle. Stay tuned for the rest of the story....

If you've read a book about Uganda and life in this beautiful country, please let me know. I'm eager to read more!