Kate Davis Update (Kisses from Katie)

[annalena]

kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com

She's now 21, I think, and lives in Uganda with 14 adopted/foster? children.

I think she's a great person. But:

14 is little over the top

and I just wish they would lay off "teaching people about Jesus". If they want to belive in demons, why not. Why do those people who do really great things often have such a religious agenda? I find this a little indoctrinating.

What do y'all think?

[uber frau]

I'm not familiar with her blog but here's my uninformed thoughts anyway.

1. The whole 'showing the light to the heathen savages' shtick amuses me. Conservative Christianity is hardly under represented in Uganda-anyone even vaguely familiar with the politics of the Anglican Church will be able to tell you about the power the Ugandan Church wields. And then there's the whole move to make homosexuality a capital offense...Non-Christian Ugandans are hardly non-Christian because they haven't heard of Christianity.

2. On the one hand, I admire the fact that she's willing to get out of her comfort zone and give practical help. On the other hand, I see her as an example of the classic foreign aid/handout approach.

3. Baby collecting isn't cool for any reason. If she wants to help on the large scale, she should go and get herself an education specialising in Sustainable Development or something. There are much more effective ways to go about it.

[Diggers]

Arg. Aaaaarg. The self-righteousness and self-congratulatory tone of her writing just kills me.

The last thing that Uganda needs is more proselytizing. I was there a couple of years ago, and the place we were staying was sort of close to a born again yell-preaching-type church. I never went over there, because no thanks, but I didn't need to, because one pastor had a microphone and would shout some English, and another one also had a microphone and would shout-translate into Luganda. This would last so late into the night that it was hard to fall asleep. The village Anglican Church was down the road, and due to in-law obligations I had to go to a couple of services. Three or four hours of service at a time. The priests have incredible influence. This particular one would not allow women to wear pants, among other things.

How about focusing on teaching skills to bring up the unemployment rate, one of the reasons that they have one of the highest rates of alcoholism in the world? How about helping find a way to increase compliance in patients who take ARVs? Or how about working to get that repugnant being-gay-is-illegal law repealed? There is a little bit of a "meh, that's just the way it is, what can we do about it?" attitude among Ugandans, due to their history of military coups and dictatorships, but at the same time man, do they know how to have fun.

But I digress. Yes, helping Uganda would be great. Just don't do it by trying to sell Jesus-guilt to desperate people.

[mirele]

I have real mixed emotions about Katie Davis.

On the one hand, I do appreciate that she's gone over there and is trying to help.

On the other hand, I question whether the version of the religion she's handing out with her care will help or hinder Ugandans. I am sadly of the opinion that it is the latter.

I will give this to her: she posts infrequent updates to her blog and she doesn't (unlike some of the professional mommybloggers out there) whore out the children she's adopted.

But I am still very, very, very conflicted. Since I'm one of those ebil former Christians, I'd like to condemn her utterly, but I can't.

[formergothardite]

Once Bria (Generation Cedar's daughter) posted on her blog about how much she admired Katie and how we should all be like her. So I took it upon myself to point out that Katie went against her parents wishes, moved out on her own and isn't under the authority of any man and I was suprised she admired her based on her mother's writings against all those things. The whole blog post went poof. LOL

[MamaJunebug]

The fact she has 14 doesn't bother me. Which ones was she gonna turn away?

I'm sitting in a sparkly clean (not neat but clean) room with a space heater helping take the rest of the chill off.

I never could have imagined doing what she's done, at any stage in my life.

Will her version of her religion hinder or help those she encounters? We can't know, really. I pray and hope that it helps. I pray that I remember my contribution to the aid group that has a nice operation to send me letters asking for support. I am so far below 21-yo Katie and her life doing for many others, that I can't snark on her one bit. But that's just me. God bless her and all who serve the people in such need.

[Kelya]

I have real mixed emotions about Katie Davis.

On the one hand, I do appreciate that she's gone over there and is trying to help.

On the other hand, I question whether the version of the religion she's handing out with her care will help or hinder Ugandans. I am sadly of the opinion that it is the latter.

I will give this to her: she posts infrequent updates to her blog and she doesn't (unlike some of the professional mommybloggers out there) whore out the children she's adopted.

But I am still very, very, very conflicted. Since I'm one of those ebil former Christians, I'd like to condemn her utterly, but I can't.

Seriously. I think Uganda needs nonreligious people and organizations well versed in public health and sustainable development right now. A teenager running a makeshift orphanage is sadly just a drop in the bucket. Hopefully she'll get training as a nurse or a development worker and organize from there.

If she's part of the scary evangelical demographic in Uganda currently using the country as testing grounds for legalization the murder of gays and lesbians, then its a whole different story, but right now I see her as someone who really wants to help and is trying very hard, even if I think her methods aren't great.

[hoipolloi]

I have really mixed feelings about this as well. Her desire to help is genuine, and she may be doing some good, but if she's going to be there for the long haul, she needs to get training & professional experience in public health, nursing, or some similar field.

Re: current religious climate in Uganda: Given the political predominance of the scary evangelicals in Uganda, how could she NOT be seen to agree with them, even if she doesn't. She certainly isn't going to speak out against what they're doing or saying - that would be an instant one-way ticket home.

[emmiedahl]

Another person with mixed feelings.

She is cleaning wounds and feeding children. I wish I could go over there and do that. They need people who are willing to do dirty work, and I hate judging from a place of privilege.

She has a ton of kids because she won't turn away orphans. It's not ideal, but I get it.

Why does Jesus need to be all up in this though? I guess it is nice to see someone walking the walk. But it might be more effective if she left the religion out of it. If Uganda is religiously polarized, I agree that she might be "talking the talk" just to maintain her ministry there.

[FJismyheadship]

So what is her story anyway? What made her decide to do this? I find it pretty cool... I would love to be able to do something like what she's doing. FormerGothardite, you said she went against her parents wishes?

I tried backtracking through the beginnings of her blog, but havent been able to find anything yet.

[Diggers]

Why does it have to be a ministry in the first place? Why bring religion into it at all?

I am not against helping people who need help; if somebody showed up with an enormous burn-hole in his leg, I wouldn't think twice about doing all I could. What Uganda lacks are institutions that can continue to function to help those in need after foreign aid workers leave. Because, inevitably, most foreign aid workers do leave, taking with them valuable knowledge and skills. Why is it outsiders who are providing this assistance? When you know you can't be seen by a doctor unless you first offer up a bribe, or when bribing a police officer not to report you because you were driving on the sidewalk to get around the traffic jam, when a whole economic and governmental system is overtly based on bribery and threats of violence, what do you do?

When Ugandan kids get into universities abroad, not many of them want to go back, due to what they see as a futile situation and an abysmal job market and rampant nepotism. This is really unfortunate, because one of the things Uganda needs are educated young minds, with the relevant cultural know-how, entering their workforce. However, when corruption is so entrenched that the president re-writes the constitution to remove term limits for himself, people learn to live with the status quo. Also, the people who are in the over-55 age range grew up under the British, and then one oppressive regime after another, including Amin and Obote. Things now seem relatively peaceful by comparison.

Has anyone read It's Our Turn to Eat? It's about corruption in Kenya, but it is relevant to many dictatorial and/or military government situations on that continent and, indeed, around the world.

http://www.amazon.com/Its-Our-Turn-Eat- ... 0061346586

The Walk to Work protests and opposition party members' involvement led to some serious fallout, e.g.:

http://allafrica.com/stories/201111150538.html

So, I guess my point is that, yes, Katie is doing a few people some serious good. I just don't understand the need to go out sermonizing at people as a prerequisite to doing good. Can we not teach them to help themselves, as a country, so that, eventually, Ugandans can be in control of their own future?

[formergothardite]

So what is her story anyway? What made her decide to do this? I find it pretty cool... I would love to be able to do something like what she's doing. FormerGothardite, you said she went against her parents wishes?

I tried backtracking through the beginnings of her blog, but havent been able to find anything yet.

She originally went to Uganda for a year as a mission trip when she was 18. Her parents agreed to this as long as she promised to go to college like they wanted her to when she got back. When she got back, she instead refused to go to college and packed up her stuff and went back to start doing all this. I know she is Catholic, but for some reason I was thinking she went on her own, not under any organization except the one she started. I know the guy she was going to marry broke up with her too, which is kind of understandable IMO.

[Rachel333]

I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea for a 21-year-old to adopt 13 children. (I'm confused a bit, though; this new one is considered a foster child, right, not one of her children?) You can take care of kids without adopting them. Surely they can't have been legal adoptions, though, right?

She also just seems so very self-congratulatory. I'm just... not a fan. I think she probably is doing some great things, but I cringe reading her blog.

[annalena]

She has foster babies sometimes, too. Just taking care of them for a while. I don't think it's anything official.

I think the other kids actually have been legal adoptions since at some point in the blog she pointed out that it's not legal for single women to adopt boys in Uganda.

[brashchick]

I think she is about 23 now. I also think her parents have been there to visit her and help out. As a parent of young adults around her age, I have a nervous breakdown when I think of her safety and her future. She may be self-congradulatory, but she is very young and surviving and helping children in a way I can't at 49. She is at an age when she is still growing into "herself" and she may look back at her 21 year old self and wonder what she was thinking in a few years.

She needs to bring Jesus into it, because that is who she is at this stage of her life. Yes, I do wish she would/could speak out against that heinous anti gay law in Uganda, but maybe that would put both her and the children at risk for violent reprisals ? I don't know.

She is amazing, even if the situation is less than ideal. I am also grateful she is not my child because I would worry constantly.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

I think what she is doing is amazing, and I wish more Christians (I am an atheist btw) followed her lead and tried to do something about poverty rather than obsess about abortion and gay marriage and tax breaks and focus on making more and more money for themselves.

Yeah she's cramming religion down their throat...but religion is the opium of the masses and if people in desperately poor countries get the comfort of the idea of heaven after they die, far be it from me in my lovely, cushy, upper middle class lifestyle in my rich country (yay Australia!) to take away a source of comfort in their lives.

[browncoatslytherin]

I think what she is doing is amazing, and I wish more Christians (I am an atheist btw) followed her lead and tried to do something about poverty rather than obsess about abortion and gay marriage and tax breaks and focus on making more and more money for themselves.

Yeah she's cramming religion down their throat...but religion is the opium of the masses and if people in desperately poor countries get the comfort of the idea of heaven after they die, far be it from me in my lovely, cushy, upper middle class lifestyle in my rich country (yay Australia!) to take away a source of comfort in their lives.

this. and i also agree with the comment that she may be going with the flow with certain things so she doesn't put herself and her children at risk. not that it's not good to stand up for what you believe in, but when there are other people who depend on you - like children - some people think it's best to not put them at risk.

[annalena]

Or she doesn't stand up for it because the country already practices what she believes in.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

Or she doesn't stand up for it because the country already practices what she believes in.

maybe. but seriously i cant put someone down who does something I dont have the guts to do. That is live in a developing country and spend all her time helping others and doing good things.

I can snark christians with their stupid adoption blogs. but katie? what do i do in an entire year that is as selfless as what she does in a day?

[annalena]

I do think she does great things.

But I am not fond of teaching others "the right religion". At all.

[Rosa]

There's a good chance the kids came from homes with similar beliefs, and if their parents had survived they would choose that kind of religious education for them.

[fundiefan]

Add me to those who are of two minds about her - and really, anyone like her - who indoctrinates those they help with their god.

But helping those in need, with or without god, is still helping and still practicing what she preaches. And I can't honestly have a valid opinion since she is there and I am here, in my heated apartment, eating my food stored in the fridge and cooked on the stove, with my electric lights turned on, my television running in the background, my laptop in my lap and my Christmas tree lit up next to the chair I am sitting in.

[SunnyAndrsn]

Go to her ministry page and do a little reading to see what she's done over the past few years. If there is negative feedback out there, I'd be interested since I've been looking and can't seem to find it.

"I have learned that I will not change the world. Jesus will do that. I can, however, change the world for one person. So I keep stopping and loving one person at a time. Because this is my call as a Christian." Katie Davis

Read the intro to her book on Amazon. She's fanatical, that's for sure, but she's fanatical about loving and feeding people. The world could use a few more fanatics like her.

[godlytomatosoup]

I'm torn. On the one hand, her Christianity is all about love and a personal relationship with people and seeing God in them, and I can't be against that. So as Christianity, I'm all in favour of it.

On the other hand, as charity work I'm not impressed. I like that it's long term, she's not just dropping in for a week or six months and then flying back home with souvenirs and photos to impress her church, but that's about all I like about it. There's not a thing she's doing that couldn't be done by an untrained Ugandan person, except for the bureaucracy-cutting powers of her white skin and foreign passport. In other words, the only advantage she has over a Ugandan person doing the same thing comes from corruption.

And it's really inefficient. You can give $10 to her and help her and her family for less than a day, or you can give that $10 to one of these charities and help many more people for much longer. I don't have a large income, so I like knowing that what I can afford to give is going as far as possible, and that the charity I chose works in partnership with local groups in the countries it serves, so it's not duplicating effort or taking money or resources away from the local people.

But there are worse things. Did anyone else read 'The Hospital By The River', by Dr Catherine Hamlin? She's a surgeon who treats fistulas. Which is great work, and I'm glad she does it. The problem is that she loudly claims that hers is the only charity doing this work, and that's just not true. There are local groups doing it but Western donors donate to her because they've heard of her, and *cough* she's white. Also, in her book she talks proudly about how when her patients have been cured and given a new dress and are ready to go home, she makes them sing a song about how grateful they are that they're cured. I am not kidding. There was a photo in the book of some women singing the song, and at least one of them looked about as cheerful as I felt, reading it.