Tree Sunday

Two clergy planting African Mahogany (Khaya grandifoliola) seedlings as part of a Tree Sunday service

On my way back from Kampala last weekend, I had a full day to spend in Arua. A friend, Adriko Joel, invited me to join a “Tree Sunday” service at his church (part of an Anglican diocese in Uganda) in the nearby town of Maracha, and I thought it was a great opportunity to finally visit his church, where he is the environment and tree warden, and his home.

Adriko Joel and I worked closely together in 2022. Adriko oversees CIFOR-ICRAF agroforestry extension work in Imvepi and he helped me coordinate a household-level agroforestry impact study, giving me motorcycle rides all over the settlement and connecting me to community-based staff as translators. He also holds degrees in social work and forestry and we have bonded over the concept of “agroforestry as social work." Adriko cares deeply about his work and pursues it with a religious kind of zeal.

Adriko Joel, explaining the fundamentals of how to plant a tree after service

Adriko, as many folks working in Imvepi, only stays in Imvepi during the weekdays and spends weekends at his home in the town of Maracha, about 40 km from Arua. He organized in advance for his cousin to help me get a taxi from Arua to Maracha early in the morning before church service. By taxi, I mean a small car with seven passengers (3 in front, 4 behind… I kept wondering why the taxi wasn’t leaving when we were 5 until I realized that they did not consider the car to be full!)

I arrived a bit early for the 9am service and sat in the shade of a large mango tree and chatted with Adriko. The church was a large, windowless brick building, with a significant section under construction. When we went inside, Adriko and I were welcomed by the clergy to sit in chairs up front by the altar. The first thing to catch my I were curved harp-like instruments, called adungu in Lugbara. Some were small and others large in size. They were played frequently during the service when the choir sang.

I always love attending church in East Africa because it is usually a joyous and musical occasion. This service was no exception. The service was held in Lugbara, though Adriko kindly translated the sermon into English for me. The choir was seated among the audience and sang beautifully and powerfully in combination with the adungu. Two high-ranking clergy were present, one of whom is the Archbishop Deacon of the Maracha Anglican diocese, and both gave very warm speeches to welcome me as a visitor from abroad. Adriko was invited to give a speech, and I as well to introduce myself and speak a bit about my research project.

After the service, we all went outside to plant four African mahogany seedlings around the church garden. Adriko gave a thorough explanation of how to properly plant a tree, and talked about many environmental and livelihood benefits of trees, urging everyone to plant trees at their own homes. After signing the church visitor's book, one of the clergy asked if I would visit the nearby secondary school for girls, which is run by the church. He was quite impressed that I am a PhD student at a young age (PhDs can be seriously delayed in East Africa, and often don't happen until someone is in their 40s) and he wanted me to speak to the girls and inspire them to also pursue their educational goals.

Left to right: Adungus, church attendees and choir, and students of St. John Girls Secondary School

I was happy to drop by and talk to the girls. After the clergy member and lead teacher both gave speeches, I shared a bit about my own path from studying social work to agroforestry. I also shared a quote which I heard first when I was in middle school and has stuck with me ever since: "Start, and the impossible becomes possible." I urged them not to give up on dreams just because the first step seems daunting.. the first step is the gateway to making dreams reality when we are brave enough to take it. As I spoke, the lead teacher translated from "English into English," which is something that happens ```here when my accent and way of speaking English is incomprehensible given the completely different way English is spoken in Uganda. The clergy member followed up with a his own messages about avoiding boyfriends and getting pregnant at an early age, suggesting this could derail their educational goals.

After service, Adriko and his cousin and I took a short motorcycle ride back to Adriko's home, a large brick building on the main road in Maracha. His wife Madam Jane was there to warmly greet us. I have spoken to Jane many times on the phone and she is always incredibly sweet and calls me her daughter. Jane is a schoolteacher at the nearby Maracha primary school. She brought us to a sitting room inside and served a beautiful meal with about 8 different dishes, most of which cooked with food food from their garden: beans, groundnut sauce, greens mixed with groundnut paste rice, and more. We sat outside afterwards and chatted in the shade (temperatures have been brutally hot these weeks). Jane brought out the most generous gifts: a large bowl of home-grown toasted and salted groundnuts, and a large fenne, or jackfruit.

Adriko Joel and Madam Jane, with gifts of jackfruit (left) and toasted groundnuts (right)

Despite the long journey to Kampala and back, Tree Sunday was restorative and I went back to Imvepi Monday morning energized for another week of data collection. My neighbors in Imvepi were very excited on Monday when they saw I had returned with a fenne... one woman kept saying "Sarah, you have real connections!" We all dug in that evening and enjoyed some rare taste of fruit in Imvepi.

More to come soon... in the meantime, be well!