1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,360 Speaker 1: What you hear in this podcast does not implicate any 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: individual or entity in any criminal activity. The views and 3 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: opinions are solely those of the individuals participating in the podcast. Amen. Amen, Now, Renie, 4 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: before you go, obviously, I'm praying that there's gonna be 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: some young people listening going maybe the Lord wants me 6 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: to do something like that. But I don't want to 7 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: put words in your mouth. What's on your heart today 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: as we sit here? Well, you know, um, I moved 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: to Ganda and I was really young. Prior to leaving 10 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: and moving, there was a lot of fear. Am I 11 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: going to fail? Am I going to be that person 12 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:36,599 Speaker 1: that you know said I was going to do this 13 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: thing for the Lord and just couldn't do it and 14 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: didn't have the strength or didn't have the knowledge, or 15 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: couldn't rally their resources. That was a real fear for me. 16 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:49,199 Speaker 1: But the Lord just continued to bring to mind that 17 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: if you trust in him, even your failures can be 18 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: made beautiful. And I think that that was renee Bach 19 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: did trust in the Lord with all her heart her 20 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: whole life. She listened to him, saw his wisdom, followed 21 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: his lead, and he led her from a small town 22 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: in Virginia all the way to Uganda, where she started 23 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: a charity to help malnourished kids. Renee was entrepreneurial, inspiring. 24 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,559 Speaker 1: She was the perfect local girl does good story. Here 25 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: she is on a Virginia Christian radio station called equipm FM. 26 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: We just launched a campaign this past month called Cycle Breakers. 27 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: We really do believe that Malnatician is a cycle um 28 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: and then it really can be broken, and we need 29 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: people just like you to help us break that cycle. 30 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: We are completely funded by generous owners. Renee was a 31 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,480 Speaker 1: modern missionary. She didn't work for institutions like the Seletian 32 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: Sisters or the International Mission Board. Instead, she ran her 33 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: ministry like a tech startup, raising money through blogs, marketing 34 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: through YouTube videos, and doing church tours and radio interviews 35 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: like this one. And that's when I found it serving 36 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: his children. How old were you? I was nineteen nineteen. 37 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: That's just when I read that piece in the paper 38 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: about your ministry, I'm thinking that is crazy because I 39 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: wasn't thinking about starting ministries at nineteen years old. So 40 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: obviously the Lord really had a special plan for you. 41 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: And and still does. I mean you're you're so if 42 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 1: God had a plan for Renee Bach, then why did 43 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: he lead her to where she is today? Tonight at six, 44 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: a Betverord woman is facing disturbing allegations about her nonprofit 45 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: in Uganda. Essentially, a U s Citis been with no 46 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: medical training set up a medical clinic in Uganda serving 47 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: his children was actually shut down and five children died 48 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: at an unlicensed treatment center for malnourished kids in Uganda 49 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: is being sued in Ugandan court. This girl going into 50 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: this situation just the savior complex on our own. It's 51 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: closed to people's lives. I'm Rogi Gola, I'm a journalist 52 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,959 Speaker 1: and I moved to Uganda last year. Just five days 53 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 1: after I got there, I received a message on WhatsApp. 54 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: It was about Renee Back and it was one of 55 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: the wildest leads i'd ever heard, probably the most severe 56 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: case of the Savior complex we've ever seen. Hundreds of 57 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: children have died as a result. The message came from 58 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: Kelsey Nielsen, one of the founders of an activist group 59 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: called No White Saviors. She was a former missionary. She'd 60 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: seen the inside of that world and now she was 61 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: speaking out. Kelsey told me that Renee wasn't just feeding 62 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: or ministering to kids. She was playing god, she was 63 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: masquerading as a doctor, and hundreds of kids had died 64 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: because of her actions, and that Renee was back home 65 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: in Virginia living scott free most of the time. If 66 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: you're white and have money and access to the right resources, 67 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: you're not You're going to be able to get away 68 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: with whatever you want to. And I think know Kelsey 69 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: and here you've gone, and co founder Olivia Alasso, we're 70 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: helping to file a case against Renee in Uganda's High 71 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: court fields like, finally someone will pay four hundreds of 72 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: kids deaths that have been written off as good deeds 73 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: um for so long, that just because of some spiritual 74 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: bypassing in some God complex, that someone can come and 75 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: practice medicine without a medical degree. No White Saviors had 76 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: been sounding the alarm about Renee on Instagram for months. 77 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: It was the centerpiece of their advocacy. People in the 78 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: comments called Renee a serial killer, an angel of death. 79 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: At first, I was skeptical. Hundreds of dead kids, and 80 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: the more I looked into the story, the more the 81 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: accusations piled up that she'd been stealing children from hospitals 82 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,719 Speaker 1: and villages, experimenting on them. The children were like, it 83 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: was like a science lab where everyone will touch and 84 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: you know, try to inject, try to do that. So 85 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: for me, there's no excuse for that. There were allegations 86 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: of murder, government conspiracies. It is shocking the medical profession 87 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: after one of their own was gunned down in Iganga 88 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: District Friday night, Bribery, blackmail, even cannibalism. The father of 89 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: Patricia alleges that he was bribed to tell the courts 90 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: that Renee cut off the skin of Patricia's face and 91 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: kept in the fridge so she could eat it. Oh boy, 92 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: I knew right away that it would be tough to 93 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: pick apart rumors from facts. This wasn't a story about 94 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,480 Speaker 1: just one victim, one event, or one crime. It was 95 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: a saga that stretched over ten years, to continents and 96 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:46,160 Speaker 1: touched thousands of lives. So I pulled together a team 97 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: Malcolm Burnley in Philadelphia and Helimakkandhi and Kenya, and together 98 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: we spent the next year investigating Renee's story. We ended 99 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: up interviewing over a hundred people, and almost no one 100 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: could agree on what kind of person Renee Bach was 101 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: or if she'd done anything wrong at all. Just a 102 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: few months ago, this story might have felt distant, But now, 103 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: as we're all caught in a deadly battle between arrogant 104 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: ignorance and a desire for authority, we can trust it's 105 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: closer than ever. In association with I Heeart Media, I'm 106 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: Roger Gola. I I'm Malcolm Burnley, and this is the 107 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: missionary episode one the Lord's Work. Before we dive in, 108 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: let's get you situated. Our story takes place in the 109 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: town of Jinja in Uganda. Pull up a map of 110 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: Africa and find the mouth of the Nile River where 111 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: Egypt meets the Mediterranean. Then trace it all the way 112 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: down through Sudan, past South Sudan and into Uganda. And 113 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: right there underneath your fingertip, that's Ginger. It's a small 114 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: town on the lip of Lake Victoria, a lush, tropical 115 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: paradise built on the banks of the world's longest river. 116 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: Gingers become known as the adventure sports capital of East Africa. 117 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,240 Speaker 1: Tourists from around the world come to Ginger for its 118 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: world famous rapids, bungee jumping, mountain biking and hiking. All right, 119 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: let's get going. I had Arthur Wassawa take me through 120 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: town one afternoon. As a professional tour guide, he spent 121 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: years working with Westerners, or as they're called here, Mazungos. 122 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: A lot of actually a lot of people who write 123 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: to me or emailed me about inquiries. They have read 124 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: about the country and they're very educated about the country. 125 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: Other people think it's the jungle, most especially missionaries who 126 00:07:54,720 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: have been a kind of tote that they're going to jungle, 127 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: expected jungle. I don't really talk to your Gunmans unless 128 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: they're told the space to Ugandon. So it's kind of weird. 129 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: Main Street is the heart of Ginger. One side is Ugandan, 130 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: full of shops and apartments and street stalls. The other 131 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: is for foreigners with upscale hotels, hip coffee shops and 132 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: souvenir stalls. I mean, so this part of town, I 133 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: mean it seems like it's largely Uganda, not Zongles on 134 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,840 Speaker 1: the side. Yeah, there's a there's a sort of divide, 135 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:37,559 Speaker 1: uh them there on the other side and this guy 136 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 1: is there on this side. You know. Yeah, so that 137 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: divide does happened in the last year or so. Hold, 138 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 1: this guy doesn't stop. No one stops in traffic here. 139 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: Everyone has right away. If you take the Ugandan side 140 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: of main Street all the way down, you end up 141 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: on a pothole road that follows the shore of like Victoria. 142 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: The road is lined with factories and warehouses and a 143 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: fish processing plant that stinks up the whole neighborhood. On 144 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: the other side is Messesse, where Renee set up shop 145 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: in two thousand nine. And Messesse is kind of like 146 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: the slum of our area. And so I was advised 147 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: several times by by folks in Uganda, like I don't 148 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: know if it's a good idea, you being like a 149 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: Western girl by yourself moving to Missess. But I just 150 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:30,679 Speaker 1: felt so strongly that's where the Lord had us, and 151 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: he used among shacks made of scrapwood and tin roofing. 152 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: Rene's house was easy to spot. It was a two 153 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,320 Speaker 1: story brick building with a wrap around porch and clean 154 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: white banisters, almost like a New England bed and breakfast, 155 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: and it served double duty. It was Renee's home and 156 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: the headquarters of her new NGO. Serving his children. Serving 157 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: his children took a single action, a single choice, and 158 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: it was bold enough to cause others to do the same. 159 00:09:57,720 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: Save a life. The goal of the NGO was to 160 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: fight child malnutrition, a daunting task, especially in a place 161 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 1: where thirty of the population faces chronic food in security. 162 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: The Lord just allowed me to see that malnutrition is 163 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 1: such an issue in Uganda that's often really hidden in 164 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: dark places, and families are ashamed of having children that 165 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 1: are malnourished. And it wasn't a need that other ministries 166 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 1: in our area were meeting. And by all accounts, serving 167 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: as children was an early success. Twice a week, hundreds 168 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:29,199 Speaker 1: of kids would line up with empty bowls and wait 169 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: their turn for beans and rice. I think it was like, Wow, 170 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: she's serving a thousand children lunch out of her yard. 171 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 1: Like that's Ashley Laverty, one of Renee's first friends in Ginger. 172 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: And again it was kind of like a tourist attraction. 173 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: People would come on those specific days specifically to go 174 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: serve rice and beans to the kids of messssy and 175 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: like photo op, like serving these poor kids around the world. 176 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: There these global hotspots for missionaries like poor to Prince 177 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: and Haiti and San Jose and Costa Rica. Similarly, Jinja 178 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: is home to hundreds of NGOs and just as many 179 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: young eager people following their calling and even in the 180 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:15,200 Speaker 1: community like that, Renee stood out. She was just twenty 181 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,679 Speaker 1: years old, the director of her own organization, helping thousands 182 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,680 Speaker 1: of people. Here's Jackie Kramlick, one of Renee's old volunteers. 183 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: Anyone who would have been in Ginger around that time 184 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 1: with Renee would remember a time where, you know, she 185 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:32,719 Speaker 1: get a call in the middle of church or in 186 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,199 Speaker 1: the middle of the party or whatever and just grab 187 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: her stuff and run out the door. And she, I 188 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: think really liked that. Being the kind of the emergency person, 189 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:45,400 Speaker 1: she always felt like there was something more that she 190 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: could do. Like when I remember Rene, she just always 191 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: wanted to be doing the next thing. It's just kind 192 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,360 Speaker 1: of her personality is just always very much focused on 193 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: like the next project she was going to start. In 194 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 1: terms of people who just like plan on conquering everything, 195 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,360 Speaker 1: I mean, I would definitely consider her a very ambitious person. 196 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,800 Speaker 1: That ambition led Renee to transform serving his children from 197 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: a simple feeding program into a full on rehabilitation center 198 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:21,200 Speaker 1: with impatient services and professional medical equipment. That decision would 199 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: eventually split open the entire missionary community. Again, Ashley Laverty, 200 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: there was just a lot of strength. I mean, there 201 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: was a very clear divide. You were either pro Renee 202 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: and going to stand up for her and you know, 203 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: have her back, or you were very much against what 204 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:42,079 Speaker 1: she was doing and just kind of outraged by it all. 205 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,120 Speaker 1: Last January, I made my first trip to Ginja. I 206 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: wanted to be there as Kelsey Nielsen from No White 207 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: Saviors and her Ugandan co founder Olivia Alasso filed the 208 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: case against Forna in Jina's High Court. It feels like 209 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: I don't know Christmas for me today, like I'm just 210 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: just bringing the paperwork here. Seems like a victory for 211 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: both of them. I'm just fitting to alive. I'm checking 212 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: right now. But I think this is like what we've 213 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,680 Speaker 1: waited for, Like this comes to the world right now 214 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 1: that the kiss has been filed, it's on record. Yeah. 215 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: When I started reporting this project, it felt like No 216 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: Waight Saviors was the story. It was a charismatic premise, 217 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: two young women, one American the other Ugandan fighting for 218 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,359 Speaker 1: justice and trying to radically change their communities from the inside. 219 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,360 Speaker 1: I think being a white person and it all involved 220 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 1: in this is like again totally like there is no 221 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,440 Speaker 1: me being the hero or me doing It's literally the 222 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 1: things we should be doing like we should be holding 223 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:56,960 Speaker 1: each other accountable, and we should be doing what we 224 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: know is right instead of just pretending these things don't exist. 225 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 1: We should be using our access to resources to rectify 226 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: these situations that, otherwise injustice would have just continued. Kelsey 227 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 1: and Olivia spoke so passionately it was hard not to 228 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 1: get carried away. They made it clear that this fight 229 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: wasn't just about Renee and tied it to bigger issues 230 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: of racism and colonialism. They made it feel like this 231 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: case really was a historic milestone. They made me want 232 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: to believe in their fight as much as they did. 233 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: No Weight Saviors have been effective at using Instagram to 234 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 1: draw attention to Renee's story, but they've been hard at 235 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: work on the ground as well. For months, Kelsey and 236 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 1: Olivia had been gathering evidence and tracking down witnesses to 237 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 1: file a core case against Serving his children. Once they 238 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,080 Speaker 1: had the funding, they hired a Yuganian law firm to 239 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: file a civil case on behalf of the two grieving mothers, 240 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 1: one was Gimbo Zoo Beta. In her affidavit, she says 241 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 1: that in she lets Serving his children take her malner 242 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 1: three year old to Lali to Ginger for treatment. Three 243 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: days later, Gimbo was told that her son was dead. 244 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 1: She received to Lali wrapped in a white sheet and 245 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:15,600 Speaker 1: fifteen dollars as a condolence. The other mother's name was 246 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 1: Kakai Rose. Her one year old son, Elijah Kawa Gambe, 247 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,920 Speaker 1: had been diagnosed with TB. She says, us serving his 248 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,359 Speaker 1: children worker insisted that she admit her son to the facility. 249 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: After a few days, they were sent home without any 250 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 1: information or medication. Elijah died three days later. Those are 251 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 1: our future leaders in this country that died, future lawyers 252 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: and doctors. She shut at their gems by not giving 253 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 1: them a chance to live. The mother's demands are simple 254 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: compensation for their loss and the permanent shutdown of serving 255 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:57,520 Speaker 1: his children. For Kelsey, a former missionary with her own NGO, 256 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: there was something personal about the moment. It's a civil 257 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 1: rights case, and I think for me, being a white 258 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: person who has done work in this town for several years, 259 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: being a recovering white savior, as I say myself, this 260 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: is going to go down in history. We're definitely not 261 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: the heroes of the story. The families who have stood 262 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: up and said I'm going to fight for justice for 263 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: my children. It's an honor to even be at all 264 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: part of this and to to see them and their courage. 265 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: After hanging around the courthouse all afternoon, the court registrar 266 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: finally gave us a hearing date March twelve. Over the 267 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: coming months, that date would be pushed back again and again, 268 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: first to January, then to February, then March. But I 269 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: jumped into my investigation right away. The cornerstone of the 270 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: case against Renee is a handful of her Yugandan employees. 271 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: They worked with Renee for years but were fired in 272 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen over a pay dispute. In their affidavits, they 273 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,640 Speaker 1: claimed to have seen hundreds of dead children, gross medical malpractice, 274 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,600 Speaker 1: and that they suffered from racist and discriminatory treatment. We 275 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: are recording this for a radio documentary. Kelsey set up 276 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: a meeting for me with some of the former employees 277 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: in Ginger and the information you provide. We met at 278 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 1: a hotel early in the afternoon and took seats in 279 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: the sunny courtyard away from the other guests. They sipped 280 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,239 Speaker 1: cokes and fantas and told me their stories from their 281 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 1: years with Renee. My name is Lana Jays, I worked 282 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: with serving his stidren from two thousand thirteen tooth and seventeen. 283 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:48,119 Speaker 1: Asa Joyce Alana worked with Renee for four years, and 284 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: she was proud of the work she did. I was contented. 285 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 1: I loved what I used to do. I was like, 286 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: if I'm to leave this work, is there someone who 287 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: is going to come and do the exact thing I'm doing? 288 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:04,160 Speaker 1: How was like, let me be ready. Toself Joyce told 289 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 1: me that Renee performed medical treatments on children, but she 290 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: assumed Renee knew what she was doing. In fact, I 291 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:16,880 Speaker 1: thought she's a nurse or a medical expert. Also where 292 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: because I saw her she introduced that myself to me 293 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 1: as a director and I saw her doing medical practices, 294 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,359 Speaker 1: doing other things, So myself I concluded that she's a 295 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:37,199 Speaker 1: medical expert. Yeah. But the longer she was there, the 296 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:40,520 Speaker 1: more trouble she became. The thing which which had me. 297 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: Most children dying all of a sudden, you find you 298 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: reach home, they call you this one has died. Even 299 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:50,640 Speaker 1: in the morning. At times you come and you find 300 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: the bad is empty, as what happened to this child? 301 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:59,359 Speaker 1: They will tell you that the child has died. Sometimes 302 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: I used to take the dead buddies to dead villages. 303 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,440 Speaker 1: Charles Alwaeny was the oldest of the crew, and he's 304 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 1: in his early fifties, short and bald, and has the 305 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,399 Speaker 1: leathery hands of a farm worker. At different points he 306 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:17,200 Speaker 1: worked as a driver, program manager, and security guard for 307 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 1: serving his children. In his affidavit, Charles wrote that he 308 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,360 Speaker 1: would see anywhere from seven to ten dead children every 309 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: week now as I take the dead buddies, I was 310 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:34,400 Speaker 1: always given the task of explaining how these children were daying, 311 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: and it was really hard for me. I couldn't explain 312 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: anything because one, I'm not a medical doctor, and I 313 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 1: don't know what caused the death of the child? What what? 314 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 1: It was something that I had for me. And I 315 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:55,359 Speaker 1: was almost seven to ten a week. If that was true, 316 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: the death toll would get into the thousands in just 317 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: a few years. I hunt Buffalo, so I brought my 318 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,359 Speaker 1: rifle into the country with me legally, and I kept 319 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,159 Speaker 1: it at the police station. Elizabeth Nicholson was one of 320 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 1: the older missionaries in town. Were chuffed this this silly 321 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:30,640 Speaker 1: little woman went this big giant rifle. I had heard 322 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: that she was the wild white lady in Ginger. When 323 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:37,840 Speaker 1: I finally met her. I wasn't disappointed. I go hunting 324 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:42,919 Speaker 1: when I want to kill some person, then I go 325 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:48,200 Speaker 1: out into the bush and get out my aggressions. Elizabeth 326 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: was a real estate agent in California in a previous life, 327 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 1: but she heard God calling her to Uganda ten years 328 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: ago and she hasn't looked back since. She saw a 329 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: place with institutions that were struggling to keep up, and 330 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 1: she wanted to support them. Children and the children's hospital 331 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,400 Speaker 1: now La Fania were three sometimes four to a bed, 332 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,360 Speaker 1: or they were on the concrete floor in the corridor. 333 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,440 Speaker 1: The children of malnutrition are very vulnerable, so I ended 334 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:21,400 Speaker 1: up building another mini hospital on the government hospital grounds. 335 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,719 Speaker 1: It was an attritional unit. You had a free place 336 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,480 Speaker 1: for the malnourished children to be and to stay as 337 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:32,200 Speaker 1: long as they needed. Elizabeth and Renee were both dealing 338 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:35,919 Speaker 1: with malnourished kids, which means Elizabeth ran into Renee at 339 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,879 Speaker 1: the local hospital on a regular basis. At first, she 340 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 1: thought Renee was just another young, pretty missionary. But then 341 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:47,960 Speaker 1: something strange started happening. I noticed that well, there would 342 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: be malnourished children and then one day they'd be gone. 343 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 1: What happened? Why? Each time this happened, Elizabeth assumed the 344 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 1: worst that the child had died in hospital, or maybe optimistically, 345 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:06,399 Speaker 1: that the kid had recovered and gone home. But it 346 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:09,719 Speaker 1: turns out it was neither what I was told. She 347 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: was paying a couple of the nurses to let her 348 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:19,680 Speaker 1: know every time a malnourished child came, and then she 349 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:21,639 Speaker 1: would come to the hospital and she would talk to 350 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: the parents into signing out and then taking the child 351 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: to her, which I thought was wrong. It was something 352 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,440 Speaker 1: the former employees had written about in their affidavits as well. 353 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:39,679 Speaker 1: Renee called them referrals. Others called it kidnapping. I'd begun 354 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: to get nervous about all the children that were ending 355 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 1: up with her. She didn't make sense when they had 356 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:50,120 Speaker 1: the government free hospital and free food. So I decided 357 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 1: that I would least like to go and check and 358 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: see what it was like. When I went there, Renee 359 00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:58,880 Speaker 1: wasn't there. She was in America. She had I think 360 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:02,399 Speaker 1: three volunteers who are about eighteen years old, weren't trained 361 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:08,879 Speaker 1: in anything medical, and they had like children. I found 362 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:13,680 Speaker 1: it appalling. Elizabeth had good reason to be frustrated. She'd 363 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 1: been fighting child malnutrition for a decade. In her mind, 364 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: she's been doing it the right way, following the rules 365 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:23,719 Speaker 1: and letting doctors take the lead. I mean, my understanding 366 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,239 Speaker 1: is she has her high school g e d. She 367 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,919 Speaker 1: didn't even finish regular high school. She didn't at the 368 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:35,640 Speaker 1: time have any medical I think now she only has 369 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: um like Red Cross stuff. And she was doing things 370 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:47,920 Speaker 1: that we're not only out of her capabilities, but we're painful, 371 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:55,200 Speaker 1: not nice easy things, um, taking jiggers out of toes okay, fine, 372 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 1: but emptying somebody's kidneys with a long syringe no, I'm sorry, 373 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:07,120 Speaker 1: and slitting their chest to get into their lungs. There's 374 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: a lot of doctors that won't do this and know 375 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:12,639 Speaker 1: we need a specialist for that to be clear. Elizabeth 376 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 1: didn't actually see any of this firsthand, but these were 377 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: the rumors that have been floating around Ginja for years. 378 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 1: Eventually Elizabeth would even get the police involved and try 379 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: to get Renee shut down. I heard a lot that 380 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,440 Speaker 1: she was stubborn, She wouldn't listen to anybody. She looked 381 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: down on yuganden professionals, didn't take advice from anybody. What 382 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: leads Renee to go down this path? She thinks that's 383 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: what God wants her to do. Although the idea that 384 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,199 Speaker 1: God would want her to operate on children which she 385 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:54,280 Speaker 1: has no training, and there's a hospital ten minutes away, 386 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: it's a little hard to swell. I don't know, I 387 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 1: don't know. It's incomprehensible to me. It was such an 388 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 1: outstandingly evil thing. So many children were dying, and it 389 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:25,639 Speaker 1: was getting bigger and bigger. Honestly, from the get go, 390 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: I had my doubts about the case of success. Holding 391 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,879 Speaker 1: the filing in my hands, it was flimsy, maybe a 392 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: hundred pages, front to back, printed double sided. Yes, there 393 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,320 Speaker 1: were strong affidavits from Ashley Jackie and the former employees, 394 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 1: but the evidence, that's where the trouble was. It was 395 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:49,199 Speaker 1: mostly anecdotal. There were a few photographs of malnourished children 396 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,640 Speaker 1: and some Health Ministry protocols and registration documents, and sure 397 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,720 Speaker 1: there were a couple of photos of Renee inserting IVY lines, 398 00:25:57,440 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: but that's a procedure anyone could be trained to do, 399 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 1: and didn't speak to the more severe allegations of medical misconduct. 400 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 1: Without much more, it would be difficult to keep this 401 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,440 Speaker 1: case from getting into he said, she said, So we 402 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: set out to look for those details, but we also 403 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:18,679 Speaker 1: needed to hear from Renee herself. In the court documents 404 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: and all around town. There was something that kept coming up, 405 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:29,120 Speaker 1: Renee's blogs. Blogging was huge among young missionaries, heroic stories 406 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:32,119 Speaker 1: of service in far flung corners of the world and 407 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:36,440 Speaker 1: pictures of children suffering starvation and disease who needed your 408 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: help in your prayers, So send money now. They were 409 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:44,680 Speaker 1: the millennial version of those old Sally Struthers ads where 410 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,359 Speaker 1: she holds a starving, sick child in her arms and 411 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: asks you for donations while a number flashes underneath. It's 412 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 1: enough to make the angels cry. No. I can't get 413 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:57,760 Speaker 1: used to this any more than you could. But we 414 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: can get rid of it. Yes you can. Your seventy 415 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,960 Speaker 1: cents will put one of these otherwise doomed boys or 416 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: girls into a clean and bright to Elizabeth. The blogs 417 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,520 Speaker 1: are proof of Renee's insincerity, that she cared more about 418 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: her image than actually helping kids. It was on her 419 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:17,760 Speaker 1: website and her blog or what, but that she had 420 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:22,040 Speaker 1: to do these medical things and are to save these 421 00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:27,360 Speaker 1: children because help was so far away and so expensive. 422 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:33,119 Speaker 1: People really liked that this wonderful woman who's sacrificing, and 423 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,199 Speaker 1: I think that was her thing. I don't think she 424 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:38,800 Speaker 1: was doing what was best for the children. I think 425 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: she was doing what was exciting and powerful for Renee, 426 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,880 Speaker 1: and getting an awful lot of money for it. Kelsey 427 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: from No White Saviors painted and even darker picture. Every 428 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:53,240 Speaker 1: time a kid dies, you're writing a blog post, You're 429 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: getting all its attention. You might become addicted to, like 430 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 1: child death. You might become addicted to like the attention 431 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:03,879 Speaker 1: and the like the rush you get from it. I 432 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 1: hope that's not the case, but I don't think we 433 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,639 Speaker 1: can weigh that out. Renee took her blogs down a 434 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 1: few years ago, and they're only a handful in the 435 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,800 Speaker 1: case filing. So I did some googling and managed to 436 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 1: find over a hundred of her old posts. I printed 437 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,119 Speaker 1: them all out and spent an entire weekend hold up 438 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:23,159 Speaker 1: in my room reading through them. At first, I was 439 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 1: looking for evidence against Renee, proof that she was doing 440 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: what Elizabeth Kelsey and the former employees were telling me, 441 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:34,600 Speaker 1: and I found some examples easily enough. There were blogs 442 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:37,440 Speaker 1: about kids hooked up to medical equipment in a red 443 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:39,920 Speaker 1: room that served as an ic you for serving his 444 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,960 Speaker 1: children there are plenty of stories about kids being brought 445 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 1: over from the local hospital to miss Essay, and there 446 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: were more than a handful of eulogies that Renee had 447 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:50,640 Speaker 1: written to children who had passed away over the years. 448 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:56,240 Speaker 1: The truth is I expected to hate Renee. I'd spent 449 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 1: weeks hearing stories about how evil she was, how she'd 450 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:03,240 Speaker 1: been killing kids experimenting on them. But the blogs painted 451 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: a totally different picture. Here's one from We had a 452 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: voice actor read them and they're edited for clarity. I 453 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,760 Speaker 1: am an all or nothing kind of person, and it's 454 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,360 Speaker 1: hard for me not to be able to give to everyone. 455 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: Mother Teresa once said, you can do no great thing, 456 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: only small things with great love. I have to remind 457 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:28,120 Speaker 1: myself of that almost every day, because I believe that 458 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,680 Speaker 1: when you have a great love for Jesus, everything else 459 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,080 Speaker 1: you do is turned into greatness. So if all you 460 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:37,200 Speaker 1: do in a day is smile at a lady on 461 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 1: the street or feed four fifty hungry orphan children, you 462 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: have achieved greatness in God's eyes. But there was something 463 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: else about Renee's writing. Her words felt familiar. Then I 464 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 1: read one of her blogs about a woman named Lydia. 465 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: So much of her body had been overtaken, consumed by 466 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: her si kness. She was scarcely recognizable, but her hands 467 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 1: and her feet they remained the same. She lay in bed, 468 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 1: her skeletal figure almost invisible, underneath a single sheet. Renee 469 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 1: wrote that Lydia was a young woman who sold bananas 470 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 1: in the neighborhood. Her son had been in Renee's malnutrition 471 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:25,040 Speaker 1: program and had gone home healthy. But soon after that, 472 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: Lydia discovered that she was HIV positive. I sat down 473 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 1: near her and spoke softly, would you like me to 474 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:39,480 Speaker 1: paint your fingernails? She slowly opened her eyes and barely 475 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:44,560 Speaker 1: nodded in response. Renee helped her get medications, but six 476 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: months later got a phone call that Lydia wasn't doing well. 477 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,800 Speaker 1: The sickness had eaten away at her. She was just 478 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 1: fifty three pounds. I picked up one of her limp 479 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: hands and started to change her dull nails into a 480 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: bright shade or bread. I painted each finger nail slowly 481 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 1: with care, praying for God to restore strength, to allow 482 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,400 Speaker 1: her the privilege of holding her baby girl again, even 483 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 1: just once more, so that the next time I could 484 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:24,480 Speaker 1: paint her fingers purple. Because purple was her favorite. The 485 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: next day, God decided it was time to restore Lydia, 486 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,960 Speaker 1: to make her completely whole by taking her to be 487 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:36,600 Speaker 1: with him. I was sad to say goodbye, but I 488 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 1: know I'll see her again dancing in heaven, clothed in 489 00:31:42,400 --> 00:32:04,000 Speaker 1: many shades of purple. I felt like I'd been here before. 490 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: I had written these exact words in my own journal. 491 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,080 Speaker 1: When I was a junior in college, I went to 492 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,479 Speaker 1: South Sudan to try my hand as a freelance reporter. 493 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 1: Two weeks in, I heard that a town up north 494 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: had been attacked. People were forced to flee their homes 495 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:24,800 Speaker 1: in large parts of town had been burned to the ground. 496 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,680 Speaker 1: Many people told the stay don't feel safe to return 497 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:34,160 Speaker 1: to their homes given in Wow Town. When I got there, 498 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,400 Speaker 1: it felt like a ghost town. The only people I 499 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 1: saw were soldiers, and the scene felt empty, a certain 500 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:47,000 Speaker 1: kind of hopeless. But then I met Sister Gracie. It 501 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:49,000 Speaker 1: was at the Catholic compound in the middle of town, 502 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,280 Speaker 1: where thousands of people had sought refuge. She said, I 503 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,360 Speaker 1: reminded her of her nephew back in India, and she 504 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,920 Speaker 1: took me in for the next two weeks. I lived 505 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 1: by her side as she dealt with the fallout from 506 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:05,000 Speaker 1: the attack. This is from an interview she did with 507 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:10,360 Speaker 1: BBC's Outwork. Back when I arrived, there was thousands of 508 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:16,040 Speaker 1: people walking towards the town, almost without clothes, just naked, 509 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:19,640 Speaker 1: but just as skeleton and the health of sender was 510 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: fitted with. She's been in Wow for decades, building hospitals, 511 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:28,120 Speaker 1: running schools, and helping orphans find families. She was fearless, 512 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:32,200 Speaker 1: staring down soldiers at checkpoints, and she was funny teasing 513 00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:35,880 Speaker 1: her former students. She was tireless. She woke up before 514 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:38,320 Speaker 1: I did and was still working long after I fell asleep. 515 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,600 Speaker 1: But on some nights when it was just the two 516 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 1: of us, she would cry. She told me she was 517 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 1: filled with doubt. She didn't know if she was really 518 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:51,280 Speaker 1: doing the Lord's work or she was working in vain. 519 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 1: She knew she had to keep helping people, doing what 520 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,960 Speaker 1: she thought was right, but what did it all lead to? 521 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: It was severe. It's seen many mothers, many babies dying 522 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 1: out of hunger, and it gave me a lot of pain, 523 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:11,080 Speaker 1: and I asked the Lord give me strength to work 524 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,439 Speaker 1: for these people until my death. One evening, she took 525 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,720 Speaker 1: me to the government hospital. We went to the children's 526 00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,960 Speaker 1: ward and found a teenage girl lying in bed. She 527 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,360 Speaker 1: was so skinny, she just disappeared under the sheets, just 528 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:29,960 Speaker 1: like Lydia. But then I noticed her fingernail polish, a 529 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:35,400 Speaker 1: glittery silver. So often in war, where people are forced 530 00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:38,799 Speaker 1: to live in humiliating conditions, it's easy to forget that 531 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 1: people are people. They become statistics and cases and problems 532 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:46,600 Speaker 1: to be solved. But seeing this girl with her nails 533 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:50,520 Speaker 1: painted made her a person again. Before she was in 534 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:53,680 Speaker 1: this bed, she was a kid. She went to school, 535 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:56,240 Speaker 1: she hung out with her friends, and she painted her nails. 536 00:34:57,360 --> 00:34:59,719 Speaker 1: It's an image I still see so vividly in my mind. 537 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:05,200 Speaker 1: Sister Gracie asked the girl's family to stand up. They 538 00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:08,239 Speaker 1: all held hands, bowed their heads, and she said a 539 00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:11,600 Speaker 1: prayer for them. On the way back to the car, 540 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 1: Sister Gracie whispered to me that the girl wouldn't make 541 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:18,240 Speaker 1: it through the night. When I returned to the States, 542 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:21,319 Speaker 1: all I could think about was Sister Gracie. For the 543 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 1: first time I had seen someone who dedicated their entire 544 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:27,480 Speaker 1: life to serving others. I felt like every day I 545 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:30,000 Speaker 1: didn't follow her example, I was taking the easy way 546 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:33,520 Speaker 1: out for a while. I even thought about dropping out 547 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:36,239 Speaker 1: of school to go work by her side, until a 548 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:40,600 Speaker 1: few friends convinced me otherwise. In some ways, I wish 549 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:52,879 Speaker 1: they hadn't. God keeps sending kids, so I keep saying yes. 550 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:59,200 Speaker 1: Who am I to say no? Some people say I'm insane, Well, folks, 551 00:35:59,239 --> 00:36:02,000 Speaker 1: I would have to agree with you. Some days I 552 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:06,960 Speaker 1: think I've literally gone insane. What you hear in Renee's 553 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:11,400 Speaker 1: words depends entirely on what you believe so far. Maybe 554 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,040 Speaker 1: you hear a woman of good intentions who made some mistakes, 555 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:17,840 Speaker 1: or maybe you hear a predator posing as a saint. 556 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:22,560 Speaker 1: I feel like as Christians, we are called to live 557 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 1: an insane life, a life set apart, a life that 558 00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:30,440 Speaker 1: is not normal by any sense of the word, A 559 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,600 Speaker 1: life that would cause others to wonder, what the heck, 560 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:37,520 Speaker 1: why on earth would she do that? Now, I'll be 561 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:40,880 Speaker 1: the first to say a life of insanity is sometimes 562 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:44,960 Speaker 1: very exciting. By obeying Christ's call, he blesses you with 563 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:52,240 Speaker 1: many amazing things. I heard myself in those words. Renee 564 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:54,960 Speaker 1: and I made her first trips to the continent when 565 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:58,200 Speaker 1: we were around the same age. Neither of us had 566 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:01,719 Speaker 1: any experience for expertise. We were moved to the core 567 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:04,520 Speaker 1: by what we'd seen and it felt like doing the 568 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,919 Speaker 1: right thing was the only thing that mattered, never mind 569 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:12,880 Speaker 1: the cost. But when it came down to it, I 570 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:17,200 Speaker 1: took a step back from the ledge and Renee kept 571 00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:26,279 Speaker 1: going this season on the missionary, no one's going to 572 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 1: call out a girl who has like dropped her life 573 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,520 Speaker 1: and moved here and it's just serving serving serving to 574 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,279 Speaker 1: be like, are you really doing this right? Well, they 575 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,960 Speaker 1: look like a huge asshole now. And never witnessed the 576 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:42,560 Speaker 1: blood being in us fuels though, and any kind of 577 00:37:42,640 --> 00:37:46,480 Speaker 1: bloody product at the facility. I never witnessed it. I 578 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:50,120 Speaker 1: was watching her be literally crucified for trying to do 579 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:52,680 Speaker 1: the right thing. Have you explained what we're doing here? 580 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:55,160 Speaker 1: I'm explained to her because she's what it that she 581 00:37:55,239 --> 00:37:58,520 Speaker 1: needs to be careful of what she's talking. She grabbed 582 00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:03,359 Speaker 1: a medication and injected her with it, and then she 583 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:08,400 Speaker 1: fell backwards died. Black African lives do not matter to 584 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:15,200 Speaker 1: the same level to us as white people. I'm Renee Vach, 585 00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:20,200 Speaker 1: the founder and former director of Serving Children. A lot 586 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,640 Speaker 1: of people would say, oh, why did you do this 587 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:24,719 Speaker 1: or why did you do that? And it's like, well, 588 00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:27,239 Speaker 1: when you explain, the answer wasn't satisfying. And then you 589 00:38:27,239 --> 00:38:30,239 Speaker 1: want to say, well, have you ever been put in 590 00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:32,319 Speaker 1: a situation like that? Do you know what you would do? 591 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:35,719 Speaker 1: Because like, it's a tough call and sometimes you have 592 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: like minutes to make it, you know, and you have 593 00:38:38,719 --> 00:38:40,440 Speaker 1: to live with yourself with the answer of that for 594 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:47,960 Speaker 1: the rest of your life. The Missionaries produced in association 595 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,880 Speaker 1: with iHeart Media. It's written and reported by Roger Gola, 596 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:54,560 Speaker 1: Palima Gakandi, and Malcolm Burnley. It's produced by Michelle Lance 597 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:57,239 Speaker 1: and Ryan Murdoch. Mark Ltto is our story editor. Our 598 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,760 Speaker 1: executive producer is at the Good. Fact checker is Austin Thompson. 599 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:04,279 Speaker 1: Mixing by Josh Rogisson, voice acting by Taylor Kaufman and 600 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:11,560 Speaker 1: special thanks to equip FM and BBC HM