1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Previously on the missionary. I would assume that this is 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: a health facility with the trained health workers. My job 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: there was to show people the character in the nature 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: of Christ by just like acting out of love and 5 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: kindness and being so compassionate. Seeing how the community reacted 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: left a really bad taste in my mouth, and I 7 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 1: just was constantly asking myself every day, if this is 8 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: how Christians are supposed to act and treat one another. 9 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: There's no one I would say, but please, I want 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,319 Speaker 1: to see your papas, but please waise your certificate displayed here. 11 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: There was no way I would ask that. Mal nutrition 12 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: season in Uganda is really like May through September because 13 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: of the rainy season in the way that the harvests 14 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: flow there, And so we had kind of geared up 15 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: for pretty high numbers in the summer. And yeah, we 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: had a lot of people that were just coming. We 17 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: had over twenty children because that is the time the 18 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: facility was overwhelmed. We had very many. It was above 19 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 1: the capacity. But then the morning came when a government 20 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: vehicle pulled up to the gate of serving his children unannounced. 21 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: It was March twelve. It was around eight I started 22 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: due to as you. So at ten we used to 23 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: take the vitals of these children. The babies would go 24 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: to sleep. I was sitting there after taking my vitals 25 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: and so the vehicle for the d H. When they 26 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: came the d H or they came in the car, 27 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: the guard opened the gates. I just saw some officials 28 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: coming out of the vehicle and welcome to him or 29 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:46,240 Speaker 1: what you've been doing. You're killing children here this and 30 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: you're just for educating in the communities. Why are you 31 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: treating children? I supposed to children. I'm supposed to work here, 32 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: I said, I am a maddie and I'm not a boss. 33 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: They asked for the director. I was killing my friend's 34 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: thirteen children while she was on her honeymoon for two 35 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: and a half weeks. As soon as Renee called wind 36 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: of the raid, she found another babysitter and raced across town. 37 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: They went inside the office and the DHL stood there 38 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: and looked me in the face and said, you have 39 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: to get everyone out by five. And I said, well, 40 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: I don't know where we're going to send all these 41 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: kids because they all need really intensive care. And he said, 42 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: I don't care. You can send them home, you can 43 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: refer them to government facility, and I said, but sir, 44 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: these kids will die if we send them home, and 45 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: he said, you're right, they will die, but it's no 46 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: longer your problem, so get them out of here before 47 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: five o'clock or I'm taking you to jail. After that, 48 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: we saw any going in the boys quota and she 49 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: started crying. Then yes, hearing they have closed us down, 50 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: they have closed us down. She called it the stuff 51 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: and said the center has been closed. They could. The 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 1: driver packed up those mothers and took back the motherless 53 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: in their respective places, where they picked to them, women 54 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 1: on their knees, begging, please don't make us sleep, Please 55 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: aunt your name, please don't make us sleep. Our kids 56 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: are gonna die. And within three days, eight or nine 57 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: of those kids died in other facilities. In association with 58 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: I Heart Media, I'm Malcolm Burnley, I'm Roger Gola, I'm 59 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: Mega Condi. This is the Missionary episode seven Matthew eighteen. 60 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,800 Speaker 1: If you compare the events of two thousand fifteen to 61 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 1: what is happening today with serving his children, it's a 62 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: bit like deja vu. For the first time, these quiet, 63 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: it simmering whispered complaints about what was happening inside the 64 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: facility started to get out and to be taken seriously 65 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 1: by people with actual authority. It was the first time 66 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: Renee was forced to answer questions on the record and 67 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: to be held accountable. The good Samaritan defense, the witch 68 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: hunt narrative, and the arguments that Renee was only dealing 69 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:26,359 Speaker 1: with children under the watchful eye of Ugandan professionals. These 70 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,160 Speaker 1: were all aired out five years ago. Two thousand fifteen 71 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 1: was the year that everything changed for serving his children 72 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: for Renee for Gina. Just weeks before the shutdown, to 73 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: pediatricians from non Lufenia Children's Hospital visited serving his children 74 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,760 Speaker 1: and they were alarmed by certain conditions like the children 75 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: receiving intravenous fluids. When the pediatricians felt they didn't need 76 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: to so they took their concerns to Peter Joego Natamu, 77 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: the Strict Health Officer or d h O. We know 78 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:07,359 Speaker 1: that the DHOW handed Renee an inspection notice bearing a 79 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: government insignia, which said in plain language why serving his 80 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: children was being shut down. The first violation was for 81 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 1: running a health facility with an expired license. What's weird 82 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 1: about this is that serving his children finally did get 83 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,919 Speaker 1: a license in two thousand fourteen. They had passed a 84 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: government inspection and everything, but without renewal, the medical license 85 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: had expired by March two thousand fifteen. Renee says she 86 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: believed there was a grace period lasting several months where 87 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: they could operate without it as they waited to get 88 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: it renewed. I learned later that this was actually a 89 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:49,280 Speaker 1: common misconception on the ground and that you gone and 90 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,719 Speaker 1: officials are still trying to correct it. There is no 91 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: grace period. I mean, the realities is not that hard 92 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 1: to register. It's just a paperwork process, you know. Um 93 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: I really anyone who wanted to register a house center 94 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: probably could. I mean, the qualifications are not that heavy. 95 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: I mean the things that we put into place were 96 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: probably far stricter and more structured than what was required. 97 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: The obvious question here is that if it was so 98 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: easy to do, then why didn't she? For the record, 99 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,239 Speaker 1: licensing is one of those issues that goes well beyond Renee. 100 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: A lot of Ugandan clinics have been shut down because 101 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 1: they didn't have active licenses. Regardless, it doesn't matter what 102 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: led the DHO to investigate that day elapsed a license 103 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,919 Speaker 1: was all he needed to shut them down immediately because 104 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: it was illegal, and it wasn't all they found. The 105 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: d h O also wrote down that children with tuberculosis 106 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: or t B were mixed in with the rest of 107 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: the kids. Not only is t B an infectious disease, 108 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: it's also a potential cause of malnutrish in, which is 109 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 1: why there are strict standards for quarantining children with TB 110 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: from those who don't have it, because otherwise you could 111 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: be treating one problem while potentially infecting children with another. 112 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: The third violation was a bit broad. The d h 113 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: O noted that there were children in need of higher 114 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: level care than what serving his children could visibly provide 115 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: cases that shouldn't have been handled there. So at the 116 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: end of the day, the person who was ultimately responsible 117 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: for the shutdown was the person who was running the facility. 118 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 1: That was Renee back. What's more, we learned that Renee 119 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: had made multiple attempts to try to get serving his 120 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: children reopened without addressing any of those problems. These were 121 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: actually rumors that we had heard very early on during 122 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: our reporting, claims that Renee had gone to the capital 123 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: of Kampala to try to get reopened had done something fishy. 124 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: What we did learn was this She met with Dr 125 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: Cotumba sin Tango, the chief executive of Uganda's medical and 126 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: dental counsel, who heard from in the last episode. He 127 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: remembers the meeting vividly because of where they met. He 128 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: was attending a conference and Renee was willing to meet 129 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: him in the hotel lobby. Doctor sin Tango remembers Renee 130 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: trying to convince him that the DHO had gotten it 131 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,120 Speaker 1: wrong and to help her reopen, but that didn't fly 132 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: with him. So asked you what other issue and said, oh, 133 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: the districts have said, oh, if you did that to me, 134 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: get the phone. So no, I get the phone. So 135 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: I got the phone and I phoned. I founded, he 136 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: told me. Doctor sin Tango put the DHOW on speaker 137 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: phone to make sure that Renee could hear his explanation. 138 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: He said that if I was handling letters, especially, they 139 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 1: are not fit to manage and doctoral they taught them 140 00:08:57,679 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: to defy the cases film in the hospital. You know 141 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:02,679 Speaker 1: the right deal for a good affection of contra and whatever. 142 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: In the coming days, Dr sin Tango received calls from 143 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 1: politicians asking if he would reconsider Renee's appeal. He doesn't 144 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: remember exactly who called, he says, mostly because he didn't 145 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:18,439 Speaker 1: pay the much attention. They don't above mean the profession. 146 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: But I think the politicians, say the local politicians. I 147 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: don't remember a bit of advertise. Remember somebody, senior. I 148 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: think there's some people fund me somewhere, the people fund 149 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: me to the guest anything. But as you like, yes, 150 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: you know, if you are not in the line of profession. Yeah, 151 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:46,840 Speaker 1: keep in mind this is a person in a position 152 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: of authority saying this. He told Renee she would have 153 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,679 Speaker 1: to fix the problems at serving his children and sorted 154 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: out with the d show before she could reopen. We 155 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,719 Speaker 1: don't know if Renee ever did that, but what we 156 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: do you know from the court documents is that Renee 157 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 1: solicited letters of support from some of the medical staff 158 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:10,199 Speaker 1: she had employed, including mudasik Uza, the clinical officer we 159 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: heard from in the last episode. But when I showed 160 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: him the letter bearing his signature, he said he didn't 161 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: remember writing it. Later, a different official in Jinga, Henry 162 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: Kombaini of the Allied Health Professionals Counsel, told me he 163 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:29,319 Speaker 1: remembered that months after the shutdown. Renee and another woman 164 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: came to his office to inquire about registering a lab 165 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,959 Speaker 1: at serving his children, but he told them they needed 166 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: a valid license first. Was this Renee trying to back 167 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: channel the system in order to reopen or was it 168 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: her trying to figure out how to reopen the right way. 169 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: The person I thought would have the answer to that 170 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 1: was the d HO or district Health officer, and we 171 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 1: tried to speak with him multiple times. I even waited 172 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: at his office for hours, but he refew is to 173 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: talk with us. Even now, Renee considers the shutdown a 174 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,960 Speaker 1: personal hit job herself a victim of politics and Vendetta's 175 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:12,880 Speaker 1: rather than the overt reasons staring her in the face, 176 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 1: including the government violations. Later, we were told, and you know, 177 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 1: we don't have any evidence to this, but that the 178 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: DJO was paid a bribe to come and close the center. 179 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 1: So when he came, he really had no option. So um, 180 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: you know, he had to come with a pretty serious 181 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: aggression because you know, he was paid a decent amount 182 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: of money to come and lead us to believe that 183 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 1: we were being closed. Here's what we actually know about 184 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,000 Speaker 1: the series of events that led up to it. The 185 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: d h O got a tip from those pediatricians at Malathania, 186 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: but those pediatricians got a tip from inside the missionary world. 187 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: I had been the person to who volunteered to compile 188 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:56,080 Speaker 1: all the evidence. I didn't have a lot of first 189 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,840 Speaker 1: hand evidence myself, which is kind of why I volunteered 190 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: to do that, because I had her that I was 191 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: a little bit less emotionally involved and less emotionally charged. 192 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:07,359 Speaker 1: Megan Parker didn't know Renee well. She had a reputation 193 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: as something of an outsider in Ginger, running a bide 194 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: family center, the NNGO she launched with Kelsey Nielsen in 195 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 1: two I just couldn't understand how people could look at 196 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: the same evidence we were looking at and come to 197 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 1: such different conclusions. Sometime in early the evidence gathered by 198 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: women like Ashley Laberty and Jackie Kramlike crystallized into a document. 199 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: It included photos from Renee's blog trying to show Renee 200 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: had violated patient privacy rights, a post where Renee seemed 201 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: to be transfusing a girl that we now know as Patricia. 202 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: There was a little bit of firsthand testimony contributed by 203 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 1: Ashley two, but most of the evidence was cut and 204 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: pasted from Renee's blogs, and that document started to make 205 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 1: its way around Ginger. Elizabeth Nicholson made a copy and 206 00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 1: took it to the police. Another one went to Nalafa 207 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,080 Speaker 1: in You, and they even sent the material to the media. 208 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: I think anything really came of that. No one communicated 209 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: with us after that until the day that serving as 210 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: shut down, and then obviously that was swirling all over town, 211 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:17,520 Speaker 1: and that's when we kind of were like, WHOA, I 212 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: guess that did something. Renee described this document almost like 213 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: a high school burn book, coupled together by her rivals. 214 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:29,400 Speaker 1: In order to ruin her reputation back, Kelsey and a 215 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: couple of other women created a file of just different 216 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: pieces of blogs, a couple of photos, and to be honest, 217 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 1: when I read it later, it sounded like they were 218 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 1: writing it for like a tabloid publication. It was like 219 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:45,640 Speaker 1: fairly catty. It was almost I mean, it wasn't because 220 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 1: I was like a disaster at the time, but it 221 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,880 Speaker 1: was almost comical, you know, just this mean girl undertone. 222 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,199 Speaker 1: Later I did read the document, it didn't seem juvenile 223 00:13:56,280 --> 00:14:00,319 Speaker 1: or frivolous or conspiratorial. Honestly, it read like an early 224 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 1: draft of the court case, except without stories like twel allies. 225 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,839 Speaker 1: At the time, Megan and her colleagues believed they were whistleblowers, 226 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,160 Speaker 1: but soon they were treated like snitches. At vacation Bible camp, 227 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: that very day, someone told me, people are really unhappy. 228 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: They think your approaches were unbiblical and that you should 229 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 1: never have gone to the authorities. You should have gone 230 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: to the church elders if you had concerned. I went 231 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: to missionary events and people would like refuse to speak 232 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,680 Speaker 1: to me, And I think again, like that was I 233 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: was so like brigged out about that that I definitely 234 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: overestimated how many people were against me versus on my side. 235 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: Like the entire town was just split down the middle. 236 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: After the shutdown, a group of religious leaders stepped in 237 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: with a plan and to end the bad blood and 238 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: determine once and for all, what if anything Renee did wrong. 239 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: Nobody agreed on anything in this story except one thing. 240 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:16,560 Speaker 1: The church mediation was an unqualified disaster. You know, there 241 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: were so many of us that were seeing the same story, 242 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 1: giving the same narrative, and they just wouldn't listen or 243 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: wouldn't believe it, and they were just so like help 244 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 1: bent on standing up for Renee that it was just 245 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: like it was shocking, that's Ashley, here's Renee. I feel 246 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: very certain that Kelsey and everybody Jackie would say, oh, well, 247 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: the elders wanted to stick up for Renee. They just 248 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: didn't even want to hear what we had to say, 249 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: like they don't care. And I would probably say the 250 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: same thing. I feel like they were verbalizing to me like, hey, 251 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: we want to help this situation, like how can we 252 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 1: support you? But I didn't feel supported or helped at all. 253 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,600 Speaker 1: I feel like they made my life more living. Count 254 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,000 Speaker 1: Patrick Draku was a Ugandan elder at the church. When 255 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: I attended, I hoped to see humility this who thought 256 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 1: they were right, said Luke. I humble myself, I see 257 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: that I was wrong, and those who still think they're 258 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:19,880 Speaker 1: right to try to listen to the other site. I 259 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: hoped for Christians behaving like much a Christians, not still infants. Yeah. 260 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: Three mediators agreed to lead the process. A church elder 261 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,200 Speaker 1: named Jeremy Boone who led the church when I went 262 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: to and to other elders from other churches in the community. 263 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: But in the small world of Ginger, everyone already knew 264 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: each other old allegiances or the perception of them torpedo 265 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,160 Speaker 1: the process before it began. None of them had ever 266 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 1: experienced anything like this before, where there was so much 267 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: like overwhelming brokenness. My perception of Jeremy was that he 268 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: went in hoping to help heal a community, realized that 269 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:06,160 Speaker 1: the whole situation was way more complex than he perceived, 270 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,439 Speaker 1: and he was just in totally over his head. The 271 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: mediators spoke about restoring peace, but they chose not to 272 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: bring both sides together. Renee and her accusers came in 273 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: separately for questioning, sitting down in plastic chairs below a 274 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: shady grove of palm trees. Megan Parker and Ashley Laberty 275 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,960 Speaker 1: went together, and then they just tried using a whole 276 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:35,120 Speaker 1: bunch of scripture out of context, basically to demean and 277 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: degrade Megan and I. It was very upsetting. I actually 278 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 1: had to sit on my hands because I was shaking 279 00:17:42,359 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: so badly. The mediators kept coming back to a part 280 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 1: of Matthew eighteen about the value of handling conflicts neighbor 281 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:55,440 Speaker 1: to neighbor, Christian to Christian. I have a pastor daughter 282 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: born and raised okay um so lasts among the believers. 283 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,160 Speaker 1: They're as this passage and first for instance, that if 284 00:18:02,680 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: members of the church have grievances against one another, why 285 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 1: would you go to a law that is an unrighteous 286 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: law instead of the thing? It's the exact line. And 287 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: we got really sort of heated because we're like, why 288 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: are you unable to see that this isn't a church matter? 289 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: And like why why would we have gone to the 290 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: church elders or church leadership? Because this was not a 291 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: biblical matter. This wasn't a church matter. It was a 292 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 1: moral and legal matter. But Ashley and Jackie had tried 293 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: for years to handle this inside the community, and now 294 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: they felt like these spiritual leaders weren't even taking them seriously. 295 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:44,639 Speaker 1: Here's Jackie Kramlin. It was that whole thing that I'm like, 296 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: was just like awakening to the insanity of the rules 297 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: we followed as a community, you know that, like you 298 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:56,040 Speaker 1: could come forward with children dying, um now practice and 299 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:02,560 Speaker 1: neglect kind of thing negligence and be told like, yeah, okay, 300 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: but you know you just said it, so me and 301 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: her feelings were really hurt. Let's all make a list 302 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 1: and bring her some special thing every day because she 303 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 1: feels so sad right now. They lost sight of like 304 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,480 Speaker 1: what the medication was because they were like, well, not 305 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: our girls, because we're all in it involved, and the 306 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 1: mediation team was all men. The mediation completely backfired. Ashley 307 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: believed it could be a second chance for justice, a 308 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: second chance to tell their stories, but by the end 309 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: she felt like they were being asked to atone not Renee. Again. 310 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,640 Speaker 1: We're bringing up all these examples of the wrong that 311 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: Renee had done. Yet somehow they wanted us to feel 312 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:47,959 Speaker 1: like we were the ones in the wrong. And it 313 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,400 Speaker 1: was just like a very dirty feeling. I wrote, hear 314 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: me like a personal email, like getting all of like 315 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:58,080 Speaker 1: how this impact me, Like explaining to him that like 316 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:00,400 Speaker 1: you're not only just kind of like turning your eyes 317 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:06,360 Speaker 1: away from justice and child abused basically and um, even 318 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:08,920 Speaker 1: when there's really hard evidence in front of your face. 319 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,679 Speaker 1: But like in saying that she's fine, you're calling me 320 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:18,480 Speaker 1: a buyer. But the mediation failed in another even more 321 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:23,760 Speaker 1: significant way. The saga of serving his children was one 322 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: that affected Ugandan families, but Ugandans were never involved in 323 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:32,160 Speaker 1: the process. The mediation would never address the actual issues 324 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: at hand. If it did not address the victims first. 325 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: In the end, the mediators wrote a letter commending Renee 326 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:44,119 Speaker 1: for her cooperation and concluded quote that Renee and her 327 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,440 Speaker 1: board saw their indiscretion and we're working hard to make 328 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,439 Speaker 1: sure they were legally compliant and above board prior to 329 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: serving his children's clinic being shut down. But the letter 330 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 1: also went on to condemn those who brought the allegations 331 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 1: in the first place, and said, is that the criticisms 332 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: were not put forward in a caring manner. Let me 333 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 1: read you a line here. Harsh judgments concerning Renee's character 334 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: and in one event, the destination of her soul did 335 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 1: little to help bring facts to light. While it's understandable 336 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,280 Speaker 1: to be frustrated with a perceived disinterest of Renee in 337 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,399 Speaker 1: her board, it is never right to be presumptuous about 338 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,200 Speaker 1: such a grave matter a person's character or their soul. 339 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: I just always remember thinking and even telling my mom Um, 340 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: I was like, you know, unless this gets into the media, 341 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:37,879 Speaker 1: like nothing is ever going to happen. She's just going 342 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,360 Speaker 1: to keep doing what she's doing. She's going to keep 343 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 1: getting praised for it. People are still going to stand 344 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 1: up for her. Um. As much as I sorry, wanted 345 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,640 Speaker 1: to put it behind me. There was still this part 346 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 1: of me that like still wanted to see justice and 347 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: like her, have to face the consequences of what she 348 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: had done. Oh, I didn't think that I was the 349 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: person to make that all happen. Um. I felt like 350 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,679 Speaker 1: I was never really going to be happy or like 351 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: at at peace with this situation until that happened, if 352 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:19,640 Speaker 1: that ever happens. So what was your react? Go ahead, Yeah, 353 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 1: take a minute. I've been trying to get in contact 354 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: with Jeremy Boone for months. I left him voicemails, texts, 355 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,240 Speaker 1: and emails. I could tell he had seen my messages, 356 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:53,160 Speaker 1: but he never wrote back. Other folks in town told 357 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:55,960 Speaker 1: me it was a dead end. Jeremy was over at all. 358 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:58,919 Speaker 1: He'd put the whole thing behind him. He moved on 359 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 1: and didn't want anything to do with it anymore. But 360 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: then one day he responded, and a week later I 361 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: was sitting cross legged on the floor of his living room. 362 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:12,720 Speaker 1: I wore the only button up shirt I packed, tucked 363 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 1: into my jeans, trying to clean up the best I 364 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: could for the church service that Jeremy was holding in 365 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: his home. Goods. I'm thank you so much, Um, he 366 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,480 Speaker 1: and his wife started off leading a few songs. There 367 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: were about forty people there, a mixed crowd of Ugandan's, Americans, kids, teens, adults, 368 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 1: some who'd been there for decades and some who'd just 369 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: gotten there a few weeks earlier. Yeah, so a few people. 370 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 1: He's good to happen. Thank you very much for having 371 00:23:54,119 --> 00:24:00,119 Speaker 1: very glad to hear he's a journalist. Actually he's went 372 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,320 Speaker 1: to du University and other of you care a lot 373 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: here that so far, despite that fact, which is nice. 374 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:19,719 Speaker 1: The subject of that morning sermon was John seven Oddly 375 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 1: residence John seven thirty seven. On the last and greatest 376 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,399 Speaker 1: day of the festival, Jesus stood and said, in a 377 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 1: loud voice, let anyone who is thirsty come to me 378 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 1: and drink. Whoever believes in me. Best scripture has said 379 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:42,680 Speaker 1: rivers of living model flowed with from it in them. 380 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 1: By this, he meant the spirit with whom those who 381 00:24:46,720 --> 00:25:01,680 Speaker 1: believed in him were later to receive so great. After 382 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:04,639 Speaker 1: the service and after the pot luck lunch, Jeremy and 383 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:07,080 Speaker 1: I made plans to do an interview the next day. 384 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: He had things he needed to get off his chest 385 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,919 Speaker 1: about how everything went down, and the next day he 386 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,720 Speaker 1: came to my place. I offered him a glass of 387 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: water and we took our seats in my living room. First, 388 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 1: I just want to ask, like, what made you wanna 389 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,560 Speaker 1: say something about this? I'll be honest. I mean I'm 390 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 1: still a little reluctant in some ways. Um, but you know, 391 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 1: people are going to form their own opinions and autother 392 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 1: them form it when I've actually spoken, rather than people 393 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 1: form it based on, you know, my silence. And so yeah, 394 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 1: I just wanted I could tell Jeremy was nervous. He 395 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: gulped down the first glass of water quickly and got 396 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: up every few minutes to refill his glass and catch 397 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: his breath. He brought along a piece of notebook paper 398 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: with him. Um, that's looking at so I want to 399 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: notice it. And now I'm out this, So yeah, what 400 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 1: don't I let you sort of lead it from here 401 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 1: and then if I have questions, I'll jump off. That works. Um. 402 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 1: So our jurisdiction was very limited. I mean, no one 403 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,880 Speaker 1: had to listen to anything we said. No one had 404 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 1: to read our letters if they don't want to read 405 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,159 Speaker 1: our letters. Um, we volunteered to try to try to 406 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 1: help to get to the truth and to help bring 407 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: resolve if possible. Most people were pretty positive about us 408 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: being involved. I can't say all and we're looking toward 409 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,199 Speaker 1: us to try to bring some light to the situation, 410 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 1: and I think some even um hoping to find some 411 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:44,080 Speaker 1: level of understanding and resolve in the community. UM. I 412 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 1: don't think that after the mediation letter was was written 413 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: that people felt that way. I think probably people were 414 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:59,959 Speaker 1: probably discouraged and wondered why we were wherever involved, including myself. Yeah, 415 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 1: I empathize with them. When our teams stepped into this 416 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: whole story, I didn't think any of us could predict 417 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,440 Speaker 1: just how messy and confusing it all was. When you 418 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:13,560 Speaker 1: got two contradictory stories and the narratives kind of in 419 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:15,680 Speaker 1: a in a cycle, you know, and you're just hearing 420 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,679 Speaker 1: so many different accounts, it's really hard to know what 421 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:20,639 Speaker 1: the truth is, and hard to know how to love someone, 422 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: and hard to know how to hold them accountable. I 423 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 1: know we are committed to do in those things, but 424 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:30,439 Speaker 1: just knowing the truth and applying it it was the 425 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:34,119 Speaker 1: hard part. Um. If I had it to do over, 426 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: you know, I had to do it again. I'm sure 427 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 1: there are a lot of things I do different, but 428 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: there are still a number of people to kind of 429 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:48,399 Speaker 1: feel very personal about how everything went down. And I 430 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,640 Speaker 1: mean specifically, I'm thinking about this what I've heard that 431 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 1: people that were standing against Rene felt almost personally victimized 432 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 1: by the process that they had a scripture like Matthew 433 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:05,080 Speaker 1: eighteen and about that process of handling things in a 434 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 1: biblical fashion thrown at them. Um, I mean, can you 435 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: speak to any of that? Yeah, I mean, yeah, I 436 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:24,360 Speaker 1: don't really have anything, man, Um, I don't have anything there. Man. 437 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: Jeremy asked me to turn the recorder off, and by 438 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: then a storm was passing through and made recording impossible. 439 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 1: We decided to pick it up in the morning. When 440 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,320 Speaker 1: he came back, Jeremy was much more sure of what 441 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,520 Speaker 1: he wanted to say. I know that I hurt and 442 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 1: disparaged people, that I didn't do it well, and whether 443 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: it was ignorance or maybe some defensiveness or some self preservation. 444 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: I'm always skeptical of my of myself, you know, always 445 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,920 Speaker 1: taking inventory to make sure my motivations are right and 446 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 1: I'm doing things, you know well. And if it was 447 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: a wrong that I did, you know, some information I 448 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 1: should have had. I should have gotten, you know, a 449 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 1: process I should have went, you know, went through that 450 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: I didn't. That caused the hurt. Man. I'm sorry for it, 451 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: you know, looking back on it. Here, you and I 452 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 1: were sitting in here talking yesterday and a big storm 453 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: came through and the wind was raging and leaves were 454 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 1: blowing everywhere. We could hear a low rumble. It sounded 455 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: kind of like a tornado in here, and um and 456 00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: we sort of invoked that as an image of what 457 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 1: happened in the Ginger community. I felt swept up by 458 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,880 Speaker 1: a tornado, which I imagine a lot of people did. 459 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,640 Speaker 1: It felt really out of control, you know, out of 460 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: my control. Uh, And it was causing chaos and really 461 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 1: really hard to make sense of it, both when it 462 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,800 Speaker 1: was happening and even in the aftermath. Picking up the 463 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,600 Speaker 1: pieces has been, you know, been challenging, and I imagine 464 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:22,560 Speaker 1: there are a lot of people, you know, who share 465 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: that with me, probably from both sides. In sixteen, Jeremy 466 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: and the Mediators wrote a follow up letter apologizing for 467 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 1: the role that they played in this whole process. They 468 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 1: walked back their tacit support of RENEE and instead sided 469 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: with medical authorities, with legal authorities and made strong suggestions 470 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: for the changes that serving his children should make to 471 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:52,280 Speaker 1: their organization. Just before he left, Jeremy told me his 472 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: story from his twenties. Uh, I was thinking this morning 473 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 1: before I came to talk to you about sitting on 474 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:02,560 Speaker 1: a jury. One time, there was a man who was 475 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,080 Speaker 1: driving drunk and he had a young boy in the 476 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:06,040 Speaker 1: driver's seat, and he drove off and he had a 477 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:10,320 Speaker 1: utility pole. And so you know, we're sitting in on 478 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:14,280 Speaker 1: this journey and the prosecution wants to get the guy 479 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 1: for a second degree murder and the defense is arguing 480 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 1: for man slaughter, and um the difference what had everything 481 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:31,440 Speaker 1: to do with the mental state of the man who 482 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,520 Speaker 1: was driving the vehicle at the time. And we literally 483 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:38,080 Speaker 1: spent a week listening to one phone call to try 484 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: to read between the lines and figure out what's the context? 485 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: You know, was this guy malicious? Was he hateful? You know? 486 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 1: Did he you know? What was really going on here? 487 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:56,600 Speaker 1: And I just remember feeling really small and really unqualified 488 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: and not wanting to be in that position. And the 489 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:03,480 Speaker 1: court made a decision and I walked away wondered, and 490 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,680 Speaker 1: we make the right decision. I didn't even know. And 491 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 1: twenty years later, I still look at that and say, 492 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:17,480 Speaker 1: I'm not really sure we made the right decision. But 493 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 1: that metaphor, as earnestly as Jeremy offered, it summed up 494 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 1: the whole problem with the mediation trying to address the 495 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 1: intentions and motives of the people involved, Renee's intentions, her 496 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:35,840 Speaker 1: accusers intentions, rather than the actual issue at hand. Well, 497 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:39,200 Speaker 1: it costs Jeremy years of regret and some of his 498 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: closest friends. It's the same problem that's dogged us every 499 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 1: step of our reporting. People kept asking was Renee crazy? 500 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:52,080 Speaker 1: Did you get off on experimenting on kids? Or was 501 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: her heart in the right place? But intentions have always 502 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 1: been a very naive way to look at this. It 503 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,520 Speaker 1: didn't matter how here your heart was, how sorry you were. 504 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:07,880 Speaker 1: There were still children in coffins, families who wanted answers 505 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:13,680 Speaker 1: and systemic failures to account for. After all, what is 506 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:23,840 Speaker 1: it they say about the road to hell. For a 507 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 1: couple of years, after things were quiet for serving his children, 508 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,680 Speaker 1: they stopped doing impatient medicine, and we're educating mothers on 509 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:36,440 Speaker 1: the complex issues of malnutrition. Renee's legacy had taken a hit, 510 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,960 Speaker 1: But now the organization was more bulletproof. They had partnered 511 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,600 Speaker 1: with the local government, and we're operating directly out of 512 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:47,520 Speaker 1: a public clinic. Serving his children two point oh was 513 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: more by the book. There was one person to thank 514 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: for making that happen. One of the doctors that Renee 515 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: hired years earlier, dr Ibraham Gualuca, known by colleagues simply 516 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,480 Speaker 1: as Dr Ibraham. He had transferred to the Chigndolo area, 517 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: and Dr Ibraham helped broker the meetings that led to 518 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:11,120 Speaker 1: the government partnership. He's the one who really presented the organization, 519 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:15,040 Speaker 1: presented the program proposal, got all of the approvals, got 520 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:17,800 Speaker 1: all of our m o us signed, and then helped 521 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:20,399 Speaker 1: set up all of our trainings and stuff like that, 522 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:23,799 Speaker 1: and then monitored the program as a whole. But as 523 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 1: we've seen in this episode and throughout the series, Serving 524 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,480 Speaker 1: his Children was a black hole for so many people 525 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:33,959 Speaker 1: who came close to it. Jeremy, Jackie, the government, regulators, 526 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:37,200 Speaker 1: the three of us working on this podcast. It seemed 527 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: like everyone who lodged a complaint or tried to help 528 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 1: or wanted to know why this happened and how ended 529 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:46,279 Speaker 1: up worse off for it, got caught up in a 530 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:50,400 Speaker 1: storm of accusations and rumors and what happened to dr 531 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:57,160 Speaker 1: Ibrahim Hammers this home doctor and his wife in India 532 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:04,920 Speaker 1: home in Indiaka. But he's so sta coming from the 533 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:09,239 Speaker 1: mountain the orange treat. The next thing the way who 534 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:14,799 Speaker 1: had was the blitz? In December, dr Ibraham drove to 535 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 1: pick up his wife from work in Giner and returned 536 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:22,560 Speaker 1: home where two assassins were waiting for him. They fired 537 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:26,880 Speaker 1: shots through the windshield, striking dr Ibraham twice in the chest. 538 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,280 Speaker 1: His wife fled, managing to escape the gunmen on foot, 539 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:35,840 Speaker 1: while dr Ibraham died in a pool of his own blood. 540 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 1: It didn't seem like a coincidence to some people siding 541 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:48,560 Speaker 1: against Renee. Shootings were not common in Uganda. Gun laws 542 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,640 Speaker 1: are strict, and we quickly heard that Dr Ibraham had 543 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:55,840 Speaker 1: a meeting with a government official scheduled for the week 544 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,440 Speaker 1: he was killed. He was going to blow the whistle 545 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:04,279 Speaker 1: on renew h And then those signing with Renee said, 546 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:08,400 Speaker 1: we had it all flipped around. Dr Ibraham was loyal 547 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: to serving his children. He was going to march into 548 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:16,319 Speaker 1: that government office and vindicate Renee, and that's why he 549 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:20,880 Speaker 1: was killed. The trauma of a beloved doctor being killed. 550 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:25,759 Speaker 1: The screams you hear in that news footage, they were 551 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:29,840 Speaker 1: being exploited on both sides. We were supposed to believe 552 00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,880 Speaker 1: that someone here was a monster capable of murdering in 553 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:38,719 Speaker 1: cold blood, only no one could back it up. But 554 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,719 Speaker 1: everyone thought it had to do with them, their struggle, 555 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:56,640 Speaker 1: their fight. Meanwhile, Dr Ibraham's murder remains unsolved. Next time. 556 00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:01,080 Speaker 1: On the final episode of The Missionary, I was so 557 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:04,680 Speaker 1: sure that I was where I was supposed to be 558 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:07,000 Speaker 1: in life and doing what I was supposed to be doing. 559 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 1: And now to like step back after so long and 560 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:13,479 Speaker 1: asked myself, like, did you just get it all wrong? 561 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:18,359 Speaker 1: Did you really help anyone at all? Because now, like 562 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,880 Speaker 1: people that you love so dearly are being blackmailed and threatened, 563 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:27,040 Speaker 1: and they're threatening my own children, And was it worth it? 564 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:37,759 Speaker 1: The Missionary is a production of I Heart Media. It's 565 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,880 Speaker 1: written and reported by Helema ge Condhi, Malcolm Burnley, and 566 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:44,400 Speaker 1: me Roger Goba. It's produced by Michelle Lands and Rhyan Murdoch. 567 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,640 Speaker 1: Mark Lotto is our story editor. Our executive producer is Mangi. 568 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:50,160 Speaker 1: Our fact checker is Austin Thompson.