Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written but I landed in Uganda and was thrown into the blender almost immediately and once again we’ve been taken advantage of. It seems one of our most trusted employees stole from us. Again. This time around its millions of Shillings. I shouldn’t be shocked but I am. We really took care of this guy, providing formal loans (which he defaulted on) and out of pocket cash when medical emergencies arose and more. He had one monetary responsibility and he took complete advantage of it.

Right now he’s in jail awaiting trial.

The response is typical. First his wife shows up, then later his wife and young child to “pull on my heart strings”. This is expected and likely encouraged because frankly it works against mzungus. FWIW, to those that are worried about it, his wife and kids won’t starve or become destitute (despite pleas to the contrary) because she is gainfully employed.

In this case, the sentence must be served, the price paid. We won’t allow anymore theft. We’ve gone way too easy on thieves in the past and now our employees are bold enough to try anything, convinced we are too soft to do anything about it. To the locals that read this blog, let this serve as a warning. Grace will not be extended to thieves any longer.

The latest news is that the family has some land that they can sell to pay his debt. However, I can’t accept this money without a guilty plea. Far too often, money is used as some kind of a cosmic eraser, making a debt payment a sort of bribe. Money doesn’t erase guilt, nor does it bestow innocence.

I can only apologize to you, our supporters and donors. With every incident we learn and tighten our systems to prevent this kind of thing, but criminal creativity continues to amaze us. Ironic.