{UAH} Author reveals plight of Ugandan woman in biography

Author reveals plight of Ugandan woman in biography

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Posted: Friday, September 19, 2014 11:14 am

By LAUREL WILSON The Daily News lwilson@bgdailynews.com 783-3240 | 0 comments

St. Louis writer Kate Saller wasn't the most likely person to write a biography of a woman from Uganda, she told the audience at Barnes & Noble on Thursday night as part of the Far Away Places series presented by Western Kentucky University Libraries.

But through Saller's involvement in Rotary International, she met Uganda native Annah Emuge and penned "The Moon in Your Sky: An Immigrant's Journey Home" about Emuge's life. 

"Her story was one that I just had to tell as soon as I heard it," Saller said.

Emuge was born in 1959 in the poor, rural village of Agu, Uganda. She grew up under the dictatorship of Idi Amin, "yet somehow, Annah made it through all of her schooling without being touched by a soldier," Saller said. 

Emuge fell in love and married an evangelical preacher, who was later chosen to become the Ugandan minister of education. The government gave him a scholarship to attend Ohio University to receive a Ph.D. before starting his post.

"The U.S. was a wonderful place for Annah and James," Saller said. "They were so excited to be here."

But while they were in Ohio, the Ugandan government was overthrown, leaving the couple and their four children stranded in the U.S. James was devastated about being unable to work or return to Uganda, and he abandoned his family after becoming an alcoholic.

Emuge slowly made a life for herself in the U.S., teaching herself to drive, getting a job at McDonald's and earning bachelor's and master's degrees. She couldn't return to Uganda until she became a U.S. citizen, which happened in 2004, when she returned to her native country after 22 years away.

"What she found when she arrived was that her parents were taking care of 15 orphans," Saller said. 

Upon her return to the U.S., Emuge created a 501(c)(3) organization to support the orphanage, which now serves more than 50 children.

Emuge approached Rotary about acquiring mosquito nets for the orphanage, which is when she met Saller.

Saller had been to Africa several times on humanitarian trips with Rotary to immunize children against polio, distribute mosquito nets and provide clean-water wells to rural villages.

Saller helped provide Emuge with the mosquito nets she needed and accompanied Emuge to the orphanage in 2009, when she worked with a local Ugandan Rotary Club to provide the village of Agu with a clean-water well.

All royalties from "The Moon in Your Sky" go to the orphanage.

"Purchasing the book makes you a part of the cycle," Saller said.

Nigerian native Emmanuel Iyiegbuniwe, associate professor of public health at Western Kentucky University, attended the presentation and found Emuge's story "very moving."

"It's a very interesting story, but not totally uncommon ... for people to get caught up in that situation," he said.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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