99. Poverty and Earthcare in Tension: A Ugandan Perspective, with Victor Ochen

Earthkeepers: A Circlewood Podcast on Creation Care and Spirituality

This special episode features a guest host from Uganda, Dr. Edward Olara, who Forrest interviewed in episode 71. Edward was once Forrest's student and has become a friend; they’ve worked together in Uganda to encourage and empower development professionals. Recently, Edward published a book called The Elephants and the Farmers.

As the HOST of this episode, Dr. Olara interviews a Ugandan friend and colleague, Mr. Victor Ochen, the founder and Executive Director of the African Youth Initiative. Born in northern Uganda, he spent his first 21 years surviving a violent conflict that in the end displaced over three million people. In that conflict, the Lord’s Resistance Army forcefully recruited or abducted 60,000 children to serve as soldiers—and among them was Mr. Ochen’s own brother, who has never been returned.
Since then, Mr. Ochen has worked for peace and healing—especially for victims of the war. In 2015, Forbes Magazines named him one of the ten most influential men to give new hope for Africa, and in that same year he became the youngest-ever African to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. More recently, he was awarded Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s prestigious African Young Leaders Award for his role in promoting the culture of dignity, peace and reconciliation.

Guest Host: Edward Silas Olara

• Book: The Elephants and the Farmers

Guest: Victor Ochen

• Director for African Youth Initiative Network
• Facebook
• Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
• Accomplishments

Mentions:

• LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army)
• Shea trees
• Wangari Maathai

Keywords: environment, youth, politics, policy, war, conflict, trauma, healing, social justice, hate, intergenerational trauma, sustainability, tolerance, government, poverty, hope, education, information, society, inclusivity, resources, peace, conflict resolution, coexistence, farms, climate change, activism, economy, green energy, future, global cooperation, faith

Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
Support the Earthkeepers podcast
Check out the Ecological Disciple