Okello Isaac was born on 02nd Feb, 1992. He is an Etesot by tribe and He originates from Teso sub region in eastern Uganda and particularly Amuria
bordering northern part of Uganda. He is currently pursuing his bachelors in
philosophy at Queen of Apostles Philosophy Center Jinja and He is a final year
student. He was inspired by the Camillian charism of serving Christ in the sick
and the poor and this finally made him to join the order of St. Camillus or
ministers of the infirm where he is undergoing his religious formation. It is his pleasure to share his life in connection to his experience in the courses of
conflict transformation, power, identity and trauma.Yago: Could you share with us the relevance of the course Conflict Transformation in the context of religious and missionary formation?
Isaac: The
knowledge of conflict transformation is very important in religious context
because in the first case conflict is part of us and indeed flows in and away
from us, people often think the religious are exempted from conflicts but that
is not true. Obviously a religious is an instrument of healing, hope
restoration, peace, happiness and above it all to make God’s love visible to
all he serves but all these aspects are counteracted by the reality of
conflict. A pastor, in his service encounters personal conflicts or even people
who are overwhelmed by conflict. Human life is very complex to the extent that
we are not aware of what goes inside of us, some conflicts in our lives are not
visible and we thus remain slaves of our own conflicts. Conflict transformation
brings a religious into awareness of the conflicts within himself and within
others, helps him to analyze their causes, frame a plan of how to manage and
resolve the conflicts that he encounters or those presented to him. Management
and resolution does not mean the conflict is transformed. This knowledge helps
him to see beyond and devise necessary tools to deal with conflict in a
transformative way and indeed design a constructive change initiative to change
attitudes and behaviors that influence and fuel conflict. Lastly, it makes a
religious view conflict as positive and as a factor of change. the ability to
transform his own, and other conflicts helps the religious to influence
positive thinking, change the outlook of life, change negativity into
positivity among those he serves and thus his mission becomes fruitful and the
love of God becomes visible and is shared to all.
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| Conflict Transformation class exercise |
Yago: You were also engaged in another
course where we deepened on key areas of Conflict Transformation such as Power,
Trauma and Identity, could you share with us how relevant are these three areas
in the context of religious formation (explain one by one)?
Isaac: Well
power, trauma and identity like conflict are realities that we live and witness
throughout our lives. Power being ability to influence outcomes is very
important. All of others are gifted in some areas. But what matters is for us
to discover our own abilities and strive to excel in them. This development
depends on others as well. A religious needs others to strengthen his
weaknesses and encourage his strengths. Some people think they are powerless
and others powerful and this influences their interpretation of power. A
religious should have the capacity to empower those who think they are
powerless and make their vulnerabilities icons of positivity towards life. A
religious needs to know the dimensions of power and as a pastoral agent, he
should use that knowledge to correct the abusive dimensions of power and speak
for the oppressed so that human dignity is at all costs preserved. Identity is
very much important in defining who we are and is thus relevant to a religious.
It helps him to know ways of helping those he serves to construct positive
identities and thus help those who identify themselves as victims, less
important and are nobodies. In my understanding, trauma is a response to an
overwhelming event. Some traumas occur when we are still in our wombs, some
witnessed, others are caused by policies that are unjust, and historical and
cultural variations. In fact trauma is a wound in a life of a person. People
often carry past traumas in their lives without knowing and indeed even among
the religious. These traumas need to be dealt with to ensure a balanced
personality. Trauma that is not resolved leads to violence and this is very
visible in the aggressor’s cycle in form of acting in and acting out. Trauma is
psychological and it can affect our psychic. A religious who is traumatized should
be helped to heal out of it and as a result he becomes a wounded healer. He
will be in position to use his wounds to heal others. Many of the problems we
hold today are as a result of what happened to us in the past. the knowledge
about trauma in a nut shell is important in the religious context in that it
helps them to reconcile with their past or those he serves with their past, gives them the power to
live the present and embrace the future with hope and joy, helps the religious
to heal others. A religious should have the capacity to listen to people’s
problems, feel their situation and help them overcome it through empowerment.
Yago: Could you share with us how
these two courses have contributed to a better awareness of yourself?
Isaac: Well
and good my personality is so complex in that I didn’t know much about it but
these two courses have helped me to connect with myself. In the first case, I
no longer view conflict as something negative but part of life and I have
learnt that what brings happiness in life is not to look at the dark side of
the conflict but to face it with hope. Conflict is there to challenge not to
destroy us, it brings in new changes in life. What matters is how you view and
approach the conflict other than running away from it or avoiding it. Power,
identity and trauma have helped me to connect with my past and change its
negative part into positivity in order to change my outlook of life. What now
matters for me is empathy rather than pity or sympathy when I encounter those
traumatized. I use my past wounds to help others, encourage and empower them.
For example my past experience with the invasion of LRA rebels is a basis for
my healing to others. I now look at power as an instrument of service and
empowerment to others. I make sure I don’t use my power to oppress but to
relieve those who feel they have no place in the world. We are all unique and
power should not be used to abuse the dignity of others.
Yago: How meaningful are these courses
for a better understanding of our religious community life?
Isaac: Well
obviously they are very meaningful because they portray exactly what goes on in
the community. We are not islands to live in isolation each of us are born in
society with the family as its smallest unity. In the community we have
differences and these often lead us to conflict. We have a multiplicity of
cultures and each person comes to religious life together with his past
traumas. Others can misuse power to project what they suffered in the past.
Conflict transformation helps us respect personal ideologies, respect other
people’s cultures and work towards inculturation. The community provides
avenues of healing from our past traumas and influences us to view life
positively as we use our past as stepping stones to better living. With this knowledge
of power, those in power will view leadership as a service rather than
superiority and this brings unity and transparency and thus our identity
becomes concrete as we see others as brothers and sisters, there will be a
sense of belonging and thus the community becomes a source of joy to its
members.
Yago: You are a candidate of the
Camilian congregation. How relevant has these courses been towards a deeper
understanding of the Camilian charism?
Isaac: It is
a wonderful occasion to share the Camillian charism. The Camillian charism is
to serve the sick even at the risk of your own life. This charism goes beyond
the medical dimension and indeed encompasses all other needs of human life.
There are those who are spiritually sick, psychologically, emotionally, intellectually,
and physically. All these affect a person’s life in one way or another and that
is what we seek to heal. Conflict can lead to any kind of illness or deviant
behavior whatsoever and a Camillian should have the capacity to transform any
conflict and bring healing that leads to peaceful living. Trauma which is not
resolved can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem among others that may
have an impact in our spiritual, psychic, and emotional dimensions. The
knowledge of these courses will make a Camillian effective in bring healing to
these dimensions. Ignorance contributes to part of our problems. A Camillian
with this knowledge can sensitize others on how to use their power, help people
define their identities and indeed live life to the fullest.
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| Trauma, Power and Identity class picture |
Yago: You have been
introduced and gone through the experience of Trauma Releasing Exercises. How
would you evaluate the experience?
Isaac: Hahaaaa
it is amazing to share this. the theory on trauma releasing exercises made me
wonder what goes on in it really not until I had the practical part of it. It
was my first experience and I wondered how magnificent our bodies are. It is
true trauma is physiological and is often stored in our bodies. Our bodies have
a lot to communicate to us but we often don’t give the attention needed nor do
we understand its language. When I began the exercise I could not feel anything
but as the process went on, I was able to listen to my own body, how the blood
moves, the patterns of breathe, and I found myself abandon other thoughts. It
was like I was a sleep but very much awake to the body. It was followed by a
serious trembling all over the body that was neither willed nor forced but came
without my consciousness with much of it in the waist, pelvic and thighs. At
the end of the session, I found myself light, fresh and that day I had a soft
sleep. I kept on doing it and is now
part of my activities. Being a student, sometimes we develop a certain anxiety
in exam period but I make sure I do this exercise one hour before an exam and
find easy writing my exams. It is a wonderful experience try it and discover
its beauty.
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| Yago with the Camilian student's community after the TRE exercise. Isaac is second from left. |
Yago: Did the exercises contribute to a new awareness of the wisdom carried on your body?
Isaac: Oh
yes. Our bodies are created with mechanisms towards self-preservation. It often
has something to communicate all is needed is to be in tune to it. Whenever we
respond to a traumatic situation, the body generates its defense mechanisms and
a lot of energy is generated in this response and afterwards the residues of
this energy are stored in the body. This energy needs to be discharged because
it is useless in the body. It is very important to know that trauma is
physiological and our bodies have the ability to deal with it. This I witnessed
in the trembling.
Yago: Thanks
Isaac for your wonderful work and commitment on those courses.
Isaac: Thanks to you Isaac. You have indeed contributed much.
Isaac: Thanks to you Isaac. You have indeed contributed much.
