Photo: Lexey Swall “You plant and establish things and they grow,” says Joab Sonko, 29, of his ministry. A minister who leads two churches in Uganda, Sonko traveled to Southwest Florida for a church-sponsored fellowship on topics ranging from theology to agriculture. Photo: Jeremy Lyverse Joab Sonko of Uganda takes a rare moment to relax in "bubbles" at a condo at Beach Walk in south Fort Myers. "This is as good as it gets," Sonko said of such common American amenities. Sonko noted that soaking in solitude in a hot tub is a luxury in his country, and except for the very wealthy, most people must bathe in public. Photo: Lexey Swall Sonko was named after a military leader under King David of Israel. “I always refer to him as the warrior who can go back and fight for Uganda,” says Anesh Kurrian, center, who is rooming with Sonko, left, during their six-month fellowship. “But he’s a nice guy, so it’s a spiritual warfare.” Photo: David Ahntholz Sonko, top right, helps Marta Uram, center, push her stroller through the mulch during a visit to the Naples Zoo on a recent Saturday. The Urams — Marta, Jay, left, Chelsea, 4, and Michael, 2 — are members of the Freedom Fellowship International Ministries church in south Fort Myers. As a host family, the Urams visit with Sonko at least once a month. Photo: Jeremy Lyverse This batik is one of the many that Sonko brought with him to America. Sonko thought he could find a local store that would be interested in selling the handmade linen wares, but said he hasn't had the time yet due to his intense study schedule. Photo: Jeremy Lyverse Sonko studies while listening to gospel music on the balcony of a south Fort Myers condo on Wednesday. Sonko reads a lot which was giving him headaches before he got eyeglasses recently.

A Ugandan minister travels to Southwest Florida for the knowledge and the skills he hopes will empower his people

By Chad Gillis
Bonita (FL) Daily News
Sunday, June 11, 2006

Joab Sonko heard neighbors screaming, one night after 7 — the state imposed curfew. He tried to ignore the cries. More than that, he tried to stay quiet as fellow Ugandans were beaten and tortured nearby.

Even the slightest noises from Sonko's house would have brought troops storming through his front door next. They could be tortured in their home, beaten in the streets as neighbors peeked through cracks in their make-shift shacks, raped, killed, maimed or taken away to hidden camps, never to return.

"At night my dad had to put a dark shade over the light so they wouldn't know we were awake," Sonko recalled while sitting on the second floor of a south Fort Myers condo. "Then you'd hear people screaming, 'Apana wuwa. Apana wuwa.'"

He pauses for a moment, searching for an English translation.

"It means 'Don't kill, please' in Swahili," Sonko continued. "'Don't kill, please.' They would scream it over and over."

That was 20 years ago, before Ugandan dictator Milton Obote was overthrown.

Sonko, now 29, has churches of his own in Uganda. Called Excel Africa Ministries, it focuses on educational programs in Kampala. Someday Sonko hopes to grow the effort from two churches in the capital city to a multi-nation effort aimed at improving all of Africa.

“You plant and establish things and they grow,” says Joab Sonko, 29, of his ministry. A minister who leads two churches in Uganda, Sonko traveled to Southwest Florida for a church-sponsored fellowship on topics ranging from theology to agriculture.

Right now, he's studying at the Fellowship International Training School, a south Fort Myers church-funded program that brings people from around the world to study topics ranging from theology to agriculture to business administration.

This is yet another step for Sonko. To teach. To liberate. To empower his people.

"The land was devastated and the people had been hiding in the bush for six years," Sonko said. "They stayed on the run. They were constantly moving because they were being hunted down by the soldiers."

Without parents to pay for primary schooling, Sonko farmed to offset tuition, growing enough crops to feed classmates numbering nearly 1,000.

He'd be in the fields by 5 a.m. picking vegetables and off to class by 8:30. After school it was back to the fields before going to his dormitory for a shower. He'd study when he could and sleep when collapsing was inevitable.

Grueling summer days taught Sonko to appreciate hard work and to excel under adversity, a trait that surely helped him survive when he moved to Kampala during the Liberation War in early 1980s.

He still talks about his work in farming terms.

"You plant and establish things and they grow," Sonko said of his ministry. "It's really being a pioneer."

Sonko is quite the pioneer in Uganda. He's well-read, speaks English, has traveled to study in Britain and now the United States. He's also writing a book he calls "The Power of a Dream," which he hopes to see published in the next couple of years.

Although he was born Sonko Phinehas, his Florida classmates know him as Joab Sonko. Family names are given first in Uganda, followed by middle name. Ugandans are given a third name in adulthood that becomes their first name.

His family gave him the name Joab about 10 years ago. According to the Bible, Joab was a high ranking military leader under King David of Israel.

"I always refer to him as the warrior who can go back and fight for Uganda," said Anesh Kurrian, a native of India who now lives in New York. "But he's a nice guy, so it's a spiritual warfare."

Kurrian is one of Sonko's three roommates at the Beach Walk condos in south Fort Myers. All four have lived there since March and spend almost 24-hours-a-day together —whether in the classroom, at a Chinese buffet or on day trip to the zoo.

Settled on the couch, Sonko returns to his favorite subject: his ministry and the empowerment of his people.

"First you must get a wife," Kurrian said, laughing. "Then you can get fat and go on with your ministry."

"Yes, yes," Sonko replied. "That is right. I'm not getting too fat."