Graham Defends Evangelical Work in Africa

ALER, Uganda (AP) - "Telephone to Jesus. Hello?" the children of Aler refugee camp sing, their bare feet thumping the ground as they dance wildly in their concrete chapel. Most camp residents have never used a phone, but they are learning about Jesus. The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, smiled as he watched the children — members of a club run by Samaritan's Purse, the Christian missionary organization he leads.

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(Photo: AP / Katy Pownall)

From top left: Pastor George Purkweri and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist stand alongside Samaritan's Purse president Franklin Graham as Graham preaches to the young members of a Samaritan's Purse children's club in Aler refugee camp, northern Uganda, Monday, Feb 5, 2007.

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Christian evangelicals have been coming to Africa for centuries. Critics accuse them of taking advantage of vulnerable communities — forcing people to abandon traditional beliefs in exchange for desperately needed goods and medicine. Graham, though, says his group is meeting spiritual as well as physical needs, and he's proud of what has been accomplished.

"We want to bring these children to Christ," Pastor George Purkweri told Graham.

"You have a pastor's heart," the American responded, slapping him on the back.

Purkweri said the war in northern Uganda has exposed children to many horrors. "This generation is our hope for the future," he said. "They are seeing lots of bad things that divert them from Christ and can corrupt their hearts. We bring them back."

Graham flew his private jet to East Africa last month with a 20-member delegation, including former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, to check on the work of Samaritan's Purse.

Randall Balmer, professor of American religious history at Columbia University, said the influence of groups like Graham's can be far-reaching.

"One of the most common criticisms of evangelicals is that they are looking for cultural conversions as well as spiritual ones," he said. "They want to change the way people dress and behave."

Graham, however, is adamant that his organization helps the world's sick and suffering regardless of their religious beliefs. Humanitarian assistance only earns the Christians a hearing for the gospel they teach, he said.

As a minister, he said, "I want to help people physically, I want to help them with their hurt, with their pain, but I want to do that so I can tell them about God's son, Jesus Christ. The conversion we do is through persuasion, through reasoning. ... They will receive material help from us regardless."

Samaritan's Purse receives the vast majority of its considerable funding from private donations, which enables Graham to operate independently and quickly.

"Financially I'm not dependent on government, which is why I'm free to preach the Bible," Graham said. "Our money comes from Christians. ... An average gift would be under $100 dollars a year, but we have millions of people who support us. That gives us an advantage because when there is a crisis, I don't have to wait and write a proposal."

This dynamism helps make Samaritan's Purse popular and powerful.

During his visit, Graham met with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, President Salva Kiir of southern Sudan and President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, a Muslim. Graham has political connections in the United States too; he read the invocation at President Bush's inauguration in 2001.

Nevertheless, he insists Samaritan's Purse is apolitical.

"I'm not a politician, I'm not a military person, I'm a preacher," Graham said.

Samaritan's Purse runs six programs in northern Uganda, a region ravaged by a rebel group for the past 20 years. Two million people have fled their homes.