Laying Foundations; the anxiety and hurdles

December 2018 gave birth to an idea. I cannot tell with exact precision how long the gestation period was but what I am certain of is that the labor and delivery heralded new beginnings. The start of what would be building blocks for many generations after us.

In the middle of December last year, an extraordinary meeting sat somewhere in the leafy neighborhood of Kololo. This time though, the venue wasn't a hotel with stars and neither was it a palatable mansion but it was small well kept compound that would accommodate a bunch of people pregnant with big ideas but moving around with empty pockets. Mind you the compound had been secured by one of us who as you would expect by now exploited his relationship with a friend to allow us hang around in his compound. Nevertheless we sat, luckily enough on some chairs that were out of use at the time. For us ‘the now’ didn't matter, what we looked at was the horizon beyond where we stood; the unforeseen future that we only hoped would present with it not what we feared but rather what we figured.

The faithfuls (I call them so because everything has been done by faith) who were gathered in the compound that evening were proud bearers of the Debate Society Uganda tag name. It wasn't a get-together to make merry but what you would term as an Annual General Meeting if you were to borrow the business lexicon.

It is here that we thought of having a high school debate championship organized and facilitated exclusively by Debate Society Uganda. Not that there had been an arid of debate championships before but what we intended to bring to the fore was a very well organized and highly competitive tournament that would still stand even if double checked against what we rate as the world's elite debate competitions. If you had asked me for an opinion then, I would have dismissed us as a group of youth who detest dreaming individually but choose to come together to share the sleep. I was wrong!

In two weeks time, we shall cross the newly constructed bridge in Jinja and descend on the Eastern region of this country to do what will be our second regional tournament after a successful one in the Northern region just a month or so ago. For those who have been following our social media pages, the pictures tell the story but for some of us who have been in the thick of things there is a bigger story which we would rather not tell.

The one moment I will never forget about this program was the conversation I had with our team leader after we had agreed on the dates for the respective regional tournaments. When I asked how we intended to raise the finances (a very huge budget it was) to run the tournaments, this was his response; “Patrick we have to find money in some way, in any way but whether or not we find it the program will still go on.” Unfortunately we didn’t raise the amount we needed but it didn’t stop us from going to Gulu. We shall hopefully be in Jinja the weekend after the next and hopefully to Mbarara in the sixth month of this year.

Our currency of operation has been faith and hope, they have refused to run out and we pray that the tank doesn’t empty soon, because we need them around for some time. It is Robin Sharma who says that when you are inspired by some great purpose, some extra ordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

The path we have chosen is one of laying foundations. We are committed to filling the foundation with stone, brick and poured concrete to ensure that it withstands the storms but should the ‘structure’ by any stroke of bad luck falter or waver, it will never be because of a weak foundation.

Blessed week ahead!

Politics, Governance and the Price of Leadership

There are three constants in life; death, taxes and you can all guess the third, politics (you all guessed right). It is written all over, ticks most boxes that affect us, and like a big bully is always stamping authority even in places it is most undesirous, we can feel it and we can almost touch it. For the few who find it nauseating, the options are not many! We have nowhere to hide, like a hound tracking down its prey the domineering influence of politics always catches up.

I cannot attempt to belittle the work of many of our country men because I am aware of the sacrifices made for any individual to occupy these spaces. A place where you are rarely appreciated, accept even those from the lowest economic stratum to toss about your name as if you were a little pet but still accept to remain a servant of the people.  

As a matter of example, when the British Prime Minister was leaving office after seven years of hard work but also of uproar, furore, and the tumultuous decisions, Phillip Stephens described him this way,

“The Tony Blair who spoke to that slightly bemused audience in Sedgefield in the spring of 2004 was scarcely recognizable from the fresh-faced young man who had become his party’s leader a decade earlier. Seven years in Downing Street, the burdens and battles of office and the angry controversy over the war against Iraq were etched deep into the lines under his eyes. His hair had thinned. The grayish hue of his skin had for some time told of stress and exhaustion.”

The truth is that office can wear you out, for those who are unlucky it can even reduce your life span, it can also cast you as a lonely and tired figure well past their sell-by-date.

The past two-three weeks have been unsettling not just for Makerere University but for many other institutions of higher learning. The university has been all about colours and slogans, about affiliation and loyalty, the surprises were not many. The search for a new set of leaders, responsible and enterprising to spur their respective constituencies to higher grounds has been ongoing and it still continues. I will not make mention of the ugly side that the campaigns took because some things are best left in the past but for the greater part will focus on the after period.

Two things have always informed my view of student and youth leadership but also by default any kind of position of service. That first of all we can choose to take these places of leadership and responsibility and make them count but second and most importantly we can use that opportunity to show everyone why it was important that you are in that place.

One of two things can happen when you are elected. You can either be that once in a generation leader whose election heralds an earthquake that alters completely the contours of how the others look at the politics of that position. Alternatively you can be that drab, dreary and spineless leader that we quickly make reference to when we need quick and evident examples of ‘nothing doers’. Some things should not be about politics, they are simply a matter of willingness to learn, focus and intention together of course with a little dose of good upbringing.

Even when the storms begin raging it shouldn’t be much of a concern. That is the moment to display true character, the moment to show your mental adeptness and why it is you and not someone else in that office. In the words of Tony Blair when asked whether he wanted to continue being Prime Minister of the UK after the Iraq invasion that had turned out a complete disaster, he had this to say; “It is always a privilege to do the job. You have to be resilient in this because you have to believe in what you are doing, and, in the end it is for the people to decide.  

If anyone took up a leadership position today we expect their job to be simple, to serve and to simply serve us well. That is the price of leadership and it is not a big ask!

On a personal note, I take the opportunity to congratulate all those that have been lucky enough to take up positions of leadership in the past few days and those who are still waiting in the wings. It is by no means a small feat having a group of people fully vesting their trust in you. We look forward to good service in the coming days.

Blessed week ahead!

Balance for Better; why women rightly deserve a place at the table

There is always something memorable about one’s childhood days. For some it is the games and toys, for others it is the special treatment but for many it is the moments that proved you were the child that you actually are. Calling and you have an immediate answer or crying and a minute later you are in someone’s arms, being soothed and caressed remains among the joys and blessings of being a child.

Growing up has never been an event, it is a process that requires you to undergo a series of transitional rites that take you from one stage to another. My own experience was no different from the rest. The moments that can’t easily go away are those where the privileges and perks that caused much joy over our elders would suddenly be taken away and just like the crowds, we would settle for the normal.

The most pronounced was mostly at dinner as the evenings unfolded into nights. Because of the limited capacity that the dining table could handle, we the little ones would be allowed the licence to roam on the mats (not the carpets because they were a luxury). It is while ensconced somewhere in a far away corner, a good distance away from the table that you would loathe the visitor that came around because ultimately, they had cost you your seat at the coveted table.

 Uganda joined the rest of the world on 8^th March to celebrate the International Women’s Day. It was a day to hold special, to celebrate and honour our mothers, wives, sisters, girlfriends and fiancées. The real purpose of women’s day as it should be is to celebrate women’s history, highlighting their achievements and milestones and not forgetting to use the opportunity to raise awareness about the need for equality. We cannot run away from the enormous value of women in our society today, from the mother who carried you for nine months, bathed you and made sure you slept satisfied to the sister who chose your first date outfit to the wives who have to find a balance between family and career.

Our mothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends have however been constantly suffered marginalization. And this is not a thing of yesterday; it is part of the things our predominantly patriarchal society has accepted to live with at times by omission but majority of times by commission. But we can’t say we haven’t made strides because our great grandmothers, grandmothers and some of our mothers were denied certain delicacies, lived without may privileges, that is now partly a thing of the past, the titles that had been constructed for a certain gender are beginning to be unconstructed and the women are accepting to challenge in the arenas that were recently male dominated, the strides are being taken. The campaigns and women movements are also doing great work in debunking certain myths, unshackling those in patriarchy bondage and freeing the minds of those still held hostage.

I for one didn’t understand the real place of women in my entire childhood; I didn’t appreciate them enough because my surroundings didn’t favour it. In school, the teachers would unashamedly admit that the first place was not meant for girls. The boys would be kept on constant pressure of making sure they outdo the girls. I didn’t bother to ask myself why until it happened one day, a girl topped the class. The day was normal just like any other, the sky didn’t come down and the sun rose from the East and set in the West. It is at my later stage in life that I learnt about how gifted the same way we all are, what a man can do, a woman can do and sometimes even much better.

I will share a simple story. During the 1994 Genocide, Sula Karuhimbi hid and protected hundreds of people in her property and nourished them with food from her field. Using her reputation as a healer, Sula convinced the militia that whoever dares to enter her house will be eaten up by her fetishes. She was an example of courage and humanity, like so many other women in the world. This is just one of the many examples of women that have stood tall in this world and created an impact on the lives of others, they have displayed to those ready to see that you don’t need a certain genetic make up to accomplish certain feats.

 The world didn’t seem to pay attention many years ago but that is no longer acceptable today. The achievements of women stare in our faces wherever we choose to look, they are hard to ignore and we must embrace them.

For many years, women have been pushed away from the table, huddled in a corner away because the men had turned into permanent visitors. That is a thing of yesterday, if the seats are not enough; the men are going to have to push up and accept to share the table with women because that is where they deserve to be!

Blessed week ahead!

The Corruption Conversation is either tired or we are tired of it

On a chilly Tuesday evening in the upscale suburb of Kololo, it is an event that is familiar to those in attendance. One that has outlived the presidential campaign of its chief protagonist even when many thought it was only strategically made for the season.

The territory and location is familiar but unlike previously when we had our engagements in the spaces on the ground floor, this time we had to move a few feet high. No coincidence, it is only those who like to over-think that would relate the nature of discussion expected to the few steps that we were obliged to scale.

There are definitely new faces in the crowd as always, trying to feel comfortable and yet striving not to discomfort others, adjusting to the set up and yet struggling not to look lost. But there is no complexity in all this, just a group of advocates and those intending to be gathered on an evening out, sharing experiences over a cup of coffee. A guest is usually invited to share their experience from far and wide with a group of mostly the young people, eager to listen.

The guest of this particular day is familiar, atleast to the audience. He is not a media darling and neither is he a social media person but he is someone that has appended his signature to numerous decisions, made orders to various effects and sat as an arbiter in tones of cases as a judge of the High Court in Uganda. Justice Yasin Nyanzi, a Judge attached to the Criminal Division of the High Court, in charge of juvenile justice was our guest speaker. In a low and almost inaudible tone, he spoke a lot about his humble background, the primary school where he went to and how it was never on the grid of recognized schools in the country, the sacrifices he made to be able to move from one class to another. But despite all odds, he remained resilient and steadfast, for us who saw him that evening, he stood tall on the platform in front of us, accomplished in every sense of the word and you could not help but simply admire what the man had become.

On every such day, a topic for discussion is laid out and like a careful navigator; the guest speaker guides us through. It was a turn to discuss corruption.  For every one of us, this is something that has been discussed, mentioned in passing, pondered in the dead of the night or even been a part of. But like Justice Nyanzi pointed out, it is a thing that has existed from the time of Adam and Eve, lived through generations, is stuck with us and will not be shy to pass it on to the generations that will come after us.

As expected he talked about the different forms in which corruption manifests, from the small favors to dishonesty, to blackmail, bribery and preferential treatment. For many of these we knew, had probably experienced or were part of but the standout was his personal story. As a judge of the courts of judicature of Uganda, the temptation to be drawn in either of the above is huge. People have grown not to have any trust in their judicial officers. But Justice Nyanzi went on record to say that for all his time as a judicial officer, he had never attempted to take a bribe knowingly or unknowingly. “I leave within my means but most importantly I want to leave a legacy of honesty.” It was heart-warming.

As he summed up the evening, he rallied us to be passionate fighters against corruption, because if blame is to be rationed out, when all has been said and done we shall have only ourselves to blame. In the minds of mortals, this is an impossible goal to achieve but there are no limits to humanity, we can be bad but we can be good and very good too.

This conversation may be tired or we may even be tired of having it but in our small ways we can do something about it!

Blessed week ahead!