My Kidepo Story

This is part of My Kidepo Story #KidepoValleyNationalPark #Karamoja #VisitUganda 

                          

BEGINNING TODAY

Beginning today,
I will no longer worry about yesterday.
It is in the past and the past will never change.
Only I can change by choosing to do so.

Beginning today,
I will no longer worry about tomorrow.
Tomorrow will always be there,
Waiting for me to make the most of it.
But I cannot make the most of tomorrow
without first making the most of today.

Beginning today,
I will look in the mirror and I will see a person
worthy of my respect and admiration.
This capable person looking back at me is someone
I enjoy spending time with and someone
I would like to get to know better.

Beginning today,
I will cherish each moment of my life.
I value the gift bestowed upon me in this world and
I will unselfishly share this gift with others.

Beginning today,
I will take a moment to step off the beaten path and to

revel in the mysteries I encounter.
I will face challenges with courage and determination.
I will overcome what barriers there may be which hinder
my quest for growth and self- improvement.


Beginning today,
I will take life one day at a time,
One step at a time.
Discouragement will not be allowed to taint
my positive self-image, my desire to succeed or
my capacity to love.


Beginning today,
I walk with renewed faith in human kindness.
Regardless of what has gone before.
I believe there is hope for a brighter and better future.


Beginning today,
I will open my mind and my heart.
I will welcome new experiences.
I will meet new people.
I will not expect perfection from myself nor anyone else:
perfection does not exist in an imperfect world.
But I will applaud the attempt to overcome human foibles.


Beginning today,
I am responsible for my own happiness and
I will do things that make me happy...
Admire the beautiful wonders of nature,
listen to my favourite music,
pet a kitten or a puppy, soak in a bubble bath...
Pleasure can be found in the most simple of gestures.


Beginning today,
I will learn something new;
I will try something different;
I will savour all the various flavours life has to offer.
I will change what I can and the rest I will let go.
I will strive to become the best me I can possibly be.

Uganda’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations 2012

At the stroke of midnight, the sky was sent into blazing colours of fireworks, and the streets of Kampala were filled with a rare excitement, only close to that of ushering in a new year. You would think January the first had come in October! This was Uganda’s 50th birthday as an independent state.
Heads of states present included President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Thomas Yayi Boni of Benin, President Salva Kir of South Sudan, President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt, President Seretse Khama of Botswana, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and President Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo.
The ceremony was officiated with prayers from the leader of the Church of Uganda His Grace, Henry Luke Orombi. Reflecting on mistakes of the past, his prayer was for a new Uganda.
“We want to see a new future where we accept others, where our children grow in dignity and where men and women live with integrity.” said Orombi.
I joined the thousands of Ugandans that thronged the freshly refurbished Kololo independence grounds, braving sweltering temperatures to witness one of the most historic days in the journey of Uganda, since her independence in 1962.
As a young girl in my early twenties, I had heard so many stories about Uganda’s independence, ranging from stories from grandparents around the fireplace, classroom lectures, to even bedtime stories. But one fact seemed central in all the stories. Fifty years ago, on Tuesday October 9th 1962, the Union Jack was lowered and the Uganda flag was raised, officially declaring Uganda independent. Milton Obote was the first Executive Prime Minister of Uganda, and it is he that received the instruments of power from the Queen’s representative, the Duke of Kent.
The Duke was at Kololo for the jubilee celebrations, his first visit to Uganda since 1962, and was also celebrating his 77th birthday on the same day (born 9th October 1935). In his jubilee speech, President Museveni, while recognising his presence at the celebarations, mentioned something that struck my mind. It is the Duke that actually handed over the instruments of power fifty years ago.
“His presence gives us a lot of pleasure because he is the very person that handed over the instruments of independence to our first Executive Prime Minister, the late H.E Milton Obote.”
The parade was a spectacular sight. It was the most beautiful parade ever, with the security forces dressed to the nines for the occasion.  And for the first time in my life, I admired the armed forces.
It has not been all roses for Uganda since 1962. For the better part of the past fifty years, Uganda was known to be home to Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony and the despotic regime of Idi Amin. It has endured political instability, civil wars and the scourge of AIDS. It has had its share of successes and major changes too, with the discovery of oil offering a new economic promise.
The national anthem was sung as the flag was being hoisted amidst jubilations. However, the cheers were cut short when the flag failed to fly for about two minutes, creating anxiety among the people. The tension was broken when a senior officer stepped forward and successfully raised the flag, sending the crowd thundering with euphoric cheers of relief. This motivated Army Spokesman Felix Kulayigye to connect the incident to Uganda’s history. “The flag is now flying after the wind disturbing it. A testimony of the turbulent history of Uganda.”
Major Kenneth Akorimo, the soldier that hoisted the flag on 9th October 1962 was present at the celebrations, and when he took to the podium, the crowd was ecstatic. I felt a salty drop trickle  down my cheek when the joyous 81 year old took up the microphone, and said “Congratulations Uganda!”
The greatest sensation was the skyward display of the fighter jets that somersaulted in the air, spewing fumes of black, yellow and red, leaving behind them a pattern of the flag in the air over throngs of ecstatic spectators.
Uganda looks back to its complicated path to the present, looking ahead with hope to an uncertain future.
I may not have lived through Uganda’s jagged road to independence to fully appreciate the struggles those before me endured to become autonomous of Britain, but I am certainly proud to be Ugandan today.

http://www.thepromota.co.uk/ugandas-golden-jubilee-celebrations-2012/
By Imelda Mugoya

LIFE ON THE STREETS.

He sat on the pavement,
An emaciated, rugged body
He shook hands with loneliness
Flies flitted from his puss drooping eyes
His empty stomach drummed.
Just the thought of food
Made his stomach giggle.
But all there was around him,
Were the never ending life of the city
And countless shadows of what the future holds.

~ Imelda Mirembe ~

MOTHER

For nine long months

I bubbled in your womb

You endured a lot of pain

All because of me

You carried a burden

Of raising me.

Thank you so much

For loving me

For not aborting me

For not throwing me on a rubbish skip

Like some harsh parents

Who do not have feelings.

Oh mother, you’re an angel.

You’re the glamorous spirit of our home

The charm of your love is there

One knows the joy of your presence

And your ever tender care.

I will always thank God

For a mother

Whose Christian love and grace

Made our precious little home

Such a happy place.

You’re without doubt, certainly,

Definitely and abso-flippin’-lutely

The best mum of all time.

Thank you for all your

Love, care and support.

You will always be

The world’s greatest.

~ Imelda Mirembe ~

IT’S RAINING

I lie on my bed

With a swarm of thoughts and questions

In my mind.

And I can hear the skies

Roaring right outside.

And the rains falling on the roof

Like thunderous footsteps

Of a regiment of soldiers matching in unison.

Questions run through my mind

Questions like –

How is he?

Where is he?

Who is he with?

Why isn’t he picking?

What is he up to?

When will he call?

I pick up the phone

And scroll down to that one name

That is always stuck in my mind.

It takes about five seconds

Before the phone can finally go through.

Krrh…… krrh…… krrh…..

My heart throbs with excitement

As I await the sound of his mellow voice.

The excitement halts

As I slumber into sorrow

At the sound of…

“Sorry, the subscriber you have called does not answer,

Please try again later”

The rains outside increase

As though they want to help me

Drown my tears or better still

Wash them away

I lay on my bed

In the cold.

It’s raining outside

And in my heart too

But there is only one reality,

He isn’t here anymore.

~ Imelda Mirembe ~

FORGIVE ME MY CHILDREN

Forgive me my children

For raping your future.

I have bequeathed to you

Dilapidated infrastructures.

The sorry state of the environment

By unfettered cutting of trees

Emitting tones of greenhouse gases.

I have violated the same sacred environment

Through my constant wars.

Forgive me my children

For shamelessly defiling and raping

The same principles that were

Fundamental to the change of this country.

I have defiled the most important

Baby-clause of term limits in the constitution.

I have failed to promote democracy

And the rule of law.

I have ushered in a culture of corruption

I have sought selfishness through

The use of my country’s resources

Without paying attention to the

Common good and social infrastructure.

Forgive me my children

For being such a bad elder.

My children remember this clearly;

No one is going to get you out of

The pit in which I have dropped you.

No one is going to untie your bootstraps.

I am no Moses to lead you

Out of the wilderness

Nor Noah to build you an ark.

I have entered a deep slumber

Of no change and I am at a point

Of no return; because I have been

Incapacitated by the no-change dictum

That has gone on for more than two decades.

Forgive me my children

For you are the ones to reboot the

Hibernating slumbering hard disk

Of this country.

I hand you the book and pen

For my time for writing is up.

I ask you to re-write in this book

And to write only what you would

Love to read later.

What I have written breaks my heart

At the slightest thought of opening a page

I burn with guilt and remorse

And I kindly ask you my children

To please forgive me.

~ Imelda Mirembe ~