First Lady speaks out on lifetime service award
The First Lady, Mrs Janet Kataaha Museveni, has received the National Distinction for Lifetime Service Award from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) in recognition of her decades of service in advancing children's welfare, women's empowerment, youth development, education and social inclusion.
The First Lady, Mrs Janet Kataaha Museveni. (Photo Credit: David Lukiza)
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The First Lady, Mrs Janet Kataaha Museveni has received the National Distinction for Lifetime Service Award from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), in recognition of her decades of service in advancing children's welfare, women's empowerment, youth development, education and social inclusion.
The award was presented at the Gender and Equity Awards and Recognition Ceremony at Sheraton Hotel Kampala on September 30, where the commission celebrated a lifetime of initiatives that have expanded opportunities for vulnerable and disadvantaged Ugandans.
"Today we do not honour you merely because you (First Lady) have held an office. We honour the long road that has brought you there," the EOC said in its citation.
The commission cited her role in founding the Uganda Women's Effort to Save Orphans (UWESO), championing the economic empowerment of rural women through the National Strategy for the Advancement of Rural Women in Uganda, mentoring young people through the Uganda Youth Forum, and promoting education as a pathway to equal opportunity.
Institutions recognised
The EOC also honoured other institutions and individuals whose work has advanced gender equality, equity and inclusive development.
This included the Judiciary, and Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs and Ministry of Education and Sports. Others included the ministries of finance, health, gender, works and transport, and energy and mineral development.
The commission also recognised Makerere and Kyambogo universities, Makerere University Business School, Uganda Cancer Institute, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Uganda Management Institute, the National Agricultural Research Organisation and Parliament of Uganda for promoting inclusive education, research, and equitable service delivery.
At the local government level, Kazo District, Nansana Municipality and Kiruhura District received top awards for gender-responsive governance, women's economic empowerment initiatives and promotion of girls' education.
Others included Namayingo, Luwero and Mitooma district leaderships.
World Vision Uganda, the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG), Uganda Youth Development Link (UYDEL), Uganda Women Network (UWONET), Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), FIDA Uganda, TASO Uganda, ChildFund International, Plan International Uganda and the National Association of Women's Organisations in Uganda (NAWOU) were honoured.
Other individuals honoured were NPA executive director Dr Joseph Muvawala for inclusive development planning; gender ministry permanent secretary Pius Bigirimana for inclusive leadership; Betty Amongi and Matia Kasaija for promoting gender and equity in public policy, and CSBAG Executive Director Julius Mukunda for advancing gender-responsive budgeting and human rights advocacy.
Development partners honoured included the European Union Delegation to Uganda, UN Women, UNICEF, UNDP, UNAIDS, the World Bank, UNFPA, FAO, UNIDO, Oxfam and the Embassy of the United States in Uganda for supporting programmes that promote inclusion, gender equality, social protection and economic empowerment.
First Lady speaks out
The following is the official response the First Lady penned upon receiving the National Distinction for Lifetime Service to Equal Opportunities:
First, I give glory to God, who has kept me, led me and given me strength for every season of this journey. Whatever I have been able to do, I have done by His grace.
I thank the Equal Opportunities Commission for this National Distinction for Life Time Service to Equal Opportunities. I receive it with gratitude and humility. You have been generous in recognising a life of service, a life of faith and a life of nurturing. I accept those words gladly, knowing that they are genuinely true, but also they belong to many people besides me.
You have said that this honour is not about title. I appreciate that, because the work that has mattered most to me was never found in an office.
It was found in the knowledge that it pleases God when we forget ourselves some of the time, and give our attention to others, especially those who need somebody else’s hand, that they too may stand up.
My own experience as a refugee taught me what it means to depend on the kindness of others. When UWESO was founded in 1986, that memory was close to me. Children orphaned by war and by the HIV/AIDS epidemic could not be left to fend for themselves. I remain thankful to all who stood with us then and who stand with us still.
I am so grateful to God that He ensures that He keeps us managing to do work like that. For example, work like that continues today through the Emerging Leaders Programme, which reaches young people in our universities and schools. Its aim is to help them stay safe through character development and values driven leadership. At its heart is the SAFE campaign, which calls on young people to be Sexually fortified, Addiction free, Financially faithful and Education focused. These are simple commitments, yet they protect a young person's future. I am encouraged by every young leader who embraces them and then encourages their peers to do the same.
Secondly, work like that which I did in Karamoja taught me a great deal. It was a demanding assignment, shaped by insecurity, poverty and long-standing gaps in opportunity. I am glad to have contributed, alongside many dedicated leaders and communities, to the social and economic transformation of its people.
I learnt there that no community is beyond the reach of opportunity, when some people are willing to walk with them.
Today, as former Minister of Education and Sports, I see many of these causes come together. Education remains one of the surest pathways through which a nation can enlarge the possibilities available to its people. Every Ugandan child, whether in a city or a remote village, deserves a chance to learn, to grow and to contribute to the growth of their homeland.
For making it possible for us to serve our beloved country, we can never thank God enough for giving Uganda a leader who is willing to make all sacrifices to ensure that the country remains at peace and all children can access education. Therefore, if more of us were willing to make more sacrifices, indeed all our children would get education at least, and more.
I thank many Ugandan women like those who started UWESO and organisations such as the Uganda Youth Forum and others because 75% of those who step out to serve voluntary organisations in this country are always women. That is why i started by saying that there are many people who espouse the values you generously honoured me with. That is why Uganda is blessed.
I also thank my team that I work with for their support. Their dedication, loyalty and hard work have turned good intentions into real results for the people we serve. I am grateful as well to the volunteers, partners and all the well wishers who have walked this road with me. Their faithfulness has been a blessing.
Allow me to make a humble appeal to leaders across Uganda, in government, in our faith communities, in business, in culture and in our homes.
Let us nurture the next generation of Ugandan leaders, first by the example we set and then by investing deliberately in equipping them. Young people learn what leadership looks like by watching it. When they see integrity, humility and service, they learn to practise these values. When we give them mentorship, time and resources, we prepare them to carry the nation forward. If this work remains the effort of one person, it will only reach so far. If it becomes a national drive, it will shape generations.
I receive this Award on behalf of all who serve quietly without demanding recognition. Equal opportunity is not achieved by one person or one institution. It is built when each of us decides to lift another.
God bless you, God bless Uganda!