Robinah you still shine
Jul 31, 2005
Today is Robinah’s birthday and she would be making 55 years even though she looked and felt much younger. As usual, I would have called her to wish her a Happy Birthday. I guess I have to do it through The New Vision.
By Stella Kasirye
Today is Robinah’s birthday and she would be making 55 years even though she looked and felt much younger. As usual, I would have called her to wish her a Happy Birthday. I guess I have to do it through The New Vision. Happy Birthday dear sister!!! God loved you more and decided that you should celebrate your 55th birthday in style with Jesus, all the saints, and angelic hosts in heaven, singing ,Oh the Blood of Jesus, it washes white as snow.
I will call Robinah, the Kasirye family’s grain of wheat. The Bible says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.â€
In our quest for answers to the question, “WHY ROBINAH?†we can only trust that the sovereign Lord’s plan for Robinah’s life was much bigger than our finite minds can comprehend. Some day in eternity we will look back and say, “So that is why!!!!â€
For now, we will cry, miss her, celebrate her life, pass on the invaluable lessons she taught us and remember her as we knew her best.
Our earliest memories of Robinah are of a cheeky girl who got her way through negotiation with her two older sisters, Samalie and Eva. Robinah was a born advocate. She had the amazing way of getting Samalie and Eva to do her assigned chores. In exchange, if they needed to get anything from Maama or Daddy and it was going to be difficult, Robinah was the spokesperson. She was fearless and being the youngest of the Kasirye children at the time, had a way with the parents.
The turning point in Robinah’s life was when she accepted Jesus Christ as a student in Gayaza High School. Her greatest influences in making this decision were the late Bishop Festo Kivengere and the renown world evangelist Billy Graham. These two men, well known for their integrity, continued to be spiritual models in whose footsteps she followed. Robinah’s conversion, amazed everyone, most of all her family. They had a totally transformed sister and daughter.
Robinah loved life and laughter. She found joy in very simple things. One of her favourite pastimes after work was to stop by Angela’s place on her way home and laugh at her niece, Megan’s rambunctious antiques. She considered this good therapy after a stressful day.
Robinah had the gift of encouragement. She never wrote a note, card or message without including a verse of encouragement from the Bible. One of my favourites was a postcard she sent me in secondary school just before exams with a golden sunset and that beautiful verse, “With God all things are possible.†Sure enough, I passed my exams with flying colours. My sister rarely discouraged anybody, she believed the best in people and encouraged them to pursue what others thought was impossible. For Robinah, there was always hope for a better tomorrow.
Our sister loved people and made everyone feel important in her presence regardless of their stature in society, age or achievements. Robinah had friends from all walks of life. I remember one holiday baby-sitting for her in her first home on Kitante Courts, there were so many people going in and out of the house.
We usually had lunch guests ranging from students to work colleagues and church members. Most of them were balokole who were anxious to know when I would become one. Never to pressure anyone, Robinah always told them that I was on my way and in answer to her prayers, I made a personal commitment to the Lord in 1981.
Robinah was very generous. She found it very difficult to say no to someone as long as it was in her power to do something about their problems. Often, we as a family felt that the people around her were exploiting her. We would even get angry on her behalf. She got calls from people asking for a ride home, for transport money, support for crusades, school fees, you name it and as long as she was able, she gave. Yes, she was taken advantage of many times, however, she left it in God’s hands.
Our sister was a prayer warrior, a peacemaker and had an amazing ability to forgive her offenders. Robinah’s response to every problem was prayer. One phrase we will remember is, Oyo tumunyikka mu musaayi gwa Yesu (we immerse that person in the blood of Jesus). “Let us pray for them to get saved.†That is how she handled people who hurt her. Vengeance was the Lord’s.
Maama is having a hard time dealing with Robinah’s death. You see, Robinah always stopped by maama’s shop to chat, pray, cry, confide and just talk. Sometimes, Robinah would just give maama a shopping list, she worked on it and so when Robinah arrived, what would have been shopping time became talking time. Robinah and maama talked everyday.
For her children, Robinah was the dream mother every child wishes to have. She gave them the greatest gift, herself. She was present for her children. Samalie has lost her best friend. Kibuuka misses his greatest inspiration in life. Kirabo cries for the mother who believed he could do anything. Sanyu longs for her companion and the one who taught her to appreciate and celebrate every moment in life because it is special and a present from the Lord.
As a high school student, I spent a lot of time in Robinah’s home. I idolised her marriage and I used to say to myself that if I got married, I wanted it to be like my sister’s. The early years of my sister’s marriage were characterised by love, a sense of family, a shared faith and shared values. Even when the hard times came, Robinah believed in the sanctity of marriage and that it was a life-time commitment as she had vowed on her wedding day in 1977.
At Robinah’s funeral, the Chief Justice told the mourners that Robinah had so distinguished herself as a lawyer of integrity and was being considered for the bench, the highest honour accorded to a lawyer in Uganda. The interesting thing though is that actually, Robinah has joined the heavenly panel of judges that will judge the world according to the Bible.
In life and in death, dear sister, your light shines on. The seeds you sowed are bearing fruit in amazing ways. The faith of many has been strengthened.
We miss your laughter, your availability, even asking for recipes we knew you would never use, no more tea with popcorn, crisps and muwogo at Nora and Ham’s place, no more Sunday evennings and organic pineapples in Eva’s kitchen. But we will meet again, wait for us and help in preparing a place for us. Samallie, Kibuuka, Kirabo and Sanyu are loved and though we cannot be you, we will ensure that they are well taken care of. Happy Birthday Shinning Star from all of us.
Ends
Today is Robinah’s birthday and she would be making 55 years even though she looked and felt much younger. As usual, I would have called her to wish her a Happy Birthday. I guess I have to do it through The New Vision. Happy Birthday dear sister!!! God loved you more and decided that you should celebrate your 55th birthday in style with Jesus, all the saints, and angelic hosts in heaven, singing ,Oh the Blood of Jesus, it washes white as snow.
I will call Robinah, the Kasirye family’s grain of wheat. The Bible says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.â€
In our quest for answers to the question, “WHY ROBINAH?†we can only trust that the sovereign Lord’s plan for Robinah’s life was much bigger than our finite minds can comprehend. Some day in eternity we will look back and say, “So that is why!!!!â€
For now, we will cry, miss her, celebrate her life, pass on the invaluable lessons she taught us and remember her as we knew her best.
Our earliest memories of Robinah are of a cheeky girl who got her way through negotiation with her two older sisters, Samalie and Eva. Robinah was a born advocate. She had the amazing way of getting Samalie and Eva to do her assigned chores. In exchange, if they needed to get anything from Maama or Daddy and it was going to be difficult, Robinah was the spokesperson. She was fearless and being the youngest of the Kasirye children at the time, had a way with the parents.
The turning point in Robinah’s life was when she accepted Jesus Christ as a student in Gayaza High School. Her greatest influences in making this decision were the late Bishop Festo Kivengere and the renown world evangelist Billy Graham. These two men, well known for their integrity, continued to be spiritual models in whose footsteps she followed. Robinah’s conversion, amazed everyone, most of all her family. They had a totally transformed sister and daughter.
Robinah loved life and laughter. She found joy in very simple things. One of her favourite pastimes after work was to stop by Angela’s place on her way home and laugh at her niece, Megan’s rambunctious antiques. She considered this good therapy after a stressful day.
Robinah had the gift of encouragement. She never wrote a note, card or message without including a verse of encouragement from the Bible. One of my favourites was a postcard she sent me in secondary school just before exams with a golden sunset and that beautiful verse, “With God all things are possible.†Sure enough, I passed my exams with flying colours. My sister rarely discouraged anybody, she believed the best in people and encouraged them to pursue what others thought was impossible. For Robinah, there was always hope for a better tomorrow.
Our sister loved people and made everyone feel important in her presence regardless of their stature in society, age or achievements. Robinah had friends from all walks of life. I remember one holiday baby-sitting for her in her first home on Kitante Courts, there were so many people going in and out of the house.
We usually had lunch guests ranging from students to work colleagues and church members. Most of them were balokole who were anxious to know when I would become one. Never to pressure anyone, Robinah always told them that I was on my way and in answer to her prayers, I made a personal commitment to the Lord in 1981.
Robinah was very generous. She found it very difficult to say no to someone as long as it was in her power to do something about their problems. Often, we as a family felt that the people around her were exploiting her. We would even get angry on her behalf. She got calls from people asking for a ride home, for transport money, support for crusades, school fees, you name it and as long as she was able, she gave. Yes, she was taken advantage of many times, however, she left it in God’s hands.
Our sister was a prayer warrior, a peacemaker and had an amazing ability to forgive her offenders. Robinah’s response to every problem was prayer. One phrase we will remember is, Oyo tumunyikka mu musaayi gwa Yesu (we immerse that person in the blood of Jesus). “Let us pray for them to get saved.†That is how she handled people who hurt her. Vengeance was the Lord’s.
Maama is having a hard time dealing with Robinah’s death. You see, Robinah always stopped by maama’s shop to chat, pray, cry, confide and just talk. Sometimes, Robinah would just give maama a shopping list, she worked on it and so when Robinah arrived, what would have been shopping time became talking time. Robinah and maama talked everyday.
For her children, Robinah was the dream mother every child wishes to have. She gave them the greatest gift, herself. She was present for her children. Samalie has lost her best friend. Kibuuka misses his greatest inspiration in life. Kirabo cries for the mother who believed he could do anything. Sanyu longs for her companion and the one who taught her to appreciate and celebrate every moment in life because it is special and a present from the Lord.
As a high school student, I spent a lot of time in Robinah’s home. I idolised her marriage and I used to say to myself that if I got married, I wanted it to be like my sister’s. The early years of my sister’s marriage were characterised by love, a sense of family, a shared faith and shared values. Even when the hard times came, Robinah believed in the sanctity of marriage and that it was a life-time commitment as she had vowed on her wedding day in 1977.
At Robinah’s funeral, the Chief Justice told the mourners that Robinah had so distinguished herself as a lawyer of integrity and was being considered for the bench, the highest honour accorded to a lawyer in Uganda. The interesting thing though is that actually, Robinah has joined the heavenly panel of judges that will judge the world according to the Bible.
In life and in death, dear sister, your light shines on. The seeds you sowed are bearing fruit in amazing ways. The faith of many has been strengthened.
We miss your laughter, your availability, even asking for recipes we knew you would never use, no more tea with popcorn, crisps and muwogo at Nora and Ham’s place, no more Sunday evennings and organic pineapples in Eva’s kitchen. But we will meet again, wait for us and help in preparing a place for us. Samallie, Kibuuka, Kirabo and Sanyu are loved and though we cannot be you, we will ensure that they are well taken care of. Happy Birthday Shinning Star from all of us.
Ends