The Mother Theresa of Mbikko
WOMAN ACHIEVER<br><small>NOMINEE</small><br><br><b>By John Kasozi</b><br><br>He sits comfortably in a plastic chair which, with an air of satisfaction, he tries to rock as he recounts his gloomy past while counting his blessings.
WOMAN ACHIEVER
NOMINEE
By John Kasozi
He sits comfortably in a plastic chair which, with an air of satisfaction, he tries to rock as he recounts his gloomy past while counting his blessings.
Tragedy strikes
“I was just about to begin my Senior Five in February 2007 when my dad passed away. My dad, Michael Kakande, had been the only source of livelihood since I had already lost my mother, Betty Nakitto, in September 2005,†Derma Kawooya, 18, recounts.
“After dad’s burial, I approached a number of relatives but every one turned me away. ‘No money,’ they all said. Even my well-to-do aunt whom I thought would be in position to give me fees for at least one term as I organised myself, was of no help. She said she was overstretched because she was putting up a double-storey building,†Kawooya narrated staring in space.
“I knew this was the end of my education. I felt like dying. I then remembered that before dad passed away, we used to find some financial difficulties once in a while and my grandmother, Joyce Zawedde, would bail us out. But this time, she too was not in position. She was old and frail and also looking after a number of orphans.
Saviour’s hand spreads out
“Soon Aunt Theresa got to know of my pxlight. She came to my rescue and even offered to help my elder brother, Yosamu Kisule. Kisule is now at the National Teachers College, Kaliro.
“Miracles do happen and indeed, this was one of them. It never occurred to me that in this world, there could be people with such big hearts,†he says. He says the most precious gift he can ever give to Theresa is to work hard and perform well.
Kawooya, who is doing Physics, Economics and Mathematics, says he hopes to do Information Technology or Electrical Engineering when he goes to university.
Kawooya hails from Kasanja in Mbikko and is one of the many orphans under the care of Theresa.
Joseph Ssembatya (Junior), 17, was only one year old when he lost his father in 1992. “I was so young I had not even known him. In 2004, my mother, Agnes Nionsaba, passed away.
“After my father’s death, my uncle, Joseph Kitandwe, and my aunties took care of us. They helped me up to Primary Six, but as their families grew in size and demands increased, they could not help any more,†he narrates.
Doubting Thomas
“When Aunt Theresa got wind of it, she stepped in to help us. At first I was doubtful. I knew she was looking after many orphans so I wondered how she was going to manage. But here I am — she is paying my tuition, meeting my basic needs and looking after other needy people, including my elderly grandmother, Mary Kitimbo,†he says.
Ssembatya is now in Senior Four at St. Noah Mawaggali.
“Junior is doing well. He scored Aggregate 11 in his Primary Leaving Exams at Njeru Primary School. He then joined Bishop’s SS Mukono where we paid half his school fees and the school met the rest because he was one of the best footballers,†Aunt Theresa says.
One door closes
Unfortunately, the year Ssembatya joined Senior Three, the school got a new headteacher who scrapped the bursary scheme. He came back home and even feared to tell Aunt Theresa because he did not want to burden her. His grandmother approached Theresa who agreed to pay all the school dues and Ssembatya was able to go back to school.
“When they approached me, I felt touched. I couldn’t imagine seeing these young boys scavenging through garbage bins. I wanted them to get education and have a bright future,†says Theresa.
Janet Mbalwa, 24, also an orphan, is in Senior Five at Uganda Martyrs’ Secondary School, Kayunga. Her father passed away when she was still very young. Her mother, Ruth Namakangulusi, is physically disabled.
Theresa started taking care of Mbalwa when she was in Primary One at Buswale.
She is now doing doing History, Economics, Literature and Entrepreneurship.
“I had dropped out of school. In 2004, I approached Aunt Theresa and she took me back to school. She is my everything. She gives me parental and spiritual guidance. Only God will reward her,†Mbalwa, who has been staying with Theresa for the last three years, says. During holidays, she helps her with housework and at times works at the old woman’s winery.
Mom dead, dad tortured
Tadeo Lutalo, 22, another orphan from Namayumba in Wakiso district is in Senior Four at St. Noah. His mother, Florence Nalwadda, passed away in 1998. His father, Emmanuel Katabazi, was in 1981, tortured by the Uganda National Liberation Forces soldiers who left him physically incapacitated. Once in a while, Lutalo and his guardian, Aunt Theresa, visit Katabazi and take basic items like soap and salt to him.
Lutalo says Theresa took him up in 2006. “She also looks after my siblings: Joseph Ssenyonjo in Senior Five at St Joseph Namagunga and Domino Mutone in Primary Five at St Maris Stella, Nsube.
Dad dead, mom paralysed
Simon Peter Mayega, 26, is graduating from Makerere University this year. Mayega, who hails from Luguzi in Namayumba lost his father in October 1998, two days to his Senior Four examinations. Theresa took him up in 1999 when he was in Senior Five at Kira High.
“When my dad died, my mother was down with stroke, with one side paralysed,†he says.
“Since then, Aunt Theresa has been both my mother and father. I have been a private student at Makerere University, doing Bachelor of Commerce,†he says.
Mayega says if all Ugandans could emulate Theresa, the problem of street children would be history.
Joseph Tuhame, his elder brother working with the Christian Children Fund and David Kaliki were also helped by Theresa. She took up Kaliki, now working at Serena Hotel, when he was in Senior One.
Other people who have gone through the hands of Theresa include Rev. Fr. Vincent Kanyankole of Namumwe Parish in Busembatia; Constantine Ssajabi, the deputy headteacher of Trinity College Nabbingo; Lawrence Lutalo, an accountant with Malaria Consortium; Andrew Kanyamanza, working with Serena Hotel and Eustace Ssajabi, now working with AFRID, a non-governmental organisation.
Mom abandons us
For the last eight years, Theresa has also looked after her disabled brother, Gabriel Mutabalwa and his two children. Mutabalwa’s wife abandoned him after he was involved in an accident.
Theresa has also looked after Rose Kagugube and her two children who were abandoned by their father. The children are now in secondary school. She says during holidays, the children help in her winery. This gives them skills which will be useful to them in future.
“Incidentally, I have more boys than girls. I wish to help more girls because when you educate a girl, you educate the nation.
Right from her childhood, Theresa saw poverty-stricken people in her village and she felt heart-broken.
Sea of poverty
“In 1970 when I joined Nsambya Hospital to train as a nurse, the story was the same. A peek outside the walls of the hospital and you would see slum dwellers, all swimming in abject poverty.â€
Theresa Namusisi, a staunch Catholic, now in her 50s, recalls giving out her first salary to her brother-in-law in 1974. “He had passed his Primary Leaving Exams very well, but could not go to secondary school because he had no school fees,†she says.
Before settling in Mbikko, Theresa worked in Kisubi, Mugwanya Prepatory School Kabojja, Mill Hill Missionary and Buswale in Bugiri district. “Since I left Buswale where I spent 14 years, I have lost count of the number of needy children I have looked after. I paid their tuition and met their basic needs using my salary as a nurse under Bishop Joseph Willigers in Jinja Catholic Busoga region,†she says.
Theresa says she hates to see people sad. “If you are financially capable, endeavour to help the needy. This is the source of blessings. These children need love, care, guidance, food, shelter and school fees. I am planning to set up an orphanage.â€
Theresa says she looks after the needy using proceeds from her winery, bottled water and juice. She began making pineapple wine as a hobby in 1993. In 1997, she started making wine from organically grown hibiscus plant and expanded the winery to a commercial scale.
In Mbikko, where she resides, Theresa is fondly known as Mother Theresa of Mbikko, because of her generosity and the many doors she has opened for the needy — those who would be roaming the streets for lack of a place called home.
This is in comparison with Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu), a Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950, and ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying.
She become internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless and won the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work.
NOMINEE
By John Kasozi
He sits comfortably in a plastic chair which, with an air of satisfaction, he tries to rock as he recounts his gloomy past while counting his blessings.
Tragedy strikes
“I was just about to begin my Senior Five in February 2007 when my dad passed away. My dad, Michael Kakande, had been the only source of livelihood since I had already lost my mother, Betty Nakitto, in September 2005,†Derma Kawooya, 18, recounts.
“After dad’s burial, I approached a number of relatives but every one turned me away. ‘No money,’ they all said. Even my well-to-do aunt whom I thought would be in position to give me fees for at least one term as I organised myself, was of no help. She said she was overstretched because she was putting up a double-storey building,†Kawooya narrated staring in space.
“I knew this was the end of my education. I felt like dying. I then remembered that before dad passed away, we used to find some financial difficulties once in a while and my grandmother, Joyce Zawedde, would bail us out. But this time, she too was not in position. She was old and frail and also looking after a number of orphans.
Saviour’s hand spreads out
“Soon Aunt Theresa got to know of my pxlight. She came to my rescue and even offered to help my elder brother, Yosamu Kisule. Kisule is now at the National Teachers College, Kaliro.
“Miracles do happen and indeed, this was one of them. It never occurred to me that in this world, there could be people with such big hearts,†he says. He says the most precious gift he can ever give to Theresa is to work hard and perform well.
Kawooya, who is doing Physics, Economics and Mathematics, says he hopes to do Information Technology or Electrical Engineering when he goes to university.
Kawooya hails from Kasanja in Mbikko and is one of the many orphans under the care of Theresa.
Joseph Ssembatya (Junior), 17, was only one year old when he lost his father in 1992. “I was so young I had not even known him. In 2004, my mother, Agnes Nionsaba, passed away.
“After my father’s death, my uncle, Joseph Kitandwe, and my aunties took care of us. They helped me up to Primary Six, but as their families grew in size and demands increased, they could not help any more,†he narrates.
Doubting Thomas
“When Aunt Theresa got wind of it, she stepped in to help us. At first I was doubtful. I knew she was looking after many orphans so I wondered how she was going to manage. But here I am — she is paying my tuition, meeting my basic needs and looking after other needy people, including my elderly grandmother, Mary Kitimbo,†he says.
Ssembatya is now in Senior Four at St. Noah Mawaggali.
“Junior is doing well. He scored Aggregate 11 in his Primary Leaving Exams at Njeru Primary School. He then joined Bishop’s SS Mukono where we paid half his school fees and the school met the rest because he was one of the best footballers,†Aunt Theresa says.
One door closes
Unfortunately, the year Ssembatya joined Senior Three, the school got a new headteacher who scrapped the bursary scheme. He came back home and even feared to tell Aunt Theresa because he did not want to burden her. His grandmother approached Theresa who agreed to pay all the school dues and Ssembatya was able to go back to school.
“When they approached me, I felt touched. I couldn’t imagine seeing these young boys scavenging through garbage bins. I wanted them to get education and have a bright future,†says Theresa.
Janet Mbalwa, 24, also an orphan, is in Senior Five at Uganda Martyrs’ Secondary School, Kayunga. Her father passed away when she was still very young. Her mother, Ruth Namakangulusi, is physically disabled.
Theresa started taking care of Mbalwa when she was in Primary One at Buswale.
She is now doing doing History, Economics, Literature and Entrepreneurship.
“I had dropped out of school. In 2004, I approached Aunt Theresa and she took me back to school. She is my everything. She gives me parental and spiritual guidance. Only God will reward her,†Mbalwa, who has been staying with Theresa for the last three years, says. During holidays, she helps her with housework and at times works at the old woman’s winery.
Mom dead, dad tortured
Tadeo Lutalo, 22, another orphan from Namayumba in Wakiso district is in Senior Four at St. Noah. His mother, Florence Nalwadda, passed away in 1998. His father, Emmanuel Katabazi, was in 1981, tortured by the Uganda National Liberation Forces soldiers who left him physically incapacitated. Once in a while, Lutalo and his guardian, Aunt Theresa, visit Katabazi and take basic items like soap and salt to him.
Lutalo says Theresa took him up in 2006. “She also looks after my siblings: Joseph Ssenyonjo in Senior Five at St Joseph Namagunga and Domino Mutone in Primary Five at St Maris Stella, Nsube.
Dad dead, mom paralysed
Simon Peter Mayega, 26, is graduating from Makerere University this year. Mayega, who hails from Luguzi in Namayumba lost his father in October 1998, two days to his Senior Four examinations. Theresa took him up in 1999 when he was in Senior Five at Kira High.
“When my dad died, my mother was down with stroke, with one side paralysed,†he says.
“Since then, Aunt Theresa has been both my mother and father. I have been a private student at Makerere University, doing Bachelor of Commerce,†he says.
Mayega says if all Ugandans could emulate Theresa, the problem of street children would be history.
Joseph Tuhame, his elder brother working with the Christian Children Fund and David Kaliki were also helped by Theresa. She took up Kaliki, now working at Serena Hotel, when he was in Senior One.
Other people who have gone through the hands of Theresa include Rev. Fr. Vincent Kanyankole of Namumwe Parish in Busembatia; Constantine Ssajabi, the deputy headteacher of Trinity College Nabbingo; Lawrence Lutalo, an accountant with Malaria Consortium; Andrew Kanyamanza, working with Serena Hotel and Eustace Ssajabi, now working with AFRID, a non-governmental organisation.
Mom abandons us
For the last eight years, Theresa has also looked after her disabled brother, Gabriel Mutabalwa and his two children. Mutabalwa’s wife abandoned him after he was involved in an accident.
Theresa has also looked after Rose Kagugube and her two children who were abandoned by their father. The children are now in secondary school. She says during holidays, the children help in her winery. This gives them skills which will be useful to them in future.
“Incidentally, I have more boys than girls. I wish to help more girls because when you educate a girl, you educate the nation.
Right from her childhood, Theresa saw poverty-stricken people in her village and she felt heart-broken.
Sea of poverty
“In 1970 when I joined Nsambya Hospital to train as a nurse, the story was the same. A peek outside the walls of the hospital and you would see slum dwellers, all swimming in abject poverty.â€
Theresa Namusisi, a staunch Catholic, now in her 50s, recalls giving out her first salary to her brother-in-law in 1974. “He had passed his Primary Leaving Exams very well, but could not go to secondary school because he had no school fees,†she says.
Before settling in Mbikko, Theresa worked in Kisubi, Mugwanya Prepatory School Kabojja, Mill Hill Missionary and Buswale in Bugiri district. “Since I left Buswale where I spent 14 years, I have lost count of the number of needy children I have looked after. I paid their tuition and met their basic needs using my salary as a nurse under Bishop Joseph Willigers in Jinja Catholic Busoga region,†she says.
Theresa says she hates to see people sad. “If you are financially capable, endeavour to help the needy. This is the source of blessings. These children need love, care, guidance, food, shelter and school fees. I am planning to set up an orphanage.â€
Theresa says she looks after the needy using proceeds from her winery, bottled water and juice. She began making pineapple wine as a hobby in 1993. In 1997, she started making wine from organically grown hibiscus plant and expanded the winery to a commercial scale.
In Mbikko, where she resides, Theresa is fondly known as Mother Theresa of Mbikko, because of her generosity and the many doors she has opened for the needy — those who would be roaming the streets for lack of a place called home.
This is in comparison with Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu), a Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950, and ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying.
She become internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless and won the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work.