Mother was a beacon of hope after dad passed on
Jan 21, 2009
Excuse me sir, can I see the pupils by the names of Daisy Nagudi and Donald Massa?†requested Aunt Norah. <br>The previous night had flown by with a lot of difficulty. I had had a nightmare and little did I know that this was a premonition. I was info
By Daisy Nagudi
Excuse me sir, can I see the pupils by the names of Daisy Nagudi and Donald Massa?†requested Aunt Norah.
The previous night had flown by with a lot of difficulty. I had had a nightmare and little did I know that this was a premonition. I was informed by the dormitory matron that there was an urgent call for me at the general office. I immediately ran at breakneck speed to the teacher on duty.
“Daisy,†he called.
“Yes sir,†I answered. Seeing my aunt, I ran to embrace her, but she burst out in tears. She could not look me straight in the eye. This, I later realised, was because she had been instructed not to let information slip to me and Donald. She told me that she had come to take us home. I headed to Donald’s’ dormitory and gave him the information.
On our arrival at home, I saw many people in the compound and the most weird thing was that they were all wailing. Mother ran towards us and hugged us tight, crying hysterically as tears streamed down her face.
“My children, I am sorry that your father is dead…†she wept.
In a spilt second, I thought I was having hallucinations. I was dumbfounded and the next instant, I collapsed.
Everybody’s attention had now turned to me, the crying became louder as they all shuddered at the prospect of a second death, but I was given first aid and regained consciousness.
I was 12-years-old in P.6. Donald was 10, in P.4.
At that moment, thoughts of committing suicide came to mind. For Donald, it was worse. He was younger and needed dad most.
Food lost its taste, I could not sleep at night and I cried at the mention of his name.
It took a fortnight before we held the funeral service because father was popular and many people wanted to pay him their last respects.
Life lost meaning. I had lost the most important person in my life.
After two weeks, we went back to school. Life was harsh. Everybody at school was inquisitive about father.
They kept staring at me and whispering behind my back. It really hurt a lot.
I lost concentration in class and could not help crying and indulging in self-pity. Parents came to see their children on visitation days, while I waited in vain. I constantly wished my father was still alive.
However, there is one special woman in my life who stood by the family — my mother, Mrs. Irene Mass, widowed at 36 years of age. She was unemployed because father had been wealthy and the sole bread winner, while she styaed at home to look after us, the children.
Mother felt the loss heavily. There was no escape. Father’s death became the turning point for the family.
“What am I supposed to do with an orphaned family of five children?†she pondered. To add insult to injury, our relatives turned into enemies. They grabbed all our property and land, leaving us with only the house we were staying in.
Mother was helpless. She cried endlessly, but friends comforted her. Life was tough for us, but she stood strong despite the poverty.
When it was time to go back to school, she borrowed from friends, sold clothes and family property to get money for our fees and requirements.
At one time, I had to sit for exams at the beginning of the term. They were essential in third term, but there was not even a single coin to pay the fees.
Mother tried to plead with the headmaster, but he harshly chased us away from the school compound, saying I would only be allowed into school if I cleared the required fees. It was such an embarrassment.
Mother has always endeavoured to provide all our needs, even in the hardest of seasons, where there was not a single coin at home. She loves us and shows a lot of care, visiting us at school and providing our basic needs.
Once, I was fell sick at school and mother was called in the evening and she came to school that night to pick me up.
Tough times reigned on us, father’s relatives wanted to see us off the family land that had once been under father’s custody. Land surveyors thronged our compound. We were given one month to vacate the land. This left us in a sense of hopelessness.
One morning while at home, two Police cars with policemen in it, drove onto our land, the Policemen inside threw us out of the house with out property. Mother broke down. As we walked out, the neighbours just looked on.
We thought: “What are we to do?†Luckily, one of my uncles coincidently came to call on us. He is the district educational officer of Sironko District. He decided to take action.
Gemei Charles reasoned with the policemen that everyone had rights and they, therefore, could not treat us with such disdain. He directed mother to a female lawyer working with FIDA. This lawyer worked tirelessly together with mum, she had letters signed to protect us against the land surveyors and to this day, we still reside on the bequeathed land.
Mother has always been there for us through thick and thin. We are a family of five. The eldest boy, Derrick, is asthmatic. One cold night in November, he got a severe attack. We heard endless coughing from his room and sounds of him battling.
My mother’s room is adjacent to Derrick’s and so she heard the noise coming from his room. When she went to check on Derrick, he was unconscious. Being the strong woman and mother she is, she summoned us, we awakened our neighbours, whose car we used to transport Derrick to hospital.
At the hospital, there were no doctors. The situation looked grim, we were all tense and anxious about whether he would survive. Mother kept praying for a miracle, our last-born Dora cried hysterically and Donald tried to be strong.
Fortunately, a doctor walked in and felt Derrick’s pulse. “He is still breathing,†he told us.
“Oh thank you God,†cried mother, as she breathed a sigh of relief. We joined in her excitement.
“Thank you Jesus,†I cried. Words could not express how grateful I felt to learn that Derrick was still alive.
I admired mother’s strength and could not help wondering how she kept that strong during such a crucial moment.
Derrick was discharged from hospital, but there was no money to pay for his treatment. It cost a fortune and yet mother was as poor as a church mouse. There seemed no way out and so mother took a loan of sh1m from the bank to meet the expenses.
As the years have gone by, we have advanced academically; Derrick joined university, Dona, our second born, joined Makerere University Business School. I had completed O’Level in Tororo Girls’ School and passed. I am now back there for my A’Level.
What my mother went through was too much pressure for a single, unemployed mother. She grew thin and worried continuously. She started her own business in order to educate us.
At one point, there seemed to be no hope for me to advance in school. I was disillusioned. School began and the term went by while I was still at home.
Mother always gave me counsel when I was in despair. I kept ceaselessly praying and I had faith that one day, God would perform a miracle.
On February 25, 2008, our uncle, the chief administrative officer of Moyo District, paid us a visit. When he saw the dire straits we were in, he decided to give mother sh5m to pay off her debts and meet our school dues.
Words cannot express how grateful I am to mother for all that she has done for the family. She will always be my hero.
Excuse me sir, can I see the pupils by the names of Daisy Nagudi and Donald Massa?†requested Aunt Norah.
The previous night had flown by with a lot of difficulty. I had had a nightmare and little did I know that this was a premonition. I was informed by the dormitory matron that there was an urgent call for me at the general office. I immediately ran at breakneck speed to the teacher on duty.
“Daisy,†he called.
“Yes sir,†I answered. Seeing my aunt, I ran to embrace her, but she burst out in tears. She could not look me straight in the eye. This, I later realised, was because she had been instructed not to let information slip to me and Donald. She told me that she had come to take us home. I headed to Donald’s’ dormitory and gave him the information.
On our arrival at home, I saw many people in the compound and the most weird thing was that they were all wailing. Mother ran towards us and hugged us tight, crying hysterically as tears streamed down her face.
“My children, I am sorry that your father is dead…†she wept.
In a spilt second, I thought I was having hallucinations. I was dumbfounded and the next instant, I collapsed.
Everybody’s attention had now turned to me, the crying became louder as they all shuddered at the prospect of a second death, but I was given first aid and regained consciousness.
I was 12-years-old in P.6. Donald was 10, in P.4.
At that moment, thoughts of committing suicide came to mind. For Donald, it was worse. He was younger and needed dad most.
Food lost its taste, I could not sleep at night and I cried at the mention of his name.
It took a fortnight before we held the funeral service because father was popular and many people wanted to pay him their last respects.
Life lost meaning. I had lost the most important person in my life.
After two weeks, we went back to school. Life was harsh. Everybody at school was inquisitive about father.
They kept staring at me and whispering behind my back. It really hurt a lot.
I lost concentration in class and could not help crying and indulging in self-pity. Parents came to see their children on visitation days, while I waited in vain. I constantly wished my father was still alive.
However, there is one special woman in my life who stood by the family — my mother, Mrs. Irene Mass, widowed at 36 years of age. She was unemployed because father had been wealthy and the sole bread winner, while she styaed at home to look after us, the children.
Mother felt the loss heavily. There was no escape. Father’s death became the turning point for the family.
“What am I supposed to do with an orphaned family of five children?†she pondered. To add insult to injury, our relatives turned into enemies. They grabbed all our property and land, leaving us with only the house we were staying in.
Mother was helpless. She cried endlessly, but friends comforted her. Life was tough for us, but she stood strong despite the poverty.
When it was time to go back to school, she borrowed from friends, sold clothes and family property to get money for our fees and requirements.
At one time, I had to sit for exams at the beginning of the term. They were essential in third term, but there was not even a single coin to pay the fees.
Mother tried to plead with the headmaster, but he harshly chased us away from the school compound, saying I would only be allowed into school if I cleared the required fees. It was such an embarrassment.
Mother has always endeavoured to provide all our needs, even in the hardest of seasons, where there was not a single coin at home. She loves us and shows a lot of care, visiting us at school and providing our basic needs.
Once, I was fell sick at school and mother was called in the evening and she came to school that night to pick me up.
Tough times reigned on us, father’s relatives wanted to see us off the family land that had once been under father’s custody. Land surveyors thronged our compound. We were given one month to vacate the land. This left us in a sense of hopelessness.
One morning while at home, two Police cars with policemen in it, drove onto our land, the Policemen inside threw us out of the house with out property. Mother broke down. As we walked out, the neighbours just looked on.
We thought: “What are we to do?†Luckily, one of my uncles coincidently came to call on us. He is the district educational officer of Sironko District. He decided to take action.
Gemei Charles reasoned with the policemen that everyone had rights and they, therefore, could not treat us with such disdain. He directed mother to a female lawyer working with FIDA. This lawyer worked tirelessly together with mum, she had letters signed to protect us against the land surveyors and to this day, we still reside on the bequeathed land.
Mother has always been there for us through thick and thin. We are a family of five. The eldest boy, Derrick, is asthmatic. One cold night in November, he got a severe attack. We heard endless coughing from his room and sounds of him battling.
My mother’s room is adjacent to Derrick’s and so she heard the noise coming from his room. When she went to check on Derrick, he was unconscious. Being the strong woman and mother she is, she summoned us, we awakened our neighbours, whose car we used to transport Derrick to hospital.
At the hospital, there were no doctors. The situation looked grim, we were all tense and anxious about whether he would survive. Mother kept praying for a miracle, our last-born Dora cried hysterically and Donald tried to be strong.
Fortunately, a doctor walked in and felt Derrick’s pulse. “He is still breathing,†he told us.
“Oh thank you God,†cried mother, as she breathed a sigh of relief. We joined in her excitement.
“Thank you Jesus,†I cried. Words could not express how grateful I felt to learn that Derrick was still alive.
I admired mother’s strength and could not help wondering how she kept that strong during such a crucial moment.
Derrick was discharged from hospital, but there was no money to pay for his treatment. It cost a fortune and yet mother was as poor as a church mouse. There seemed no way out and so mother took a loan of sh1m from the bank to meet the expenses.
As the years have gone by, we have advanced academically; Derrick joined university, Dona, our second born, joined Makerere University Business School. I had completed O’Level in Tororo Girls’ School and passed. I am now back there for my A’Level.
What my mother went through was too much pressure for a single, unemployed mother. She grew thin and worried continuously. She started her own business in order to educate us.
At one point, there seemed to be no hope for me to advance in school. I was disillusioned. School began and the term went by while I was still at home.
Mother always gave me counsel when I was in despair. I kept ceaselessly praying and I had faith that one day, God would perform a miracle.
On February 25, 2008, our uncle, the chief administrative officer of Moyo District, paid us a visit. When he saw the dire straits we were in, he decided to give mother sh5m to pay off her debts and meet our school dues.
Words cannot express how grateful I am to mother for all that she has done for the family. She will always be my hero.