Vision visits oldest twin

Vision Group staff give gifts to Nakato

Last month, Vision Group staff visited one of the twins who attended last year's Vision-organised Twins Festival. Elvanson Nakato and her twin Lovinsa Babirye were great attractions at the festival as they turned out to be the oldest twins at the event.

Unfortunately, Babirye passed on in December, just three months after the festival. The visit by the Vision team was to condole with Nakato over the demise of her twin and to remind her that the Vision family, on behalf of the Uganda Twins Community, cares about her.

As we proceeded on the journey, excitement kept on building about what reaction we would elicit from Nakato. We drove from industrial area, branched off at Busiika trading centre, just after Bugema University and Bugema Adventist Secondary School. We finally reached Degeya, Bombo in Luwero district the home of Nakato.

Since she was expecting us, we thought we would find her seated in the house, awaiting our arrival. This is due to her condition; Nakato lives with pain in the legs, and she feels the strain when she stands for long.

We thought Nakato was still overwrought with grief, but she smiled, hugged and welcomed us to her home. Immediately after we were ushered into the living room, she caught sight of ‘her mother' ‘Aunt Jovita'. It is the norm that everyone who gives birth to twins is a mother or father to twins.

 Nakato and Babirye at the twins festival in August 2016

Jovita Ajuna, the editor Toto magazine, is a mother to twins, who the elderly twins got attached to during last year's festival.   Looking at ‘her mother' Jovita brought back memories of her late sister Babirye. She started sobbing, but was immediately surrounded and comforted by the Vision team and her niece Maddy Nassozi Babisigawo who led the visit.

Nassozi, Babirye's daughter.  Nakato broke into songs of praise, and paid tribute to her deceased sister. Afterwards, she was eager to know who had honoured her to pay a visit. Nakato kept on cracking jokes and her witty mood kept her guests entertained. When Nassozi presented her with photos of last year's twin festival, she surprised everyone by recalling all the twins who appeared in the photos. Her guests were treated to a sumptuous meal.

Afterwards, her guests presented her with food items and she was appreciative. Nassozi also gave her a new mobile phone handset and other gifts. When the Vision Group team proceeded to Babirye's home, it was the opposite of what we found at Nakato's. There was a visible absence of a matriarch and Nassozi could not hide the fact that she

was missing her mother. Nassozi sobbed, telling us: "You have not met mummy here, but I think she is happy where she is". Nassozi, who held the photograph of her departed mother, said she lived a full life. A prayer was held for the deceased, and in attendance were neighbours. Even though the guests had feasted at Nakato's, Nassozi insisted on serving

the guests a meal in honour of their visit, saying her late mother would never let her guests leave without at least having a glass of water.

 WHY THE VISIT? Penlope Nankunda, the contributing editor for weekend papers, explained that the team paid the courtesy visit to appreciate the twins. "As Vision Group, we do not only stop at events.

We follow up on all those that make us proud," she said. She said more visits would be made to different homes of those who attended and participated in the twins' festival. Nankunda noted that the month of July would be dedicated to celebrating twins ahead of the fourth Kampala Twins Festival on August 20.