Lynda Nabayiinda, and Josh Tahinduka talk BOTEA 17

 The Best of Toastmasters East Africa (BOTEA17), came with much aplomb. Hosted in Kigali, the hosts gave the East Africans a run for their money. They were suave, hospitable and charitable. Lynda Nabayiinda, Immediate Past President of Kampala Toastmasters Club and Josh Tahinduka the CEO of BOTEA 17, share their personal journeys.

Stephano Kiyemba

Christine Nabiryo and Viola Lutara

Paul Kavuma

As usual, when it's time to travel outside my home town, my spirits soar. And the impending trip to Rwanda-Kigali was no different. I looked forward to the road trip with 15 other colleagues. We traveled at night and it proved to be a great decision. we chatted all the way to the Katuna border. Imagine!. Fast forward, the first activity once in Kigali was the panel discussion with 4 experienced toastmasters as the panelists and an amazing audience mainly composed of Rwanda youth who by the end of the 1 hour session were ready to become toastmasters. The cocktail after the panel discussion too was a great opportunity to network and make new friends from the 4 different countries that were represented.

What stood out most for me was the number of contestants. Over 30!. The speeches were all of high quality and showed a lot of preparation. Our 5 speakers from Uganda didn't disappoint; well structured speeches with no pause fillers, the right dose of humor and of course the expected punchy openings and conclusions. our contestants made it to the semi-finals which was commendable. We would have loved to bring the trophy home, but BOTEA 2018 is just a few months away. I can't wait.

Hoping once you read this, you will take the first step and join a toastmasters club near you and become one of the contestants for the next BOTEA.

Lynda Nabayiinda

Immediate Past President 

Kampala Toastmasters Club 

LYNDA N

 
JOSH TAHINDUKA SHARES, BELOW

WHAT WAS IT LIKE AS CEO?

The experience of Hosting BOTEA in Rwanda is not one I will ever forget. We had 34 contestants all aiming for the Best speaker of 2017, probably the stiffest completion BOTEA has ever had. Prior to BOTEA we had a panel discussion that attracted over 150 professionals and Toastmasters in Kigali, the Rwandans managed to share their stories through UMUGANDA with the rest of the brothers and sisters in East Africa, we elected the leadership of the Territorials Council, the list could go on.  

FAVOURITE MOMENTS?

As an organizer, it is rather not easy to experience everything and later on chose the best moments but for me, my best moment was at the start of each day when I saw members streaming in from all over East Africa and Africa. It was exhilarating seeing the people my team prepared a banquet for, attending even beyond our expectations.

BIGGEST CHALLENGES?

Ensuring that we managed Time well. 

YOUR FAVOURITE SPEECH?

I think all speakers I watched were great speakers and each had a unique message for me so I would struggle to single out one. 

LESSONS FOR RWANDA

The biggest lesson for Rwanda is there is much more potential in us than is tapped. Many of us never knew that we would organize East Africa’s biggest public speaking conference to that level of success. We experienced the beauty of teamwork and for this I wish to acknowledge my team for the impeccable piece of work. 

IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, WOULD YOU HOST AGAIN?

Hosting BOTEA was such an enriching experience for me and hopefully my team. In as much as I am boldly sure that Rwanda as a country would jump on the opportunity to host BOTEA, I would not be the CEO of the event. I would be selfish if I never let another person learn the lessons like I did. I however will be ready to host the Best of Toastmasters Africa!!

LESSONS FOR NEXT YEAR

The biggest lesson for next year is to start planning as early as possible. Please remember that time will possibly fly by so ensure proper allocation of time to each activity. This will prevent you from shocks. Finally, enjoy each part of the journey as a precious learning opportunity but also a priceless chance to serve other people.

 



 

Davis Tashobya, Richard Ssebaggala and Nora Matovu

SEE YOU AT BOTEA 2018

Bukoto Toastmasters Club meets every first Tuesday of the month at Alliance Francaise. We’re soon moving to our new premises.

Email: bukototoastmastersclub@gmail.com

Twitter:  @BukotoTM1

Blog:      bukototoastmastersclub.blogspot.com

Tel: +256 751 703226

THE POWER OF A DREAM –CC1 SPEECH By Jesse Ainebyoona

 

 

THE POWER OF A DREAM –CC1 SPEECH By Jesse Ainebyoona

It was Carl Sandburg who said that nothing happens unless first a dream.

 I am going to share with you today about the power of a dream. I truly believe that dreams come true.

Born 31years ago in the beautiful Switzerland of Uganda, I Jesse Ainebyoona, a 4th born in a family of 5 boys and 1 girl, had no idea what great adventure lay ahead of me as I began my life in the beautiful land of Kabale.

I started school at Kabale Primary School. I can remember the cold mornings as I walked to school through the town streets. I would see buses loading passengers going to Kampala and I would wonder if I would one day get an opportunity to travel to Kampala. I had seen pictures of the city in our text books and I longed to go there one day but I had never got an opportunity to do so.

When I got to Primary 4, my dad who was an established business man in Kampala, invited us to visit him. I packed my bag 5 days to the trip and i was so thrilled that I hardly slept the night before. I couldn't wait for the morning to come. Excitement filled my heart as I boarded the bus to go to Kampala for the first time. I was amazed at the number of cars on the streets, the tall buildings and many people. That was my first journey to Kampala. My father promised that if I went back to Kabale and passed my promotional exams to Primary 5, I would go to study in Kampala. Indeed I went back and studied very hard and was promoted to Primary 5 & then moved to Kampala where I enrolled at Kampala Parents. It was a dream come true.

It was such a new experience! I could hear children talking about cartoon network and superman but I had no idea what they were talking about because I had never experienced that. My childhood in Kabale was spent fetching water, doing house chores and playing out in the fields with my friends. I somehow felt left out but I chose to focus on my studies.

When I got to Primary 7, I put my first choice at St Mary's College Kisubi and with aggregate 5 in my PLE, I made it on merit. It was a dream come true.

When I got to Form 2, I suffered the adolescent disease and one day when I was suspended for stealing school bans due to peer pressure. This badly affected my self esteem and my performance in class soon began to decline. My position in class shifted to the bottom 5. I was the shadow of myself and i was a disappointment to my parents and those who looked up to me. I was asked to repeat Form 3 but at the headmaster's mercy, I was promoted to Form 4 on probation. I had a dream to make good grades, regain my lost reputation and make it to the University on Government Sponsorship but I felt this dream was slowly flipping through my fingers.

 I challenged myself to improve my grades but things only seemed to go from bad to worse. In Form 4 first term exams, I got 31 aggregates in 8 subjects. In second term, I vowed to come back stronger and perform  better but i only improved by -1 and got 32 in 8 in mock exams. With sheer determination, intense hard work and constant encouragement from my mother, I got 14 aggregates in the best 8 subjects. It was a dream come true. I desired to change the school  environment so I went to Kibuli Secondary School for my High School.

Here I got to discover the other side of me that I had never known before. I participated in debating competitions and emerged the best  debater overall, an award that I esteem so highly to this date.

I was able to go to the university on Government scholarship to study Mechanical Engineering. This was another dream come true.

While at the university, a friend shared with me a business idea. I saw it as something I would do to occupy me in my free time and make some pocket money while on campus. By the time I got to second year, I was earning close to a million shillings and I have never looked back. By the time I got to 3rd year, I had bought my first car and by the time of my graduation, the income I was earning was much more than I would get paid on a job. This was yet another experience that made me realize that dreams come true.

One day I escorted a friend who was traveling abroad to the airport. When I saw him board the aeroplane, I was mesmerized by the experience and I desired to travel by plane one day but every time I thought about it, my mind would go racing with endless questions such as where would I go, to see who, to do what and who would pay?

At the time, the company I was working with would be celebrating a golden jubilee in a year's time and this was to take place in London. The company set an incentive that whoever would achieve a certain sales target would get the opportunity to travel to London for the golden jubilee celebration.

I got a picture of a plane and put it at the back of my diary and I looked at it all the time as I went about my business activities.

It became such a consuming obsession that one day I dreamt that I was on a plane only to wake up to find myself in my bed. I wished I had stayed in the dream!

Finally I achieved the sales target and received the invitation letter to attend the golden jubilee celebration in London.

The day finally came for me to travel to London. I was dressed so smartly in a dark blue suit that one of my friends who had escorted me to the airport remarked that if I there was a free seat in the First class section, they would give it to me.

What amazed me also was that the aircraft I had on the picture in my diary is the same one I used to travel that day.

At home, i set a record by becoming the first person in my family and entire clan to board a plane! Indeed dreams come true.

Sometimes we set out to achieve something but we often get overwhelmed with some many obstacles and challenges.

It reminds me of this poem:

The road to success is never straight.

There's a curb called failure,

a loop of confusion,

speed bumps called friends,

red lights called enemies,

caution lights called family,

flat tyres called jobs, but if you have a spare tyre called determination,

an engine called faith,

insurance called perseverance,

a vehicle called Opportunity and

a driver called Jesus,

you will make it to a Destination called success.

Thank you

Bukoto Toastmaster s  Club meets every first Tuesday of the month at Alliance Francaise. We’re soon moving to our new premises.

'Where the brave speak'

Email: bukototoastmastersclub@gmail.com

Twitter:  @BukotoTM1

Blog:      bukototoastmastersclub.blogspot.com

Tel: +256 751 703226

Loved by the best-CC1 speech by Catherine Opondo

Loved by the best

Do you want to know what love is?

Catherine Opondo

At a very young age I seemed to notice his side-burns as he kissed or carried me. He often played a game that he called “eating your ears”, that was my recollection of affection.I somehow knew my position or place in his space or world. Ideally at that time I was the first girl, and oh yes! he doted over me. He introduced all his children to everyone he encountered, we were the pride of His introductions. Not a sentence ended without making mention of HIS WIFE OR CHILDREN. He was Daddy, my father, Fred Henry Kasozi. (May he rest in peace ). It is his love that shaped me, a journey that began on 5^th December 1976 at Mulago where I was born; Catherine Kasozi.

This is where I get my sense of security and pride. I am so certain this experience contributes to my ability to easily relate with people, my view is that of security. Daddy's childhood was not a glamorous one,from a broken family, he chose to make himself an admirable life, He found love and married the girl of his dreams (Margaret) and together they birthed six beautiful children and I come third from this lineage. When we were growing up, plenty was not an option in our household, but love was and this is how it was shown.We shared everything with the needy, relatives and friends. Beddings, rooms and food were not personalized. They often took strolls in the neighborhood and I stared intently at the balcony as he slipped his hand into hers as they walked and talked each evening. All family matters were discussed with the children and we had a say into what works and what made economic sense. Our friends as children were their friends too and as they visited; they each had personal moments to talk and find life’s wisdom with him. I now can tell why I have a heart of compassion and my understanding of love is that it must be shown.

I was introduced to the world of music by my parents. Lessons and discipline were instilled as we were taken as early as six years to join the church choir; attend the Kampala singers’ concerts and prose and song defined our moments of learning as Mum sang us to sleep, to patience (Have Patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry…. When you get impatient,) and loving one another. At some point, they shared their friends’ choirs' practices at home and we had a chance at listening to the world’s best voices, “the Nazareth Blessed Choir”. When music becomes the language of a home, it changes the way people relate, it sharpens a child’s development. If I were to trace where my love for music started it cannot escape the idea that My Parents brought music home. Nevertheless, when they chose to take us to school, they chose schools that had a musical appreciation. Kitante Primary school, Makerere College School where I participated in concerts and contests, were always the highlights. Ladies and Gentlemen this is the reason why I and my siblings sing; we were loved by the best.

At work, during a Bukoto Toastmasters club meeting 

I admired their love for each other and their deep devotion to faith. I wondered whether this would be something I would carry on in my future. My parents introduced me to the best, the love that defines their love and that was their God, whom they told me had Loved them the best. I can proudly say I was loved by the best because they received from the best a love they cherish. My inclination to hold onto Faith is deeply rooted in my upbringing. You might not have received the love am talking about and just like my Father, had a childhood that you may not want anyone to talk about. But you have a choice to rewrite history through the future. Having walked a journey of rejection, poverty and pain; he chose to make his stepping stone, through his work.Traversing towns and cities of Kampala, Luwero, Gulu, Kabale, Kigali, Abuja, Lagos, Freetown, Cote D’viore, Harare and Juba finding children like him and giving them hope. 

As he is fondly known by many, Uncle Fred gave many young boys and girls hope through his work. Sharing my Father with these many children gave me a new-found love. He chose to dream for Uganda’s girls along with his wife; that one day all girls will fully participate in a world where all people are engaged in their economic, political and social development. A dream for over 800 girls in Uganda was birthed; who proudly walk these streets with confidence. Confidence that comes from knowing just like me that I was loved by the best.And this is where I spend my time, working to see this dream at Concern for the Girl Child to greater heights.

He often said,“Uganda’s children have been dipped in hatred, rejection, pain, corruption, poverty and shame and likened them to sponges…. when you dip a sponge in dirty water and squeeze it out you get dirty water and likewise when you dip it in milk and squeeze out you will get milk.”

“Dip a child in Love… when we dip them in love; love is what they will give the world around them”. This is the principle I am still learning to use as I raise my three children and influence the many children I have been able to meet through my work.

I was dipped in Love, and because I was loved by the best, love is what I will give the world around me.

Catherine Opondo is Bukoto Toastmasters treasurer.

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JOIN US ON OUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEY

BUKOTO TOASTMASTERS CLUB EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2017-2018

 FOUNDING PRESIDENT  Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva.

Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva. Author, public speaking trainer and long-distance swimmer. Currently  Vice President Publicity of Kampala Toastmasters Club. She holds a Masters Degree in Creative writing from Lancaster University.

VICE PRESIDENT EDUCATION : Connie Nshemereirwe

Seasoned Toastmaster with international experience. Founder of the Uganda Martyrs University Nkozi gavel club. Holds a PhD in Education from University of Twente Netherlands.

VICE  PRESIDENT MEMBERSHIP Hellen Kongai Biruma

Hellen Kongai Biruma joined Kampala Toastmasters Club in January 2016.  She is a part time lecturer in Kyambogo University.   She previously worked as an administrative Officer at the Regional University’s Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture.  She has a Master of Agribusiness Management and a Bachelor of Commerce Degrees of Makerere University and is a doctoral  fellow at the University of Malawi. 

TREASURER   Catherine Kasozi Opondo

C.E.O of Concern for the Girl Child. She is an international Ambassador of gospel music, a philanthropist and community leader.

GENERAL SECRETARY    Kembabazi Catherine Acom

25 Years of age.  A Realtor And Property Consultant.

holds a Degree in Real Estate and Business Management.

Runs a Real Estate Online Business ( Woodmatt Property Agency)

VICE PRESIDENT PUBLICITY   Andrew Welishe

A pilot by training . He has five years experience in radio publicity. Runs an events management firm an promotes Uganda tourism professionally.

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