Loved by the best
Do you want to know what love is?
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| 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 5th 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.
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| 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.
