St. Joseph's SS Naggalama

MRS. AGNES NSUBUGA NANTUME

Reminiscing about the last twenty-five years evokes a lot of happy memories. After graduation in 1995, I quickly delved into the world of work as a teacher at Uganda Martyrs’ Senior Secondary School Namugongo. My journey of progressive elevation from one rank to another began steadily within my first two years of service; first as a classteacher then as a head of department, senior lady and later Deputy Headteacher. Many started postulating that with such heavy responsibility I might become a career teacher as a single lady. I wouldn’t blame them because I was focused solely on my work and not worried about marriage or anything in that direction. Suddenly, I was contacted by my then boss; Ms. Clothilde Nakate Kikomeko about a gentleman with serious intentions. A little unconventional I thought but I trusted Ms. Kikomeko not to engage herself in anything with underhand motives. I thought hard and later-on agreed to meet my prospective husband. One meeting led to several others and then I got convinced this could be the man of my life for a life time. I committed everything to prayer and naturally sought the opinion of trusted relatives and who were positive too. Everything progressed quickly and before long, we had the kwanjula (introduction) after all the cultural preliminaries e.g. kukyala (initial visit to the bride’s parents) had been accomplished. Kwanjula is a big hectic event but thanks to the magnanimity of my late father; Mr George William Mbogo, we arranged it methodically accommodating all the shades of opinion. My father took the lead in every bit of the organisation, including participating in the selection of the matron and settling other finer details. It was really his function and on the D-day Martin and his entourage came home. We had a sumptuous function with a large contingent of guests from Masaka, most of whom eventually became well known to me. I was pleased to wear the engagement ring and to have my fiancée formally meet my family. This meant a lot to me. I had at that stage also met the then my in-laws to be and we had struck a friendship. I visited Masaka several times and Buddu quickly became my home. The wedding date was set for 23rd August 1997 and both Martin and I were anxious to have the function on the exact day that was set. The kwanjula had been planned to be a private affair at least as far as the school community was concerned. I was nevertheless stunned on my return to school after the ceremony, to get a guard of honour and wild applause from the students. They got to know about it and in their cheerful innocence literally blew it over the top. I wondered how they had got to know or perhaps, I thought I should never have wondered, for words spread like a wild fire, word really goes round! Wedding preparations are no mean feat. None of us really had the benefit of prior experience. Imagine you have to juggle between work, fittings, and shopping. This can be draining even in the middle of all the excitement. It is at the same time an apt prelude to actual home building because you discuss budgets and expenses in fine detail as a couple, you recognise each other’s tastes, and have to begin making joint decisions. I felt we discovered each other even more during this time of preparation. We were nevertheless, soon through with this exercise and moved on to receiving premarital instructions. These were done in Masaka and crowned with an in-depth session with Mrs. Bernadette Ddumba. She proved a class act, taking us through the nitty-gritty of the institution we were soon to join. She surely exhibited experience and deep practical knowledge. We are forever grateful to her. The actual wedding was such a colourful function and real manifestation of our mutual dream. It took place in Masaka Diocese at Blessed Sacrament Parish, Kimanya. Witnessing people taking their marriage vows is one thing and having to take them yourself is another. We went through the church ceremonies smoothly, and our relatives were there to witness and cheer us on. The late Bishop of Masaka Diocese, Rt. Rev. Dr. John Baptist Kaggwa not only led Mass but also presided over and blessed our marital vows. We thereafter enjoyed a lasting friendship with him since he treated me as his sister and Dr. Martin as his brother in-law because I belong to the Mbogo clan as he did. His sermon at the wedding still echoes in my mind. May the Lord grant him eternal rest! After the colourful wedding and honeymoon, my plan was to shift to Masaka and embark on my new role as a housewife. Indeed, employment opportunities were mooted at some of the prime schools in the area. I was later relieved to learn that my husband did not mind me continuing with my service at Uganda Martyrs Senior Secondary School Namugongo. It only meant we had to commute between Masaka and Kampala which we did effectively for four years until we agreed that we settle and concentrate our plans in Kampala. I was glad when Martin secured employment in Mulago Hospital which enabled us to practically settle as a whole family from then to date. The children then came, all very close to each other. They were however all healthy which was most pleasing to us as their parents. All the four were given birth to at Nsambya Hospital under the care of the same obstetrician all through; Prof. Pius Okong. He was so helpful and always willing to answer my seemingly endless questions. I genuinely thank him for having delivered me of our precious babies. Childbirth is a moment of anxiety for everybody. I was comforted by my husband who was around all the time together with my own family of Katuuso, Bbunga who enthusiastically and regularly visited me at the hospital to assist me in all forms including offering the psychological support needed at the moment. I am eternally grateful to them. Adding children to the family brought boundless joy and more excitement. We soon had infants going to school. The fact that we stayed at the school where I worked was particularly beneficial. I used to check on our children regularly and made surprise checks on those at home in case of inadequate domestic care and attention in our absence. For school, we opted for a nursery and primary school close to where we were living in Namugongo. We took the children to Hillside Naalya. We were pleased to interact with some of the most professional teachers I have known. Our children were well handled and well-treated too. We never ever felt that we were strangers to the institution at any moment. We were well treated and indeed missed each other when the youngest had to complete Primary seven. Moving to Naggalama created a bit of a challenge because we had to drive the children to school and back every day. However, with perseverance, we managed it. I heartily thank my husband for having dedicated himself to this task and the drivers, for their commitment on the days when Martin couldn’t do the driving himself. After primary education, our children soon joined secondary school, a stage I understood well, given my profession. I was very pleased to receive services from colleagues most of whom were well known to me. Their admissions to the preferred schools were always easy because of their good grades and my contacts besides personal friendship with the respective headteachers. We were lucky to have our children go to the top-notch secondary schools in the land and because of that, they made it to university without much difficulty with such achievement registered, only the choice of which University to go to seemed to be the challenge ahead of us. We have so far three of our children in universities and glorify God that John Mary; our first born has now graduated. Interestingly I have seen them mature quicker while away from home and living on their own than when they were at home. They seem to learn to make good decisions on their own. When they are very close to us, we seem to parent them too much and hamper their maturation process. By God’s providence, I was presented with a golden opportunity of promotion from being a deputy headteacher at Uganda Martyrs Senior Secondary School Namugongo to being a headteacher of St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School Naggalama. We were a young couple with a young family, at that stage John Mary was four years old, Mary Assumpta was three years old, Emmanuel Finbar was two years old while Mary Immaculate Emily was still in the womb. I thank my husband Dr. Martin who assisted me to make a vital decision of taking up my new responsibility after thorough discussions. It was a very difficult decision to move on, having started my teaching career at Uganda Martyrs Senior Secondary School Namugongo. This school laid my foundation in teaching and administration under the mentorship of Hon. Dr. J. C. Muyingo. My sincere gratitude goes to him for his wonderful grooming. We moved to Naggalama on 20th December 2002, a place which has been our second home for close to twenty years. I am grateful to Rt. Rev. Dr. Matthias Ssekamanya for having entrusted me with the headship of this school despite my inexperience as a headteacher from another milieu, having been a deputy headteacher of my previous school. I also thank him for having been very supportive and for being a stickler for integral education. He loves family life deeply and does not reserve any effort to advocate for and defend it. In addition, I heartly thank Bishop Christopher Kakooza for continuously entrusting me with the stewardship of St. Joseph’s SSS Naggalama which I cannot take for granted. He has gone on to provide a conducive work environment that has propelled us to greater heights as a renowned national academic giant that provides integral formation to the young generation too. Furthermore, I recognise his counselling role to the people in need. Our success and steady growth as a school is greatly attributed to the Very Rev. Msgr. Richard Kayondo, who steers an effective, committed, competent and devoted Board of Governors. Msgr. Richard Kayondo is appreciated for being very decisive, meticulous, assiduous and result oriented. This has helped St. Joseph’s SSS Naggalama to traverse a journey through thick and thin from humble beginnings to its current household status of being among the national academic giants. The Nsubuga’s appreciate him for being part of their family in sharing their joys and dividing their sorrows. My reflection would be incomplete without thanking His Eminence Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala for his love and closeness to our family. He gave us a prestigious job by appointing my husband as the Medical Director at St. Francis Nsambya Hospital; the job he did for eleven years successfully. He also encouraged me to take up the employment opportunity at St. Joseph’s SSS Naggalama in 2002. We always feel greatly humbled to belong to Cardinal’s wider family which used to hold a get together on 27th December every year until 2019 when COVID – 19 disrupted normal life. We are grateful to His Grace the Most Rev. Paul Ssemogerere the Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese for his friendship to us as humble servants. He amazes us when he openly expresses his closeness to us. Our work in Naggalama has enabled us to work with wonderful people like Rev. Fr. Vincent Wasswa who is a highly organised and committed priest who works passionately to achieve the desired results. We commend him for being an exemplary priest, a real friend and spiritual director of our family who guided all our children through Catechism hence we owe him a lot of gratitude. Our family life at St. Joseph’s SSS Naggalama brought us into contact with a very intelligent, committed and generous member of the Board of Governors; Mr. Joseph Ssettimba Musisi. His availability and reliability have helped us to execute our work with enthusiasm in a professional way. I thank him a thousand times. Our family owes Mr. Disan Kyambadde and his wife; Judge Joyce Kyambadde a lot of gratitude for their generosity acts to us. We pray that God rewards them and their family abundantly. The last twenty-five years have gone very fast and I am grateful to God, the clergy, my employers, family and friends. We have had our high moments and undoubtedly some challenging moments but when I look back there is more to be grateful for than to regret about. We set out into the unknown of building a family. At the start you get a lot of advice but along the way, you discover that you can’t really follow a written script or a standard formula much as there are fundamentals that are followed. There are so many nuances and sudden turns and indeed a continuous daily discovery. The subtleties in marriage were even more apparent to me when I served as Nabafumbo (female head of the married couples) of Lugazi Diocese for 12 years. I had to assist many couples to reconcile and overcome challenges. However, I was always made aware that I too needed to make my own marriage work to serve as a credible and capable role model that can give advice and encouragement. It was such a great learning experience for me. I must again emphasise that I did not feel there was an easy formula that everyone can apply. It is continuous learning, great commitment and above all, being propelled by the Grace of God through consistent prayers. This makes me feel grateful to God that we can celebrate this milestone with our mentors and friends. Lord thank you for your countless blessings to us. I am grateful to my husband for making it work for his fidelity and looking after our adorable children. I feel indebted to Rt. Rev. Matthias Ssekamanya for having given me the opportunity to serve as the Nabafumbo of Lugazi Diocese and for his continuous training that has enabled me to match the requirements of the marriage institution in the Church. I also appreciate him for the requisite literature which equipped us with the skills of assisting other married couples. We left a marriage manifesto in place. We thank Rev. Fr. Silas Kikulwe, who was our Parish Priest at Kaloli Lwanga Ggaba for seventeen years. He is close to our family and prepared me for our marriage. He urged me to embrace marriage with serious commitment, to fulfil its obligations and duties. Incidentally Rev. Fr. Silas Kikulwe who is “Omusaserdooti ow’ensonga” as far as our marriage is concerned has not attended our silver jubilee because he is attending the last funeral rites of his sister; Mumbejja Mary Jjuuko. Our sincere gratitude goes to the various religious leaders who have been a strong backbone to the success we are celebrating today. We treasure and cherish their unwavering support, counsel and willingness to offer any form of help sought from them without any reservation. We do not take this for granted and shall always look up to you. We beseech you to continue praying for us, to persist in bearing fruit that will last, for the glory of God. With boundless delight, I wish to appreciate our children for their love, care, humility, prayerfulness, generosity, concern for others, hardwork, diligence and discipline. We thank them for giving us happiness and hope to live and carry us through. Our students also deserve mention. They have been such a wonderful family to share our joy and sorrow with during this journey of immeasurable success that we are here to celebrate today. To the parents of St. Josephs’ SSS Naggalama, only God can reward you for the selfless love and role you play in making the Naggalama family complete. The comfort we enjoy as a result of such a conducive environment cannot be taken for granted as far as our journey of marriage is concerned. May God continue to bless you. Twebaza nnyo bakadde baffe ab’e Katuuso ne Kitigi olw’okutuleeta mu nsi okutulera, okutulabirira, okutusomesa n’okutugunjula mu ddiini ne mumpisa. Tubeebaza okutwagala n’okutuyigiriza obwetowaze, ekisa, okubeera abakozi, okwegayirira mu mbeera zonna zetubeeramu wamu n’obugumikiiriza. Nze mu ngeri eyenjawulo, nebaza bakadde bange banna Mawokota okunzikiriza okufuuka omwana waabwe ow’obuwala. Mbebaza okunjagala. Mwebale nnyo mwebalire ddala. Omukama abaddizeewo musera. I thank my siblings and their spouses for loving me, being supportive to me while traversing my marriage journey through thick and thin in the twenty five years of its existence. My profound appreciation goes to my best friend and husband; Dr. Martin Nsubuga. I thank you for your humility, fidelity, loyalty, friendship, prayers and for taking care of our family. Thank you for fulfilling your marriage vows to me besides sustaining your obligations as a husband and father. I delight in the fact that you are a close-knit family member of the Mbogos. We heartily appreciate you for the special role you play as our family doctor. We shall ever be grateful to you for having treated our father when he was sick. You are commended for your unflinching support to me in my work. I cherish all the moments when you attend all the school functions like daily Masses. Your presence in St. Joseph’s SSS Naggalama gives me the courage to carry-on the mantle of leadership confirming the fact that behind every successful woman there is a committed man. Prophesies that came true When John Mary was three years old, he quietly dismantled his father’s electric flat iron into pieces which the latter had kept intact for eleven years. On sharing the ordeal with our mother of Kitigi, she amazingly exclaimed that her grandson would be an engineer contrary to our anticipation that John Mary would pursue medicine just as his father did. Interestingly, he kept up the medicine dream until senior five when he opted to pursue an engineering course to my disbelief. We glorify God that as I write this, John Mary is a Graduate Civil Engineer with a Masters Degree. During my graduation celebrations, one of our relatives challenged my mother on why there was ‘no special man’ beside me as the practice was for most graduates at the time. In response, my mother confidently emphasised that my sole focus at the university was pursuing a degree not searching for a potential suitor. She went on to prophesie that having completed my studies, God was going to gift me with a medical doctor for a husband. At the time, this came as a complete shock as I had no idea on what type of husband I would eventually get married to. A year after, I met Dr. Martin who had serious intentions of marriage which he fulfilled by leaps and bounds. At the moment, I am happy that I am sharing with you the fulfilment of my mother’s prophecy which led to the joy that Dr. Martin and I are now enjoying. Turning to today’s celebration, we are grateful to first and foremost the Bishop of Lugazi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Bishop Christopher Kakooza whom we contacted long before hand and he agreed to lead us in today’s Mass. We are equally thankful to the Rev. Msgr. Dr. Richard Kayondo who is the Vicar General of Lugazi Diocese and doubles as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School and his entire Board who allowed us to host the celebration on the school premises. The Executive Select Committee of the Board of Governors executed its mandate by holding several meetings to prepare for our Silver Jubilee. We are sincerely grateful to the governing bodies of this school for their generous support towards the success of this day. Due appreciation goes to the community of St. Joseph’s SSS, who have not held anything back in ensuring we have a colourful celebration. They have been supportive during the fundraising sessions and have assigned themselves duties to ensure the success of the function. They have given me assurance that all will be well. I have no reason to disbelieve them. The chairperson of the organising committee; Mr. Frank Ssempebwa and the overall coordinator Mr. Vinansio Amone who have been slogging away on a daily basis also deserve mention. We are similarly appreciative to all our relatives and friends who have contributed in various ways towards the success of the function. We are eternally indebted to you, will always pray for you and commend you to God for an appropriate reward. Indeed, celebrate with us the silver jubilee. We appreciate you all! We commend the advertisers in the “Nsubuga’s Magazine” namely: Swico, Centenary Bank, Namilyango College, VIKASH Technologies Uganda Ltd, St. Mary’s College Lugazi, St. Cyprian High School Kyabakadde, HL Construction Ltd, Global Paints Ltd, Mulongo catering services, St. Joseph’s Mixed Primary School, Soccernet, Golden Plumbing and hardware Ltd and Bake for me. Similarly, we commend all categories of service providers whose contribution has boosted the success of this Silver Jubilee Celebration. These include: Photogenic Uganda Ltd, Mulongo catering services, Bake for me, Spice Decorators, Digital Visual Interface Ltd, Mwekise Enterprises, whom the Nsubuga’s owe their appreciation. We are confident that all the service providers will execute their work to our entire satisfaction. Blessed occurrences My husband and I are blessed to celebrate our 25th marriage anniversary with our Diocese in 2022. In addition, we feel greatly honoured to celebrate our annual marriage anniversary with Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere’s episcopate anniversary. Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere was consecrated as the Bishop of Kasana-Luwero Diocese on 23rd August which also doubles as our actual wedding anniversary date. Likewise, we are humbled to celebrate our marriage silver anniversary with five priests in Lugazi Diocese who are marking their priestly silver jubilee celebrations among whom is our parish priest Rev. Fr. Ignatius Ndawula. We thank God for these abundant blessings and graces. “We shall recount the abundance of God’s acts of faithful love” manifested in the profound trajectory of our twenty five years of marriage. The Lord has done several great things for us. We thank him for a blissful marriage, our adorable children, our jobs, gift of life, service protection besides our modest contribution to society and our church. We have shaped future generations and saved lives through our vocations by the grace of God. To God be the glory.