Footprints Podcast | Season 1 | Episode 22 | The Practice of Becoming
You will never experience growth if you confine yourself to a life of stagnation. In this episode of the Footprints Podcast, Honourable (Hon) Victoria Sekitoleko recounts her life’s journey, the lessons she garnered as a woman who was “always on the move,” and the power of mindset in her walk as a leader as well as an individual.
The first lesson she shares is the importance of knowing your self-worth- “it’s a joy to be me,” she says- an attribute that she nurtured for a long time while growing up in Jinja, cultivated by her father, who never referred to any of his five daughters collectively as “the girls,” but rather by their distinct names. He often stated that he had begotten leaders in each of his children.
Hon. Victoria narrates how she got familiarized with the concept of change as she was “always on the move,” transferring between schools in her primary years, prodded by the lengthy distance to some of said schools, the quality of education presented, and certainly, the fact that one of these schools demonstrated a rather unwelcoming stance towards her family. She eventually settled at Walikuba Estate School, advancing to Iganga Girls Junior School for 3 years after her Primary Six (at the time, Primary Seven was non-existent), then to Gayaza High School in 1964 for the entirety of her high school.
Working at Uganda Development Bank as an Agricultural Banking Officer, Hon. Victoria was a trailblazer in creating a Women’s Movement at a male-dominated office, uniting women to address female concerns like the essentiality of water and hygiene in restrooms at their workplaces and raising awareness about the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) resulting from the raging HIV pandemic in 1985. Her initiative went on to be used to educate the bank staff in general by the time she was the Head of Administration, equipping them with knowledge to stay safe amidst the pandemic.
She was a versatile individual, offering her labor at the Friendly Hands Organization focused on assuaging poverty in communities as a secretary general while simultaneously working at the bank. Hon. Victoria was elected chairperson of said organization and later nominated to attend the preparatory meeting for the World Women’s Meeting to be held in Nairobi, where she, as well as other Ugandan representatives, created an establishment to support other women’s organizations.
Appointed the Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries of Uganda in 1987 by His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni, Hon. Victoria invested her time and energy to serving those under her domain for nine years. Her adaptability to her role is commendable, having been among the first female ministers in parliament, without former women ministers to mentor them. She was instrumental in creating the Best Farmer Awards, partnerships leading to the provision of scholarships for outstanding farmers to pursue further study in the United States, and bestowing tractors to said farmers to augment the agricultural sector in Uganda. It was also life-changing for these people, for which she is glad to have been of help.
However, serving as a minister was exhausting. Exhausting because several of her fellow ministers resorted to calumny, alleging that she received preferential treatment through a bigger budget to fund the affairs of the agricultural sector. A spiteful rumor that was quashed with evidence from the Minister of Finance at the time. Nonetheless, it was quite the caveat for Hon. Victoria, becoming cognizant of the true nature of politics and people in her circle who were set on sabotaging her. She was disappointed by the way she was treated in spite of the honest work she had put into the development of her ministry.
Hon. Victoria later worked under the United Nations (UN) in Zimbabwe, Mongolia, and China, following her transition out of political office. She readied herself three years prior, informing the president of her intent to retire and learning French, an international language, to upskill herself to work in a global organization.
At sixty-two years of age, she left the UN and returned to Uganda. Hon. Victoria was equipped with the skillset, alongside knowledge, to thrive in her retirement. She became aware that change was inevitable during her time away from her home country, prompting her to find ways to reintegrate into society and be financially independent in the absence of employment. Setting her retirement plans in motion, she set up privately managed libraries for public use to supplement education in Uganda; being an ardent reader herself, she organized reading competitions for primary schools and set up a public speaking school. Hon. Victoria still actively advocates for agribusiness and women alongside other endeavours that contribute to the welfare of the community but are also financially prudent. “There is a lot of work to do here in Uganda,” she says.
Her leadership journey conveys wisdom on the essence of, first and foremost, having a self-identity, then being aware of your environment and people around you, the power of listening, and having goals and planning in line with them as well as for inevitable changes that arise. Hon. Victoria also inspires leaders to be pragmatic and tenacious in a world in which few individuals have their best interests at heart. She affirms the need for keenness in terms of mindset to avoid self-sabotage and, most importantly, adaptability to change, because you have to move in order to thrive.
You will never experience growth if you confine yourself to a life of stagnation. In this episode of the Footprints Podcast, Honourable (Hon) Victoria Sekitoleko recounts her life’s journey, the lessons she garnered as a woman who was “always on the move,” and the power of mindset in her walk as a leader as well as an individual.
©Blurb written by Divine Karungi