A woman with a big, beautiful smile and an even bigger, more beautiful heart: that is how Catherine’s friends describe her. Catherine Miriam Kimuda, a 62-year-old grandmother of nine, is known by all who have the pleasure of meeting her, as a people person. She is compassionate, kind and always has time to share a word of counsel or a laugh with family and friends.
Years have not dimmed her shine. If anything, they appear to have increased her capacity to give of herself to others. “There are always people in need whom I can help,” Catherine tells me. “There are even people who have every material thing, but are very lonely and no one cares to talk to them or visit them,” she says. “It is my responsibility to break through the walls they have put around them and to show them love.”
Catherine Kimuda has been happily married to Daniel, for the past 40 years. She has seven children and has been blessed with nine grandchildren. These numbers mean little in the grand scheme of things because like most people with a giving heart, omutima omugabi, Catherine’s life is more than just a sum of its parts. The impact of her generosity has reverberated far beyond her expectations.
Giving and charitable service is Catherine’s a lifelong passion. She gives her money, time, energy and much more to support her family and community. She desires that this attitude is something all in her charge will adopt so they too can be of service to others. “Many people think of giving in just monetary terms,” she says, “but it is much more than that. Some people need physical help or someone to pray for them. Others just need a listening ear.”
“I always tell people that I do not have much, but the God I serve provides. I constantly encourage my loved ones to work with other people so that together we can achieve our goal to support those in need,” Catherine says. A retired teacher, Catherine has opened up her home in Wagaba Zone, Rubaga to many people. It is a haven for her grandchildren, some whom she has actively participated in raising. For many not related to her, it is a place to seek the motherly counsel that she willingly supplies. To her in-laws, Catherine’s home is a place of refuge where all of them, regardless of age, are invited for a hot meal, a quiet conversation and a place of rest.
Catherine and her husband Daniel are united in their commitment that through them, generations to come will benefit from their guidance and love, and will learn from their example that giving has great reward.
Speaking to Catherine, one leaves with the sense that were it in her power, she would move heaven and earth for her family and friends. But for now she uses what she has: wisdom borne from years of experience; a house with doors thrown open by welcoming hands; omutima omugabi driven by love.