One of the things I have pondered a lot recently is how much of ourselves and our upbringing, we bring into the work that we do.
I am a Preacher’s kid. My father served as a prelate in the Church of Uganda for more than 40 years of his life. During that time, we hosted all manner of people and fellowships at our home. My mother was the consummate hostess, always making sure that there were several flasks of tea and enough food to eat for all visitors who dropped by. I grew up with a deep culture of community, fellowship, and hosting. In our home, breaking bread was a way to cement relationships and to create meaningful connections. Breaking bread together was a way to care both for the body and the heart.
I have tried to emulate this as I work in and with civil society in Uganda. One of the gifts I know that I bring to the civil society space is caring. I care deeply for the people we work with. I care deeply for the people we serve as CivSource Africa. I witness the struggles leaders go through to keep the lights on, to keep the work going, to keep strong mentally, physically and in all other ways. I know that in a socio-political context like ours, this is not an easy thing to do. I also know we mostly meet around work. Rarely do we meet to let our hair down, set aside our titles and organizations for a few moments, step away from our human doing and just be human beings. Read more