A few weeks from now, Mr. Mudawa Charles, a member of the ITAU NEC will be introduced to the family of his fiancée who I only know as Carol. But like it is the norm, when a young man decides to take on such a noble task, it is his colleagues that he looks to for contribution towards the success of his ceremony.
So, I wasn’t surprised that Charles added me to a WhatsApp group whose primary purpose was to pool funds and see this ceremony a success. Personally, I am going through turbulent times with my finances. Before the month ends, my 5 landlords are already reminding me of the rent dues, my 8 employees are waiting for an early surprise and my date is reminding me of a promise I made at the beginning of the month.
It was no surprise that the WhatsApp group was also too idle. I didn’t see any pledges nor discussions bending towards the success of this introduction ceremony. This got me thinking. How could I help a fellow teacher, and most of all, a colleague with whom I sit on the NEC.
When I remembered how he sacrificed his time and money to travel to Kampala for a NEC meeting in Kampala, I decided that he deserved better. When I saw his dedication and sacrifice at the recently concluded CDW at Kololo SSS, it pinched me to look for an answer. When I remember how he saved ITAU from embarrassment by preparing a desk and seat for our Guest of Honour, I discovered that we needed to do more in appreciation of his dedication. I had to look for a strategy to make my contribution.
How?
- First, I noticed I use boda boda a lot. I decided that I will use less of boda boda and save the extra money for Charles’ ceremony. For example, on Saturday, I was supposed to ferry a photocopier from Cham Towers in Kampala to Nabbingo, 10 miles away. This would cost me 15,000/=. I decided to wait for my friend, a teacher at St. Peter’s SSS Nsambya to give me a lift in his car. This saved me 15K. This, I will definitely forward to my brother Charles.
- I also noticed that I take a big bottle of Rwenzori Mineral watr every day. This costs me 2,000/= everyday translating to 60,000/= a month. I decided that for the next months, I will take only water I have boiled myself and save that money for Charles’ introduction ceremony.
So, as members of ITAU, I appeal to you, that there will never be enough money to help out our colleagues. We can only tweak our daily lives a bit and a big change can happen. If the 400 of us contributed only 5,000/=, this would translate into 2,000,000/=. You can get to Charles on telephone number 0777972516 or join the WhatsApp group. Let’s see this happen.
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Stephen Dumba
E-zone School of Computing
+256 772 111 223 / +256 752 111 223
