memoirs of a kangaroo in the sun.

We’ve all heard the saying that change is the only constant and if you don’t change, then change will change you. I have been a conformer to this mantra for a really long time until it hit me; this does not apply to our characters. It may apply to techniques, strategies, technologies and so on but not to our characters. The Bible says God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. As Christians, what you want to do is be transformed to become more and more like Jesus daily. What you want to do instead is GROW. Call it change that is positive and personal.  There must be some things that you wish were different about you. If you are absolutely content with the way you are now, know also that no one is perfect and if you ask God to, He will show you which parts of you can be improved [and how], not because there is something wrong with you but because it is His will that we move from glory to glory, that we graduate from milk to food. I recently said that prayer. I

No, its not too early to be feeling the christmas spirit. To be honest, I've been counting down since say...May. I know you would like to think that being excited about the season is for children and that the older you grow, the more like-any-other-day it becomes. For me, it's the opposite. You know how they say there is a little child inside of every one of us, my little inner child comes out during Christmas; and she is a happy, giddy, dance-all-over-the-place kind of girl. If you asked me about what it is exactly that makes me excited, i'll give you four good reasons why; 1. Jesus died for us (Surely I don't have to explain this but if you need some more info on this, I'm willing to take you through it) 2. There's just something warm and fun and pure about christmas.(Think hugs, pies, hot chocolatey drinks, warm clothes, presents, smiles etc) 3. We get to stay home (If you work, then I don't have to say anything else) 4. Hope; If you los

Let me tell you the story of my first major crush. I was in Primary Seven and two years away from being a teenager. We will call him 'Tumz' for lack of a less revealing name. Tumz was my end-all and be-all. He was the boy I was going to love FOREVER! Everything I did and in all the decisions my little mind made, I had to consider him. If he was attending Saturday classes, then I too was attending Saturday classes. If he had his socks pulled all the way up all day, then that's what we were all doing.  There was a day we were to be allocated seats according to the first letter of your Last name. Since Tumz was a T, and I was an A-something, I obviously had to add a letter to my name that would bring me closer to T. Naturally. So I became Na-something instead. It didn't get me a seat right on his desk but it brought me close enough.  It got to a point where I carried a boy's bag. It was a brand whose name I cannot remember but the design was more of male th

If you’ve watched the new Disney Pixar movie “Inside Out” you might understand a little how people turn out to be the way they are. We all have voices in our heads trying to point us in a particular direction. It’s not always as straightforward as the angel on your right shoulder and the imp on the left. Sometimes you’re a boiling pot of different flavours, each trying to make their scent known. In the movie, you have different voices – Joy, Anger, Sadness, Disgust, and Fear. Joy attempts to be the leader of the voices, always trying to let you focus on the “yellow-er” side of things. All memories should be yellow, sunlight. Anger is the non-thinker, provocation gets immediate reaction. Sadness is how you’d picture an introvert; quiet, low, thinking about why things are how they are. Disgust reacts when she doesn’t like something, fear is always apprehensive. It’s not easy being an introvert. It feels like Sadness is the one in the driving seat and your memories are blue. You

Dear Kullein, When I was growing up, despite my quiet nature, I liked to listen and I still do. I am not big on preparing sermons or lectures that are instructional. Most of my conversation comes from listening, understanding and giving appropriate feedback. What I am saying is I enjoy conversation. I am the kind of guy who will stay awake fighting sleep waiting for a text. I sometimes think if one could stay alive on anything other than food, for me it would be deep personal conversation. I thought about what to write for your blog. Should I write about ten steps to enjoying your twenties? I’m reminded of that Switchfoot song that goes something like “We were just kids Just limited, misfit, itinerant Outcasts singing bout the dissonance We were just kids, wide-open Like a child, eyes-open, Like a child, unbroken by the wheels gone by you’re in the sunrise of your years” Something that reminds you to celebrate your sunrise years. However, I want to know about you first.

On Thursday September 15 2016 at Imperial Royale Hotel, Uganda launched its first-ever National Policy and Action plan on Early Childhood Development.   The policy is expected to contribute to social, economic and human development, increase of workforce productivity, and poverty reduction . The NIECD Policy of Uganda has three major objectives;       - To harmonize existing ECD policy related goals, objectives, strategies and initiatives within and across all sectors.      -To set, improve and align standards for ensuring access to well- coordinated, quality, equitable and inclusive ECD services within and across sectors.           -To build and strengthen capacity of systems and structures to deliver integrated quality and inclusive ECD programs.   It will also ensure integrated services for children from conception to eight years of age in the form of health, nutrition, education, protection, and parenting support services; representing one of Uganda’s most cost-

This is one of my favorite pictures from when I was a baby. It's my elder sister and I posing for a picture that was to be sent to my father in Denmark. I don’t remember much from the time that I was a child. I do however remember feeling safe. Some memories stand out for me however from the early years of my life. On the weekends when my dad was around, my mum and dad would buy either goat’s meat or cornflakes, I do not know why it was one of the two foods but it was always one of the two. They would set up an eating place, one bowl or dish, and place it on a table in the corridor of our small house. My siblings and I would sit around this table together and eat the cornflakes/goat’s meat till the bowl was empty. My mum and dad would stand at the end of the corridor, holding each other and watching us eat together. I can’t remember the exact expressions on their faces but I would like to think that it was something like; ‘Yup, we created that’. Another memory that stan

Everyone has struggles. We all go through periods that are particularly trying to us. After a certain age, or at a certain point in life, you realize that these trials are part of life. You realize that they will always come and pass so you brace yourself and pray to come out on top. For some of us, you even develop a coping mechanism that will help you through it; mine is usually time-off/away because then I get a different perspective which always helps me to adjust.   So what happens when a time comes and your mechanism does not work ? And it does come sooner or later. What do you do? Do you just throw in the towel and let yourself sink into a pity party of massive proportions? Do you throw yourself headfirst into the situation and try to fix it whatever way you know how? Do you run to your friends/family/loved ones and ask them to help you solve the problem? Do you throw money at it? Drink/party the problem away maybe?   Do you pray and fast for days; throw in some

I’m looking for you in every face I see Looking for the familiarity that used to be Empty parking lots, bare wrists What’s a picture without color; what’s me without you? I’m running to you but you’re already leaving I’m running faster, running to catch up with you Running past wondering stares and pointing fingers Running to stop you from taking another step, the next step…and the next Running to make you see that we are all it takes We are all it will take. Wait for me. Take my hand.  Look me in the eye. Believe me. Believe me, I beg you… You smell of home Carry it with you as you go, leaving me exposed, un-sheltered, cold. I can’t run anymore; I’m panting and sweaty I can’t let you leave but I can’t run anymore Why won’t you stop walking? Why won’t you look back when I call your name? Tell me you see it too; how great we will be. How unstoppable we are together. We will conquer the world, swallow them whole. We will make history. We were

I am a person who likes order. I have nothing whatsoever against systems; except for those that I feel do not work for me. For people like me, deciding whether or not to join a system is usually a very big task. Take for instance joining my current place of employment. I needed to be sure; not that the place was suited for me, but that I was suited for the place. I did not want to be the employee who after one year or so, both you and the employer are wondering what on earth they were thinking. Naturally, I want to make things I come into contact with better. I also did not want to be a disappointment /embarrassment to all those that had pushed the process of getting that particular job along. I wanted to be sure, at least to a certain degree, that come what may, even after time had passed, I would still wake up daily and give 100%. I did not want to fail. So I weighed my options carefully, realistically and rationally and after what I feel was a thorough brain-storm session,

Day one Dear Stella, I am falling into what seems like a bottomless pit. Its pitch black so I can’t see much around me but there is a damp smell and the sound of air rushing fast past me. I struggled at first, frantically moving my hands trying to reach for anything I can grasp, but nothing. After a while, when I realized I was still falling anyway, I let my hands hung limp by my side and decided to see how it goes. I loved you Stella, more than I let show probably. I saw the doubt that flickered across your face sometimes when we were together, a shadow that only lasted a second but I saw it. How could I have shown you what you meant to me without looking weak? Yes, I loved you desperately, it scared me sometimes. I am still falling and it’s getting warmer. I think the pit is narrowing because my fingers are grazing what feels like protruding plant roots. It’s getting more humid too so maybe I am close to the bottom. I didn’t fight the fall Stella; you would have been disappoi

                                                                               With all the eateries springing up everywhere in Kampala these days, it has become a bit difficult to look forward to going to a new restaurant or food. If you are a restaurant trotter like myself, always looking out for something new and unique, looking for cuisines that will leave you palate refreshed, you might encounter a bit of frustration. I have now learned to look at going to a new restaurant like I would meeting someone for the first time. Each dish has a personality and just like people, some are agreeable while others are not so much. These are some of the food personalities I have encountered so far; -The old faithful  Much as I really despise the use of this word, I feel it accurately defines some of this food. You know that dish you have that feels like home; it’s adequately delicious, it’s familiar and it’s safe. You’ve had this meal many times before and while it’s not s