A STORY TO TELL
A life long journey needs a moment of reflection. In such wonder, my life stands a living testimony, a story always to tell. I am visually impaired, passionate about bible reading and preaching because I realized God’s outstretched hand of protection right from birth. In all situations, I say Ebenezer for indeed, it is the Almighty God that is reflected in my placement and grooming on this earth.
The year 1995 was a turning point of my life when I lost my sight at an age of 12. The news of my visual impairment broke my mother down. She became unconscious and eventually passed on just a few months. The two incidences threw me in a hostile world of visual impairment deprived of a motherly love and care. Life became meaningless, seeing no future and opted to die. But in all, God fulfilled the reality as he says “before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou came forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah chapter 1 verses 4 and 5). In that state, anyone could lose track on life but, this became the “eye opener” for me to enhance independence. Little and little, God manifested in my life and this has from the time I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior, life has gone on like any other person.
In the year 1996, I joined Bishop Willis Demonstration School in Iganga district. It was a school of the sighted but accommodated visually impaired children and studied together in the same class. I was introduced to braille, a reading medium for the blind where inscriptions are embossed on a hard paper and the blind persons reads by touching these inscriptions. While at school, a team from bible society came that introduced me to braille bible story reading. This brought me closer to God and obtaining this, I had got the whole world in my hands. From that time. I have gained more intimacy with God. The Bible society of Uganda through the persons with visual disability (PVD) project worked my visionary goal. It facilitated my personal spiritual teaching and extension of the good news to others.
This became a driving inspiration in the year 1999 in which I participated in the mountain Kilimanjaro climbing competition in the awareness campaign against cataract. I became the first visually impaired person from Uganda to reach the mountain top. Believing in the God of possibilities, I was able to climb the mountain, a surely challenging moment to many including the able bodied people and a great testimony to our God. My connection with God led me to overcome in the world, registering success in my education.
The climax of my first educational phase was decorated with a first class degree in community psychology from Makerere University, a professional platform that shaped me to intervene in psychosocial issues to arrive at alternative solutions of self-help approaches to enhance a better livelihood. The professional background prepared and groomed me to work in the banking sector, developing implementation programs that have qualified into wide experience and mastery to productivity, growth and development. Work relations with sighted staff members in terms of inspirations, motivation and effectiveness, derive the skills and competences from the profession which has increasingly groomed me into a resource profitable for organizational development.
My heart felt desire was to gain mastery in organizational development, as a buildup of my generic potential of research, organizational programme/project implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and developing professional consultancy. With God’s guidance, I completed a master’s degree in organizational psychology putting me on an international platform for organizational, project and individual professional intervention for growth and development.
Overall, God has blessed me with a happy marriage. Through his grace and mercy, God looked for me a beautiful and loving wife whom I decided to take for companion the remaining days of my life. From our wedding day, she has become a daily reminder of God’s goodness as the author of possibilities where they seem not, a reflection that it is possible to everyone to achieve a holy marital status.
The PVD project through its interventional programme has shaped me to become a socially accepted role model to the general public and most especially persons with disabilities and those with visual impairment in particular. Through its capacity building and empowerment effort, I have seen myself on public platforms for instance, the PVD project has given me a blessing of talking to multitudes to show case of the potential, skills and abilities of persons with visual disabilities on the various annual bible society symposia. Additionally, I am one person confidently entrusted by the Bible society of Uganda to inspire the young persons with visual disability through career choice, growth and development in the different capacity building workshops and seminars, as one of the facilitating team, an attribute that has manifested God’s mighty hand not only among persons with disabilities but to the general public.
I cannot ever forget the Bible Society of Uganda, particularly the PVD project, my family and friends, for the guidance, support, counseling’s, educational and employment attainment, the platforms that made me share my life experience, that am sure has become an inspiration to many and most especially young persons with disabilities.
To all out there, success rotates around having a goal and determined to achieve it. You cannot manage alone but with the help of the Almighty God. If I managed to and still survive in this hostile world, I know you can get there. I only learned to give a smile to others as I was treated equally in the moments when I needed one. In all this, it is not unto me; but the name of the Lord be glorified.
AMEN