JJONGOZA RCC BUILDS HOME FOR NEEDY WIDOW

JJONGOZA RCC BUILDS HOME FOR NEEDY WIDOW

By Hannington Sebuliba

She tends to her banana plantation every morning with her grandchildren, some assisting her with the weeding while the young ones play in the dust waiting for what the day brings. Deep down her heart are flowing tears of rejection and hopelessness yet on the outlook you might think all is ok with her. This is the life of Maama Fede Nakachwa a widow of Jjongoza village near Kalisizo in Rakai District.

Maama Fede’s

problems started way back after she lost her husb

and and all her nine biological children who succumbed to the deadly diseases and also the biting poverty. When they died one by one, they left young ones whom the old lady could no longer be able to look after. Now that she had become weaker due to old age, and the house had also aged seriously with iron sheets rusting away and may be due to some heavy rains some of the iron sheets were blown away leaving the house literary with a few sheets. Looking at the house, it was just waiting for a great fall since the walls of mad and wattle had started giving way.

The idea of building a home for Mama Fede arose from the RCC’s Sunday weekly meetings pointed out by one of the members Rita Bugoba who presented the old lady’s ordeal to members of the RCC. Members were touched and felt the need to help the needy old woman by serving above self. The RCC went further to build a kitchen and a dryer (katandaalo) for the widow.

The RCC members led by Specioza Lusiba Namatovu, mobilised themselves and contributed whatever local material they could get to see that their fellow villager gets a descent home. Some brought old iron sheets they were no longer using and also baked the bricks used for building the house.

“since the rain season has started, we wanted to see that Maama Fede gets a house in the soonest possible time that’s why we had to work in a record time of three weeks” Specioza revealed.

After completion of the house, the RCC management informed their mother Club the Rotary Club of Kajjansi about the whole project and how they wanted to hand it over. This excited members of Kajjansi RC and decided that the president John Mary Luberenga leads a team of four to go to Jjongoza to meet members of Jjongoza RCC to celebrate the achievement.

‘The achievement came as a challenge to the Rotary Club and a big surprise too’ said John Mary Luberenga President of Rotary Club of Kajjansi adding that “the RCC members made a combined effort without even support from the mother club and built a house for that old widow known as Maama Fede Nakachwa”.

On Saturday, April 3, 2011, a group of four Rotarians headed for Jjongoza to hand over the house to the widow and also celebrate the achievements. During the function Mama Fede was overcame by emotions and had to weep tears of joy amidst songs of praises to the Almighty God for giving her a new lease of life more especially for her grandchildren.

“ I produced nine biological children but all of them have now long passed on” Maama Fede narrated adding that she stays with some of the orphaned grandchildren and great grandchildren who are not even going to school.

“Kati kannegolole, era ne bwetonnya sikyatya nti naafa n’abaana b’abaana bange” she said in Luganda meaning that “ Now I can stretch my legs and sleep, even if it rains cats and dogs, I am quiet sure my grandchildren won’t perish in this shack of a house”

The function was presided over by the country Chair RCC Uganda Charles Baganja who appreciated the act of self help (bulungi bwa nsi) done by the RCC in the entire Jjongoza. He however advised them to identify a project that would generate income for the benefit of the RCC members.