Monthly Archives: June 2012

THE TRAGEDY OF AN UNSUNG HERO AND HER TWINS


“It is our vocation to save life. It involves risk, but when we serve with love, that is when the risk does not matter so much. When we believe our mission is to save lives, we have got to do our work.”

These were the words of Dr. Mathew Lukwiya in the year 2000. He was trying to rally the support of his physicians and nurses whom he had recognized were not willing to work under such dangerous situation of the Ebola epidemic in Gulu, northern Uganda.

Dr. Lukwiya Mathew was the medical superintendent of Lacor hospital. He eventually died of the viral Ebola disease. He is now a national Hero in Uganda. When Dr. Lukwiya died, he didn’t die alone. Listening to his words was a young nurse Ms Olanya Christine. Just like Dr. Lukwiya, Christine listened and sacrificed her life for others to live when nurses kept off to be able to keep a live and bring up their children to realize their dreams. Christine knew the risk she was putting her self in, she loved her twin daughters as much as others loved their children but she placed her people and her country before her own children. She had hopes that her love would be reciprocated by another good Samaritan who would take care of her twins if she didn’t make it. She listened to Dr. Lukwiya and had the courage to face death in saving lives. She was a good servant to her master.

Like fate would have it, she also died in the process. Little did she know that a decade later her twins would be abandoned in a grass-thatched hut at the age of 16 waiting for male predators to take advantage of them. In her love and kindness as a loyal servant to her master, she did not know that her children will also drop out of school just a decade after she is gone. Today these beautiful twins Acen Caroline and Apio Catherine can barely feed themselves or dress up like children to hide their dignity. They have also dropped out like their mother in senior four because its then that she conceived. Will they conceive and loss every dream her patriotic mother had for them? Will they blame their mother for her courage and love for career and country? It’s only their souls and their God who can tell. Today, its Christine’s children, tomorrow it will be one of us. Should this vicious cycle of misfortune follow the African child because we care less?

Every week, I write about happiness. I am not happy. Yet I know doing good for others makes me happy. I have chosen to share with you the plight of two young girls who could have been your daughters or a friend to your daughter. They could have grown to be Doctors like their mother to save your life or the life of your children. I have committed my self to look for where they should stay and have what to eat. I am asking for any good Samaritan or person of good will to support their education. I don’t do this because I have much but I do this because I am a parent. I would have done the same like her mother if I had been called to serve my country and humanity. Only $ 5000 dollars could save their lives and guarantee them a future. By attaining the basic minimum education in a nearby teacher training college. Before Dr. Lukwiya died he said, “ I will continue fighting Ebola alone if necessary until the virus is beaten or until am dead”. They both died but he died with a partner. Please join me to save the life of two African girls by mailing me on mdaliker@gmail.com or call me on 256-701938508. Feel free to share or reblog this post; it could save the lives of these two beautiful daughters of my hero. In Olbert Schweiter’s words, “The only people who are truly happy are those helping others”.

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HAPPINESS: Clear The Clutter In Your Life (Reblogged)


What did your Pastor preach about last Sunday? This is a question many Christians might by now have forgotten.

Either they didn’t pay attention or the message failed to find itself in their long-term memory. I was touched by my Priest’s sermon. He made an analogy of the feast of ascension and boarding your international flight.

He referred to Jesus seated at the right hand of the father. The priest asserted that even when Jesus had a short ministry, he fulfilled his mission.

Whatever he could not do, he left behind his disciples to complete the task of building his father’s kingdom.

He concluded by calling on Christians to live up to this expectation that Jesus sacrificed his life for our sake.

In comparison, he referred to checking your luggage for an international flight. He said, for successful flight passengers are regulated on the weight and number of carryon bags they can carry along.

If you are not obedient to this regulation, you are denied your flight or else you are forced to damp your belongings until the required weight.

However, if you insist then you are over charged for the extra weight. This implies you have to identify what you want most and leave behind what you can do without.

If you are not to be denied your flight, you then need to be disciplined and follow the instruction to all passengers.

Having said this, just like Jesus’ death and ascension; as Christians, we need to clear the clutter in our lives to appear safe for judgment before the Lord when the time comes.

This means we must have priorities and drop the habits that deny us the happiness of going to heaven.

Every Christian wants to go to heaven but not all want to work hard to go to heaven just like we all want to be happy but not all want to be disciplined to work hard to find happiness in what we do.

Normally heaven and the skies where planes fly reflect happiness. We are either happy to fly in a plane or to believe we will go to heaven. But what we forget is that there is an opportunity cost to achieving this happy reality. CONTINUE

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HAPPINESS: Do You Hate Your Job?


Today I met my student and friend (Mutumba) heading to the University. Mutumba is in his final year of School of Education, Makerere University. Upon our meeting, I asked him: “Why do you love teaching?” Smiling broadly he laughed it off. He knew I was poking him because this is a question he had asked me, as his teacher. Eventually, Mutumba told me he hated every aspect of the profession but he had no choice. His parents could not afford paying for his dream career. My friend Mutumba dreamt of being a lawyer but it’s too expensive compared to a Bachelor’s degree in Education. I told Mutumba, I had failed to run away from teaching. When I left teaching in a high school and worked for a non-for profit (NGO), my job description required that I train teachers on some life skills. When I changed my job, I found myself training orphans and vulnerable youths ICT (web 2.0). Therefore, I have accepted teaching as my vocation. A vocation is a calling that you cannot turn down if you want to be happy with yourself. This is what explains the life of a missionary who leaves the comfort of their homes in Europe to live, work and die in rural Africa. I then shared with him the story of John. John is my American friend who is a qualified Engineer but chose to teach because he loved working with young people and training them basketball. This is what brought him to Africa. He would earn better as an engineer than a teacher but he felt his calling is in teaching. He is a happy teacher. I am sure there are a number of people outside there who are not sure of what career to pursue in life. In the same way there are people who have well paying jobs but are not happy. Having said that, how do you find happiness in your career? CONTINUE