Da Architect!

The effects of an uncontrolled mind.

2009-09-12T01:52:00.000-07:00

The past 2 days in Uganda have been tense and cold because of the riots in several parts of Central Uganda like kampala, Kayunga and Masaka because the security officials blocked preparations for the King of Buganda’s visit and attendance of the Youths day celebrations in Kayunga.

A police station and a petrol station was burnt to ashes,10 people dead and more than 60 people injured during the riots and many business property looted.
As I sat home closely following the news and developments of the riots I asked myself why have 10 people died and other 60 nursing wounds in hospital?, why did the rioters burn down a police station and petrol station?, and why did the police men beat up civilians to death?

In trying to answer the questions I noticed that it’s very easy for our minds to turn to violence as a way of bringing peace. The minds of the rioters and policemen are filled with defilements of anger and revenge hence the inability to control their minds.

Defilements overshadow our pure mind and negatively affect our views, thoughts, speech, actions and understanding of situations. Everything arises from our minds and because of our inability to control the mind we act in anger, beat up others, burn down buildings and stalls and kill each other. We use insulting words to communicate how terribly we feel about situations.

Daily acts of goodness and inner peace time of 10, 15, 20 or 40 minutes can help purify our minds of the anger, hatred and revenge. With Inner peace time we have right view, thoughts, speech and actions that can bring peace and happiness to ourselves, families, communities, countries and the world.

To those who have lost beloved ones, property and businesses and those nursing wounds in hospitals I send and share loving-kindness with them. I could not help but become very emotional because human beings take away the lives of other human beings, with whom they share the same natural gifts of blood and air for breathing.

Let’s all remember hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love. Also our actions are a reflection of who we are inside.

Let’s keep the promise; Peace in Peace Out

Julius

Celebrating the life of my HERO

2009-06-10T01:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a celebration of heroes’ day in Uganda. It’s a day to remember the fallen soldiers who fought for the liberation of the country. While on face book, a friend was complaining how heroes’ day celebrations were ridiculous and he asked who the heroes are?

The questions got me thinking and then I started remembering my uncle who passed away two four days ago. Saturday was his burial in Iganga. On Friday I had just come back from Kigali and to be welcomed to the sad news of my uncle’s death.
I could not help tears dropping down my chin, because the thoughts of his permanent absence were too much for me. My Uncle was unbelievably humble, hardworking and wished for everyone to have an education even when he did not see any black board in his life time. During the tough times at the university, he used to sacrifice the little he had to pay for some of my school dues and transport to the university. He was a very good cook, something that is carried in the family blood.

Uncle Joseph lived a troubled and hopeless life but never gave up till death took him. He used to smoke and also found solace in his Uganda Waragi (Ugandan strong spirit) bottle. One day he drank a lot of Uganda Waragi and forgot his way back hope and found shelter under a tree, where he spent a night.
His burial was flocked by many friends, workmates, relatives and family members which demonstrated how loved he was by the people he spent time with.

My Uncle taught me to be humble and respect even those who I am better than. He shared the little he had with me when I was stuck and could not find money to go to the university. Its in this regard that I consider Uncle Joseph a HERO to Me.

May his soul rest in eternal peace!!!!

My view about the world

2009-05-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

We live in a world of divisions. A world where we are classified according to rich or poor, strong or weak, tall or short, educated or non educated, black or white, religious or non religious.

Based on these divisions we are always comparing ourselves with others, especially those who are better than us. The truth is every human being is different and unique and our failure to understand this has caused a lot of frustration, suffering and loss of self confidence, because we can’t be as rich, tall or educated like others.

So before you get frustrated because of comparing yourself with someone better than you, know that there will always be people better than us and there are others who want to be like you. The world would be a happy place to live in if we only stop focusing on what we don’t have but also appreciate what we have, understand and respect each other regardless of our backgrounds and use the natural potential we all have.

Message for peace loving people

2009-05-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

February 2009, was a month of learning and unlearning about the most profound aspects of living a peaceful and happy life.

I got a life time opportunity to take part in the Peace Revolution project. Before i joined the project, i had spent the least 4 years trying to find answers to some of the hardest questions like who i am?, why people live a happy and fulfilling life and others don’t? Why our brothers and sisters in Kenya fought and killed each other?
Through the peace revolution's online self development programme, I got the answers.

I underwent a life changing one month learning and self discovery experience, where i was challenged, mentored, coached and trained to personally discover and use the most important principles of creating boundaryless happiness in life. I learnt self discipline, humility/ respect, persistence, mindfulness and generosity. I also shared experiences with amazing individuals from various countries and continents on how to create deep true world peace. I am now applying these principles in my life and i enjoy improved relationships with my friends, increased personal and professional achievements and i live a happy and fulfilling life.

If you want to discover who you are, how to use your natural potential and to live a more fulfilling life, join the peace revolution and after i would like to share experiences with you on how me and you can support others in creating peace for us and the world.

I am who i am

2009-05-17T23:34:00.000-07:00

This is the first poem, that i have written in life, so i thought it would be good to post it. The poem is called I am who i am.....I hope you like it

I am a gift ………
to those who brought me into this world……
to those who want gifts to share with loved ones.

I am generous………..
because I give without expecting anything in return……..
I am made of generosity too,………
because I shared in the merit of the generous ones…….
And I want to give back to those who were generous to me.

I love myself…………
because I appreciate that I am unique……
because I want to share love with others…….
And I want to fill love and affection in the hearts of those who miss it.

I am happy
because I know that my happiness creates happiness for others…
And I wish everyone could find true happiness.

I am who I am……
I am Julius

Prepare for the outcomes of the decisions you make!

2009-05-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

I have heard a lot of turning points in my life....but the greatest turning point was when my Dad was imprisoned.

My perspective on life and people changed...Life taught me to be independent and decision making and people taught me how not to trust.

I was 15 years old at that time when i started making decisions that not only affected me but the whole family too.
I got a job at the construction of the owen falls dam extension. I was excited that i was going to earn my own money. My first day at the job,
was not as expected, i had very high expectations but they were all shattered. The job was very manual and required a lot of energy. Each day i had to dig meters of trenches for erecting pavements.

The murram was very hard that by a single hit on the road, my palms started bleeding. I thought the day would not end but it did.

After working tirelessly for a week i declined going back to work. When my mum asked why i was not at work, i replied.." i don't want to work anymore". She asked, how will we leave if you do not work! Your others brothers and sisters are too young to work.

I kept quiet, thinking about the response which i did not have at that time. The whole day i thought about my young brothers and sisters.....i started thinking about what would happen to them if i do not work...

I started picturing them going for days without food, missing classes and i did not allow myself to think of what would happen after. The following day at exactly 7:00 am i was at work. Ever since that day i learnt that its easy to make decisions that only affect you but not decisions that affect others. The greatest lesson out if it, is that when you make a decision, you also choose the outcomes. So
Whichever decision you make good or bad, know that you have chosen the outcomes too (good or bad) and you are also responsible for the outcomes.

I am back

2009-05-05T08:19:00.002-07:00

its been long since i last posted on my blog. Its not that i have nothing to write but i guess its laziness.

I missed you my blog......and i have very interesting stories to write.

Keep checking to get updates on my way of thinking and escapades.

I am out of here

2008-10-14T00:50:00.000-07:00

Its been long since i took one of the crazy SolarNow trips, but now the traveller has got his back pack. Toay i am heading to the furthest of Norther Uganda, specifically Arua where i will be training on how to start sales agents for the solar retailers and then on thursday will head to Lira and be back on Saturday.

I feel abit low since i had gotten used to staaying in kampal, but i have to go anyone. I woke up early ready to go and only to miss the first bus that left at 5 am. Now i am waiting for the 12.30 pm bus so that we hit the road.I have no clue how long its going to take me but roughly not less than 10 hours.

well i am looking forward to it, the fact that is been two months ago since i left kampala.

The Alladins team is up and running, they are in the middle of working magic, we have 60th anniversary celebratios on 25th october and preparations for the Africn regional conference (AFROXLDS).

Arua here i come! Updates in the next posting.

17 principles of Personal Achievement,Keys to success by Napoleon Hill

2008-10-06T01:44:00.000-07:00

Book: The 17 principles of personal Achievement

Author: Napoleon Hill

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The Author is presenting ideas or principles that can help me live a successful life if I consistenly apply them in my life. All the 17 principles point towards an individual, which literally means that I am or we are responsible for our success.

2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.

a- establishing a master mind alliance
I have two friends with whom we formed a group to help each other with finding solutions to our challenges, evaluating each other’s goals and discussing topics of common interest like business. Through this team I feel like I am in a family, we share ideas and resources. I have managed to make right decisions; approach situations differenetly and most importantly tap into their personal learnings through sharing experiences. We meet every Friday and the topics to be discussed are set in the previous meeting.
b- Overcoming disbelief and fear.
Disbelief and Fear are some of the reasons why we donot reach our goals or live our dream life. When I believe in something, chances that it will be achieved are high. Everytime I do something that I fear , I find out that in the end there is no reason for fear. Through reading this book I have been reminded that whatever my mind can concieve and believe, it will achieve. So if I fear illness, then its most likely that I am attracting it to my life and eventually I will be sick which I donot want.
c- Go the extra mile.
From this chapter I appreciate the benefits of doing more than what you are paid for. At our work places we are given a job description that clearly outlines what we are supposed to do and this is based on previous work experience and academic background. The only way to showcase other skills and ccompetencies that you have is through going the extra mile.This makes promotion easy because you have been able to show that you are skilled in other areas. On a personla note, i have found out the things that I am passionate and good at through doing something more. Extra work creates more opportunities and many times opportunity is missed by many because it is dressed in overall and looks like work.
d- Personal initiative creates work.
Besides my Job at the Foundation, I have been helping a start up solar company with creating market for its products in Uganda. After 2 months of working with them, I took the initiative of starting up, a small solar business for my cousin who has been jobless. From this experience of taking initiative I created a job for him and he is also employing 2 other people.
e- Learning from adversity and defeat.
Life is a combination of successes and defeats. Failure or defeat is success turn inside out. In 2006 I applied to be a president of AIESEC Uganda, which I ended up being defeated miserably. I spent the next 2 days condemning other people for my defeat other than myself. Later on after a discussion with my friend he told me to look at how I have contributed to my defeat and also focus on the lessons learnt. This helped me so much that I learnt to take 100% responsibility for the outcomes in life and not making the same mistakes again. Every one in life faces defeat. It is through learning from defeats that people become wiser and this is the reason why learning from adversity and defeat is very important to me.
f- Maintaining sound Health
This is the most important of all the principles that I have read, because if I am not health I won’t be able to do anything. ill health leads high health bills, low concentration on work and time wastage in hospital queues to get treatment. What and how much I eat does affect the thinking capacity of my brain.
g- Budget your time and money.
There is a famous saying that time is money, there fore time wasted is money wasted hence the need to budget your time and money. I invested in a diary so that I can keep track of the major appointments that I have. Every morning I make a to do list which helps in making sure that i do the most important things for that day.
At the start of 2008, I started budgeting and accounting for personal finances. I learnt the hard way when at the end of 2007, I had spent the foundation money to a tune of 500 Euros and I did not know where that money went. Ever since then I know where my money goes in terms of expenditures.

3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
The group that we formed is a daily tool that I use for critical decision making, problem solving and personal development. Everytime I am faced with a challenge or decision and I donot know what to do,I ask for ideas from my friends. This has helped me make right choices. Through sharing my learnings I have also helped them be better by offering a different perspective.
Disbelief and fear are manifestations of lack of confidence in your self and what you are going to do. I used to FEAR meeting people in superior positions and one day I was a part of a team, which was responsible for sales. I had to set up a meeting with a managing Director of the biggest insurance company world wide, I got an appointment for the following day. As I prepared for the meeting I asked myself what a second year university student is going to tell the managing director. Even though I knew what to tell, I felt that it was insufficient and he would not buy it. The day came and everything went smoothly, I was amazed by his sense of humour. From that day I face my fears and I try to do things that make me uncomfortable but most important is the change in attitude and thinking of possible instead of impossible.Doing this has helped me achieve many of my goals because I am not afraid to act.
Extra work will always be rewarded; either today or after months. I now view extra work as working for future benefits. To do more than what I am paid for, I have to manage time effectively otherwise I won’t have time for extra work.
To put personal initiative to work I have to develop some facets like more self discipline, generating enthusiasm,concentrating attentio to others etc. I feel I have to further develop the above characteristics so that I can gain full benefits of personal initiatitve.
I have learnt that adversity and defeat has benefits. My task regarding this will be to focus on lessons from defeat and to look at defeat as a road to success that every successful individual has to go through. Taking 100% responsibilty during defeat will help me get back on my knees after failure. The difference between successful people and non successful ones is the ability to try again many times after defeat.
I am going to increase on the time for exercising, personal reflection. I am very conscious of what I eat these days. I have days for myself and these days I will do the things that I like or enjoy doing.
Prioritising tasks will help me be more efficient at work hence doing more than I am paid for. I plan to budget my spare time and use it for things that will improve on my personal and professional development and health. Reading the books that I get from the institute has prooved to be a valuable way of utilising spare time.

4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.

“Solutions can be found for all your problems, but accept that the solutions may not always be the one you want”.
Solutions that we want are the ones that we are used to, but they we won’t get what we want all the time. The challenge for us is to be flexible enough inorder to adopt to the changing solutions even if they make us uncomfortable.
“…Success is something that you create for yourself, not something others steal from you”.
I am responsible for my success! I should not blame others for not achieivng my goals and objectives.
“When defeat overtakes you, don’t spend your time counting your losses, save I to count your gains and assets, and you will realise that they are greater than any loss you have suffered.”Most of the times we tend to focus more on our failures forgetting that we have had more successes than defeat. Spending time counting and thinking about success during times of defeat helps to turn defeat into success.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
Doing more than you are paid for will only be beneficial if its done after you have done what is required of you. We have to make sure that we donot fall victims of doing what we are not expected to.
I disagree with the statement that, learn to like people just as they are instead of demanding that they be just as you want them to be. What if who they are contradicts with your personal values, what if they are poor time keepers, not result oriented yet you are working with them in the same team? I believe that you can only like the people the way they are as long they donot compromise your values or not negatively affecting your professional perfromance at work.

6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?

Yes I did the exercises at the end of the book that were about my commitments to applying the principles.7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
The story of the eleven year old shoe shinner. When Chalmers asked the boy if he can make a living at a nickel a shine. He replied “oh yes sir.i give my mother ten dollars on Friday, and I put five dollars in the bank, and I have two dollars left for spending money”. This shows that the boy had financial literacy, he saved five dollars per month.The other lesson for me is that I donot have to be earning a lot of money inorder to save.

One way of building a positive mental attitude is to discern that personal power doesnot come from posession of material things alone. This statement is an encouragement that any one can make a difference with what they have. We donot have to wait to be presidents, kings or celebrities to make a positive impact in our communities.

Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.A.
How interesting was it to read? 9B.
How helpful were the contents? 9C.
How easy was it to understand? 9D.
Would you recommend it to others? 10E.
What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

International Congress - Brazil

2008-10-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

In late August i got the opportunity to attend an AIESEC International Congress in Brazil.

It was a great experience full of learning, unlearning, networking and loads of fun.

I had three days after the congress. I spent these three days in Hotel Delverde, where we had the Afrcan GN Post meeting. THE organising committee also stayed in the same hotel. Through out the three days i noticed how hard the OC worked and also saw them celebrate their success. Time came for all of us to part ways and head to our various countries, it was an emotional moment, people cried, huged and promised to keep in touch.

Before i left the hotel, a colourful flipcharts with a lot of words caught my eyes and i though i should share these words with those who read my blog; these were the words

Each year its just another round of the earth around the
sun.
Each day it’s a new day opportunity to start again.
Each day you are
close to your death
Each day its your first day in something the rest of your
days starts today.

HAPPY NEW YEAR
HAPPY NEW EXPERIENCES
HAPPY REST OF
YOUR LIFE
HAPPY START OF A NEW JOURNEY

As A Man Thinketh- James Allen

2008-08-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Who was James Allen?

Although his book, As A Man Thinketh, has inspired millions around the world and is partly responsible for launching an entire self-improvement industry, very little is known about its author, James Allen.

He was born in Leicester, England in 1864 and worked as a personal secretary for an executive of a large English corporation until 1902. At the age of 38 he "retired" to writing and moved with his wife to a small cottage at Ilfracombe, England. He penned more than 20 works before suddenly passing away at the age of 48.

As a Man Thinking has influenced many contemporary writers including Norman Vincent Peale, Earl Nightingale, Denis Waitley and Tony Robbins, among others.

His "little volume", as he called it, has been translated into five major languages, inspiring millions of readers to recognize that man's visions can become reality, simply through the power of thought.

Below is a personal review of the book;

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea is making the best of your thoughts and thought process.I learnt from the book that some of the things that happen to me are a manifestation of my inner thoughts. Good thoughts will yield good results and bad thoughts yield bad results.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.

My character is the complete sum of my thoughts- one of my greatest fears was public speaking.Throughout my education life I always made sure that I was not the one to make a speech, debate or read a poem in class. I feared public speaking because I thought that everyone would not understand what I was going to say and in the end I will be a laughing stock. Because of my thoughts I was a quiet student. This is important because when I change my thoughts I can change my character which should be good news to every one who is struggling with some thing in their lives.

Another idea I learnt is to always keep positive thoughts- When I think positively I will have positive results and the reverse is true for negative thoughts.I failed an exam in my final year because, from the time I started revising for that exam I had these thoughts that I wont pass this exam.And this was true, for the last two times I did this exam i failed. I already thought that I failed before the results came and when they did, it just confirmed my thoughts of failure. Realising that I am a creative power is key, because I need to focus on growing good thoughts and getting rid of the bad ones.

Thoughts should be in harmony with your actions- You cannot have good thoughts and bad actions and expect good results.Its just like a poor man who wants to be rich but misses work occassionally or a person who knows and is afraid of cancer but continues to smoke, this person doesnot deserve being rich or healthy because he doesnot know what he/she wants.If you want to excel at school you should not encourage negative thoughts like I hate school, my teacher doesnot know how to teach or I cannot afford to buy text books for my classes.This is how we (Man) cause our circumstances unconsciously.

Donot blame others and circumstances for things not going on well- when I was working with a team on implementing a project on HIV/AIDS, we faced challenges regarding organising,implementation,hence not meeting some of the participants expecatations.When a meeting was held and asked what went wrong most of the answers that we gave were about others…….we blamed other people and factors but no one talked about himself or gave a comment like I did not follow up on the pendings that I had and that’s why we donot have money for the project. So we spent most of the time blaming others instead of searching for solutions and looking at how we could have caused the mishaps.

Let a purpose drive your thoughts- My friends and I set a goal of starting a business by the end of 2009. Ever since we set this goal every one has been looking for a challenge, opportunity that we could take advantage of to start a business. We have studied business books inorder to learn more about business and more than ever we have managed to connect with what we are doing and came up with brilliant business ideas that will be implemented.So our purpose or goal was to start a business and this stimulated our thoughts into thinking about studying exisiting businesses and looking for a business idea.its been an easy and rewarding experience because we have learnt and got some results.

Think about what you want first and not how to get it- I like computers and when I was at the university I admired fellow students who had laptops. Since then I could always think of myself with a laptop and sometimes I would borrow a friends’ laptop just to have that feeling of working on it. I badly wanted a laptop but I had no clue how to get one, because it was very expensive and I couldnot even afford a desktop. After some time I got a job and I was given a laptop.This was a very exciting day, I could not believe I had a laptop all to myself. The point is I focused on wanting a laptop and even without knowing how to get it I got one.

Having self control-I have to be calm in bad or good situations.Calmness means I take control of my thoughts which if not controlled will be manifetsed in terms of how I react to other people. We need to understand and adapt to each other if we are to have self control. Lack of self control leads to hot or explosive tempers which ruin your relationship with others. My dad has a high level of self control, even when he believes you are wrong, he wil give you an opportunity to explain yourself so that he can understand you before he comments or says whats on his mind.This has helped him create and retain many friends. Taking control of my thoughts will help control the results I would like to have im my life.

3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?

The lesson of character being a sum of my thoughts will push me to face my fears because they will become my character. I will do the things that I fear doing like public speaking which will improve greatly my personal life. I learnt that FEAR means False Evidence Appearing Real, I want to comfirm everything before I fear and you can only confirm by acting on the FEARS.

To keep positive thoughts I will avoid statements like I cannot, I will not because they will negatively influence the results I want to achieve. So I will get the negative statements out of my vocabulary.

When faced with challenges or get variant results from what I expect, I should ask how I contributed to what happened and focus on finding solutions and changing so that I donot repeat the same mistakes. I will seek for both positive and negative feedback from my colleagues and then use it to evaluate my thoughts and actions hence taking 100% personal responsibility.

4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“Man is made and unmade by himself”-This is important because it tells me of how responsible I should be in whatever I do. What I think will affect who I want to be and the results I want to get.

“The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do”- knowing that you can do something is a good start to doing something.You cannot do something if you don’t know that you can do it.Most times I have accomplished tasks and roles by by knowing and believing that I can do them.I donot have to know to do a task so that I can do it, all I need is to know and believe that I can do it.

“There can be nor progress or achievement without sacrifice”- if you want to be given then you have to give; it’s a two way traffic. Receiving after you have given is the only way you can be paid back.So I have to give inorder to receive.

“To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve”-You cannot find what you are not looking for,hence you need to desire something and then go and get what you desire.When you desire something you attract it in your life.Its also important to act on your desires by aspiring to achieve what you desire.

“The universe does not favor the greedy, the dishonest, the vicious although on the mere surface it sometimes may appear to do so”-In this world you can be unfair, unjust and sometimes get away with it.But it’s always short lived and at one point you will have to pay back for all the injustices. This is a reminder to me that I have to strive to be good and do good at all times.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?

I disagree with the statement that people who live in fear of disease are the ones who get it. I think that when you donot fear to get the disease you will be irresponsible.People who fear to get diseases are more cautious about their lives. If people did not fear HIV/AIDS, then they would have unprotected sex or multiple sexual partners hence contract the virus.

6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful? There were no exercises.

7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.

I would like to supplement on thinking about something and it happens with a story. I have a friend who joined SHELL Uganda, a big multinational company. Part of his employment terms was that he was entitled to a car which he got straight from the show room.It was new and sleek. In Kampala we have boda boda’s (Motor bikes) as a means of transport. My friend had always thought of being knocked and scratching his car, so he drove carefully and avoided the heavy traffic jam. One day he was driving back home from church at a speed of 20 km/Hr with no traffic jam and from nowhere a boda boda knocked his car and scratched it. So there he was “I knew it would happen”, he commented. From this story I believe that when you think about something it will happen.

A few pics of me and the SolarNow Team

2008-08-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Leaving a Mark

2008-07-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

On Thursday i changed my Profile picture on face book and i put a foot mark. The foot mark to me is a symbol of leaving a mark or legacy in what i have been doing or its that i want to leave a mark in the things that i am or almost doing.

On 3rd July it was My birth day but also it was three days after the end of my AIESEC term in Rwanda. While in Rwanda i worked with a group of amazing individuals, Kevo, Lolu, crissy,Gwasam, Freddie and Yvette. This team was commonly known as the Usual Suspects.

The few months that i worked with them i learnt alot about myself and most important was that they made believe that i had something to give to AIESEC Rwanda which i had not noticed. I believe in 1+1=3 and i hope the little contributions that i made were worthy it.

Right now this amazing team has moved on, Sam is in the country with the largest number of universities (India), and peace will also be following him. Both will be doing internship in Tata Consultancy services. Crissy opted to first work and then do an internship, freddie is still studying. Yvette has moved on to step into the big shoes of Kevin as MCP for AIESEC Rwanda.
Kevin is also in the search for an internship ( I wish you the best bro).

And then you should be wondering how about me........what am i up to? Well its hard to believe but i am going to be in AIESEC for another one year. Several people have convinced me to take on the position of MCVP TM because the candidate who was selected to do it got another leadership role.

I have been thinking about it for a long time and the more i thought about it, the more i am convinced that i can do it. Every one says it will be the best thing i will ever do for AIESEC Uganda.

So i have rolled up my sleeves, fine tunning my brain to contain the pressure from being talemt management, working as a solar consultant, studying at the International Institute for Global leadership among other tasks.

Hopefully this time around i will be able to leave a bigger mark (compared to the foot of an elephant). Wish me Luck!

Am older and wiser now.

2008-07-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birth day... Happy birth to me. I am now 24 years of age... Ahaa quite old now.

Thanks to God that i am still alive, Its been 24 years of learning, unlearning and discovering who i m truelly are. Looking back in time i should say my life has been good,exciting,happy, sad and adventurous. I have managed to achieve quite many things but most importantly are the people's lives that have changed through being with or sharing my experiences with them and learning from them.

Every single day of these 24 years has presented me with opportunities to learn and be a change agent. Though i still have a long way to go but i am confident that i have taken the first step. Before my 24th birth day i have been able to finalize my research project which has been one big hindrance to my graduation. Through the experience of researching i have come to believe that everything happens for a reason because contrary to what every student's comments on research i have learnt more than ever and had fun because i researched on a topic that i liked and i believe i did a unique research.

I have had ups and downs but these are every where and there are just wake up calls, but i have taken them to be warning signals on what could happen if i do not take action. More than ever i trust my gut feelings and try to follow them. I have learnt to appreciate nature and people and most importantly believe in myself.

To the people who have seen me grow to this level i thank you very much (My dad and Mum), to those who have been guides in my life,keep it up and to those who have walked thin lines side by side with me, words will never describe how grateful i am for being there for me. I cannot write your names here but just to let you know you have a special place in my heart.

So i dedicate this post to you the special ones in my life!

Quiz nite

2008-06-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

Well two weeks back i attended a quiz night at Irish pub in Kampala.It was a great night but in the start i felt so out of place because i was almost the only black person in the house.

After downing a cold bell lager i go in the mood and it was the same time when the quiz started.Our group is called TEHENDE which is close to swahili word meaning lets go!I did not have much to contribute in the quiz coz all the questions where from planet Mars (they had never crossed my mind).We had a range of questions in various categories from geography, movies, musicals among others. My team mates answered all the questions until they asked which countries in Africa start with the letter M,this was my time to shine, i asked every one to leave this questions which i crushed maliciously showing them the African in me!

As the night went by we emerged winners and got a carton of castle lagers and T-shirts. Please dont stop reading thinking that i have just emptied 6 beers because we will be taking the beers today.So to put it straight i am not under the influence of castle lagers while writing this post.

Today at 6 pm, the whole TEHENDE team will be meeting in bugolobi to finalize the questions that will be asked on Thursday.Usually the winning team comes up with the questions.I have got the best team which has creative and diverse minds. Contrary to lat time's quiz,this time we have interesting categories like Africa,so that Ugandans are not left out and the other category i am looking forward to is Sex and World leaders among others.......

Do you feel the creativity and diversity in this quiz night...just in case you are in Kampala,join us this Thursday at Irish pub as we give participants a run for their beers and brain work!

Will give you updates on my findings on whether there is a corelation between world leaders,sex and beers.......

Tuhende!

Highlights

2008-06-21T05:07:00.000-07:00

Fire fighting, beating deadlines, persistence and going home late have been the highlights of this week.

It's half year now and i have to submit my report by Monday next week and i still have pendings.
The people who are supposed to give me information for my report have been very slow or its me who has been slow.I have learnt that i have to take 100% personal responsibility for whatever happens so i wont blame any one apart from me.

AIESEC has become my middle name.Just when i thought i can peacefully head for the future,these days i have been involved in almost all the AIESEC UG activities from Planning conference preparation to AFrican YEs launch among others......Why does AIESEC keep following me? I ask myself this question but i know the answer its because i am AIESEC!.

Aha now i told you that i was still a student,my supervisor is no where to be seen.i have sent him emails, sms and called him but all in vain.Deadline for handing in research is 30 th June.What should i do...........keep sending him more Sms', emails and endless calling.Its called persistence!

its been long!

2008-05-29T05:40:00.000-07:00

Hello to all who visit my blog...
I am back after a long time. SO many things have happened ever since i got back from Dare-e salaam. First i went mountain climbing on Mt Rwenzori. I had a lot of fun with my 'boss'.We passed thru the equator, went to Queen Elizabeth national Park.

I also had a surprise visit to Kigali for the AIESEC rwanda conference it felt like home when i got there.Though getting there became tricky at the katuna border after we couldnot get temporary passes for some delegates but thank God some one heard a border official speak their mother tongue and that got them into Rwanda.

Time is up....

2008-02-26T13:26:00.002-08:00

I am going to miss chips mayayae,Tuk tuks and my swahili lessons.We its that time when you have say good bye to your friends.

i have quiet many friends in dar who have helped me in one way or the other and i would like to thank them for being there for me and making dar feel like home.

To you all lovely people Karibu sana Uganda.

Kwaheri

Is it tommorrow or today?

2008-02-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hey People,

Its been another very interesting day here in dares-salaam.Right now i am abit tipsy coz i just had a few shots of barcadi and kilmanjaro.So the things written in this blog spot doesnot belong to me but to the beers that i have taken.Our Neighbour is marrying tommorrow (i think its now today) and he invited us for the Barbeque.

Any way i have had enough as usual so it looks like i am wriiting in arabic or chinese but whatever it is i have to sleep.

Back Home in the car trunk!

2008-02-21T12:42:00.000-08:00

19^th Feb 2008.

The cool breeze,numerous beaches,breath taking sceneries,chips mayayai and the long distances connecting towns.Oh yeah i am in Dare-salaam now!

Its been an exceptional day, I have had a wonderful time with the team.We had discussions about SolarNow,updates,changes and next steps.New exciting projects have been introduced will fill you in when implementation starts.

Very interesting have been the extra curricular activities that we did.Lunch with the team was awesome from knowing different colleagues’ tastes to the amount of food they eat.It is always evident that I eat more than the rest because of my size and also the fact that its one of the talents that makes me proud.

Then the team took it to the kitchen to prepare dinner.Me and Alex took lessons from Miep on kitchen hygiene, how to slice onions,tomatoes,egg plants and opening tuna tins.I noticed that mzungu cooking is more structured than African cooking and more spices are used.

We had dinner and headed to the slip way to get some drinks and un wind.It was a great evening.We had a range of drinks from Kilimanjaro,Serengeti to water and wine.

At midnight,being the only ones in the bar,it was time to leave.We were 7 and the car that we have is a 5 seater so I ended up in a trunk with another Canadian friend who is also in dar doing a project on bio fuel.Seating in the trunk is funny but we enjoyed.It was accompanied with an intellectual discussion on how culture affects work and what would be the state of african countries if they did not get aid from donors.

Trip to Nairobi.

2008-02-19T20:59:00.000-08:00

Its Friday 15 th February at 11:45 pm.I am in Nairobi seated at the scandinavia office waiting for the next day to jump onto the next bus to my final destination which is Dares Salaam.
My other three colleagues that I have travelled with have checked into marble hotel and I have opted not spend a night at the bus offices.Not that I donot have money like it used to be on my earlier trips but its because of the images that keep flashing in my mind of burnt houses and hundreds of people who were left homeless due to the political unrest in kenya.

From Eldoret,Burnt forest and molo hundreds of people are treking to find a place to sleep,others are stranded on the road side waiting for a good samaritan to give them a lift to where?No one knows.

Burnt forest and molo are dry places with a sparse population.I did not see many shops or trade centres,places to dram water so I kept wondering how the people around those places survive.But just like any one who doesnot have many options they alwayts find their way out.
For those of us who think that we are suffering because we donot have school fees,cant afford to buy meat for their family,stop complaining because there are people who have no place to stay,food,money and donot even know what to do and where to start from.

It’s now Midnight,I have more six hours to embark on the journry to do.What will I do in these six hours ,read the richest man in babylon,take some power naps or even strike a conversation with my neighbour!
12:15 am I look for the Richest Man In Babylon,a book I had just bought and couldnot find it.I searched all my luggage and it was no where to find.Ok this now reduces on my to do list for tonight.

12:35 am, the power short circuits and every one rushes out of the scandinavia booking office/bedroom/Lodge where people are sleeping.The Mum’s were looking for their kids and the kids looking for their mums all screaming Mummy………..,mummy,mummy,son,daughter………….. Son, looking very traumatised.
Great!i exclaimed ,I have just lost my book,power has gone off and have not gone to sleep in the hotel with My friends.How bad will it get?Will find out tommorrow.

NEXT DAY.16/02/2008.
Its 4:30 am and every one cannot pretend to be sleeping any one.The seats/beds are very hard,its freaking cold and my closest neighbour is snoring just like a lion trapped in a cage.We are looked in the place and cannot get out.All the people are so bored,pissed off and sleepy with nothing to do.Ok,I have an idea of what we can do.How about watching Prison Break I ask My neighbour ,”what have you been waiting for”?, he replies. Pulled out my laptop and started watching.

6:00 am, laptop battery runs low in the middle of a very interesting scene when scoffield is mid way his recent escape attempt from sona.

Happy Day

2008-01-22T05:25:00.000-08:00

Today i have every reason to smile all the way.

One because my boss was very impressed with the project materials that i developed.It took me alot of thinking to come up with them and in the end i felt i deserved a thumbs up and here i am just recieved an email saying "Julius you did a wonderfull job with Business development tools,I am very impressed"!

Two,the second last born recieved his results for Primary Leaving Examinations and he got 13 points which is a second upper grade!He is called Joel a very smart boy,i truelly believe he is a star in the making.Watch out for him.

These 2 things are all i needed to make my day.I am thnking of where to go and celebrate,catch a smirnoff or Bell with My friends but i am really tired after those wild trips of mine in Lira,Arua and Masindi.

I think i need to sleep,may be i will party in My dreams!

Adventour Gets tough!

2008-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

For the last one week i have been travelling like crazy,doing more than 200 Kms in a day.It started on Tuesday morning when i jumped on to the bus to Lira.This has been my second time in Lira,i wasnot so anxious about getting there like the first trip.Lira was good,i met very enthusiatic solar dealer who made me feel that i am actually a messiah to his business.

Friday 18 Jan 2008,at 6 am i hit the road to get the next bus to Arua,Just like any unfamiliar destination i couldnot wait to get there.First i boarded a very small car (Corona) coz i wanted to get there fast only to notce that it can actually take the number of people that fit in a matatu!Oh my we were already 5 on the back seat but the driver was saying push up,Mwesikemu or Mwegyelane in Kinyarwanda so that he can fix more people.THat was it for me i had to go for the bus.

The bus dropped me in Karuma at 7:30 am and i had to wait for another one to Arua.The bus took long to come but finally it arrived.Believe me ladies jumped into the bus before it stopped,mean while the gentle me was waiting for it to stop only to realise that it doesnot stop.I ran after it thanks to my long legs i got in.

It took us 5 hours to Arua,by that time it felt like i have been racing with Inzikuru.Every part of my body was aching(not every part sorry!) and i was starving,you know what i did next.

AFter i checked in at california Hotel,its a very nice rooms,spacious and clean,the only issue was that the cooks are only good at cooking chips and chicken.

Arua is a very busy town due to its proximity to southern sudan.It has so many sudanese people and the natives(Lugbara's).Sudanese are tall and dark and if you know me tall and dark can best suit my appearance.The ironical part is that i am actually more brown than them,which led to the people refering to me as Brown sudanese which i got used to and the power rationing!

5:00 am monday morning,actually today am in abus heading to Masindi.I had to be dropped off at Kagitumba and then proceed to Masindi.

Now i am in Masindi,i have finished official business and now hanging out on the internet.Oooh i forgot to tell you this i got into an argument with the boss of the hotel where i am staying.Imagine he tells me i cant use my laptop coz power is very expensive.But i thought i had paid him.He insists that i only paid for accomodation nothing more,nothing less.I cant even shower twice in a day.

But dont you worry i have alread showered and wont need to shower till i get back to Kampala.No need to hold your breath for my neighbours in the bus!

A stone throw in to southern sudan

2008-01-19T00:57:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not i am in Arua,its in west nile region in Uganda.its a very busy city contrary to what i thought.

I had to seat in abus for close to 5 hours to get here.On my way i noticed that people are reconstructing the war torn areas,my eyes could not miss the small towns that had 10 people in one area with a church,school and clinic surroundung them.The houses are so distant.

The people are very friendly and smilig despite their past history.Business is booming given the fact that its close to Juba which is every Business Man's dream.

Sudanese cross over to lira easily to get foods and other essentials and this makes the prices soar high.

The language is amazing,they speak very fast with alot of emphasis.I am tempted to think that they are quarelling even if they are having a cordial freindly conversation.

Power cuts here are part of the days schedule and theyu are blaming it on the crisis in Kenya,i donot know how?.Its making life hard for me because i have nothing to do apart from working 0n my laptop and listening to a collection of music i have ranging from
Rwandese,UTAKE,slows,RnB,Old skool and all the other genres.

I am so fatique coz of the long distances that i have been travelling since tuesday.For me its fun seeing new faces and culture but rquires adaptability and adventure!Its fun being here and now that i have an appointment in the next 1 hr i need to go eat some kalo,rush back to my hotel (california Hotel) and hit the road.So catch you then,probably i will be in Masindi.

Happy 2008.

2008-01-17T04:17:00.000-08:00

My first blog post in 2008.First happy New year to you all.

I am in the capital city of Northern uganda doing a project on business consultancy.

Lira is great besides the frequent power cuts that are making my life hard here but i am a survivor.

No more 2007,cant believe its gone but there are things that still linger in my mind and most of them are turning points or have some how influenced who Julius is now;

-Missed being MCP of AIESEC Uganda.

-The trip to national conference in Tanzania.It was a masculine trip especially coming back to uganda.

-The year of the 3 dudes!Together we did things we never though we would.

-Missed graduation for the third time in a row!Its never too late,this year i will be graduating with a degree in Accounting plus a certificate in solar installation and design.

-Experiencing Rwanda, the culture and of course the good times,memories and the AIESEC Rwanda.

-Christmas with my family was a magical day.When i think about it,it still feels like its yesterday.

In 2008,i promise to have a much more impact in my life and the lives of the people around me!

Knock Knock!

2007-12-18T06:56:00.000-08:00

Knock knock.........Who is there?

Am back to my blog,missed you all.

Ok where shud i start from,alot has happened between the last post and today but will summarise.

First, work is driving me nutts,i was given a very huge project to run on business consultancy and i am starting from scartch,i mean no concepts,no resources,no nothing.So i ave to develop so many resources and tools that i will be using in the field in by Jan 3rd 2008.

Today is deadline for AIESEC uganda MC application!I had convinced my self to run for a portfolio that is my new love which is Non corporate management and as i write now i have not filled in even my names and date of birth.But its never too late i have got till midnight so we are talking about 6 Hrs.Wish me luck on this one.

The biggest user centered system is up! You know what am talkin about www.myaiesec.net (Oh my Goosh its so pimped!,that i have forgotten how to use it,which adds to my never ending daily tasks).Every day i am putting in 1 hour to learn how to operate this new system.When i finally get it,then its going to be my PLAY GROUND and i wont even compete with Kaka da FIFA 2007 WORLD PLAYER!!!!!.

Christmas is around the corner i am not in the mix yet! I am so damn busy to hear the christmas songs and see people shopping,being busy would not be a big issue,am actually using it as a scape goat but da real prob is i am as hard up as a beggar,do you feel my mix? Thanks to God i have no one emotionally affiliated to me otherwise i would be in big trouble.

Besides this i have gotten a huge surprise Christmas gift from my Boss!Guess what it is????Got it ,No....Not yet!Oook let me spill it,he has offered to install at my parents home in Jinja a solar Home system,i am so happy i could not get enough of thanking him.You should have seen me smile up to my ears.

Got to go i have already written enough,ok not enough coz i told its a summary.Tomorrow is IDDI at where is the Pillao?Knock knock.................. who is there?Pillao!i have an open invitation to Mai's place for lunch.
As preparation for the climax of IDDI (pillao Eating) i am not eating anything till 2moro so that i can show them what i got?I mean you need to have talent like mine to get an open invitation for IDDI!

Lost and Found

2007-12-05T06:49:00.000-08:00

I have not done anything constructive today apart from printing promotional material and developing some new ideas.

But i am super happy i have left home at 4:00 pm and on my way to the printery i found a lost Buddy.Every day i have been thinking about him and now i found him.

He is one of my best friends called Jack pony;way back in High school we used to share the same breakfast,Reading books and we used to do rotational home visits.Jack used to pay for my trips for field work and used to house me all the time coz i was a really broke a**.

Thanks be to God i have met him briefly and i cant wait for the big reunion on saturday.

Trip to the Capital City of Northern Uganda.

2007-12-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

When you hear northern uganda what comes to your mind is the war and kony the Imbecile responsible for the death of so many innocent people.

But this is not what i witnessed when i got to Lira(capital city of Northern Uganda),its a very busy and good town infrastructure wise and its very safe (No Gun shoots).

I travelled to lira on saturday being my first time i was very anxious and nervous coz its northern uganda you know!.I woke up early packed and was in the bus by 9:30 am.The bus took forever to get full so i had to chill for another 2 Hrs reading the New vision as i kept drawing pictures of what Lira looks like in my mind.

12:15 the bus starts to move and there we went,passed through various towns like Bombo,Luwero and as we got to Nakasongoro,the bus got some mechanical problems and the engine was smooking like a chimney.

We stopped for 2 hrs and then set off,midway the journey at a place called Bweyale,it was time to stop again.This time the fault was getting worse.The driver added water in the engine and we were off again.

From kampala to Lira its ment to take 4 Hrs but we took approximately 8 Hrs.I was so tired my knees were aching thanks to being tall my legs could not fit in the space in between the seats.

The view of lira at night is wonderful,there are street lights,so many hotels and people there enjoy a social drink called Malwa.Why i call it social is that you seat in acircle with other people and then drink from the same pot with various long straws.This drink is accompanied with local dances and music with tales.

The 2 nights in Lira were awesome!I slept in one of the best hotels around called Town view Hotel.I also took a Moto ride around the town and saw the late Milton Obote's home with his statue welcoming visitors in the compound,IDP's that are now demolished since peole have relocated back to their homes.

Business was good there i met a very positive and enthusiatsic solar dealer who motivated me more to give him as much support as i cpuld and even promised to go back.

COMING BACK FROM LIRA.

Monday morning i was up by 6:00 am,took a really cold shower and had for break fast which is on da house or return ticket as my friend chris likes calling it.9:45 am i was leaving Lira town.

The bus i boarded seemed very good,and i thought i would be on time for kampala.it was a smooth journey a part from the chicken that we shared the bus with and kept jumping on my feet until Nakasongora.

In Nakasongora there is a police check point and as soon as we left the check point the bus got a flat tyre.In side me i wanted to make alot of noise to the driver for putting scrap tyres but then i asked my self how bad could it have been?Imagine this bus was over speeding(just like they always do) and had a flat tyre?By now i would be in hospital.So i had to change my thoughts there and then.

After 2 Hrs of tyre fixing we left Nakasongora only to get another flat tyre in Luwero.This time the driver just continued as if nothing happened till kampala.I cannot believe i am now back to kampala but fweecks...... thanks to GOD.

Today's Reflections.

2007-11-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

Right now i am seated in the Free Energy foundation office in Kampala and the whole day i have done nothing apart from reflecting about my life ( where i have come from and where i am heading),my work at the foundation and my AIESEC work in Rwanda.

I have gotten memories of my university and when i joined AIESEC,the positions held,learnings and mother of screw ups i have had,the fun and sadness,successes and failures.

Talk about failure, i lost a very tight race as MCP for AIESEC Uganda 07/08.I felt bad after but i consoled my self with the fun i had as chair for national conference in Tanzania.Now i have been thinking about the 47 exchanges to be raised and realized in Rwanda and my mind has been racing with a lot of thoughts and the biggest question of what if has been popping up.

Deep down inside me, my subconscious mind is talking to me and telling me that we can realize the 47 exchanges and the other part of my mind is cautioning me that time is running out.its a bit scary up in here but i have a very very strong BELIEF and HOPE that we will come out smiling at the end of June.

I know Da usual suspects are doing whatever it takes to make it happen!No doubt.........i trust kevo,peace,crissy,freddie,sam and Yvette (you guys are an amazing bunch and don't forget that what makes us tick are the differences we have in experiences,passion and the fear of not failing).

I have not done anything today apart from thinking and i feel damn tired,but i guess its one of those days when you need to stop and strategically refuel.

Tomorrow will be a new and inspiring day i have to finish my preparations of traveling to Northern Uganda and i have not given up on my trip to Indonesia for the one conference so i am looking forward to it.

sign out now as i listen to one of my French favorites Comme un fils ( can u hear that stuttering guitar in the background?)

10 STEPS TO MENTAL HEALTH

2007-11-26T00:45:00.000-08:00

ON saturday i attended AIESEC In Makerere University LC meeting and the LCP shared with us the 10 ways to be mentally healthy.

1.Accepting who you are.

2.Talking about who you are.

3.Keep Active.

4.Learning new skills

5.Keeping in touch with friends.

6.Do something creative.

7.Get involved in various activities.

8.Ask for help if you donot know something.

9. Take time off to relaxe.

10.Be serious with NOTHING!

KLA HIGHLIGHTS.

2007-11-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Ahaa i am back to my blog!I missed it since the last post so many things have gone down,will give you some sneak previews.

Today kampala feels different,there are not so many cops on the streets,no silens of police cars speeding off as they take the Number 1 citizens of 50 countries that attended CHOGM.

On saturday 23 rd Nov 2007 as the Queen of Great Britain was adressing
members of parliament in kampala opposition parties and othere religious people were protesting and on the banners were some interesting words like;

STOP HOMOSEXUALITY in uganda.

ZIMBABWE NEEDS AFRICA.(this comes after Zimbabwe was suspended from CHOGM)

CHOGM FOR THE POOR PEOPLE.

Every thing has been on the stand still,very many army and police guards on the streets.,some of the roads closed and people are complaining that they havenot benefited from CHOGM.Ugandans want quick cash and thought that CHOGM will directly put some coins in their pockets but all in vain.

I believe CHOGM has benefited uganda in terms of global positioning and improving the infrastructures in kampala.many roads and hotels have been built and also we have got so many people coming to visit the tourist potentials in uganda.

Through the meeting i liked the speech of Outgoing secretary general who re echoed the role of youth in contributing positively to the global issues.

Top on the agenda of the meeting was Climatic changes and global warming,Rwanda's joining the Common wealth amongst others.On the whole the meeting has directly and indirectly benefited uganda

SHOW ME YOUR MONEY!

Friday went to visit my dad,it was good seeing him a gain and asking me those hard questions of How,Why,When?

Then watched this program called show me your money,a competitive show with people who have entrepreneurial ideas and want to put them into action.

I found it quite interesting and challenging as they present their biz proposals and the tough questions from the panelists.

A couple of business ideas struck me like the biogas idea,herbal tea and herbal dental medicine!This is a very good intiative and hope it continues.

Still on that same day i was shocked by the level of intelligence that GOD gave to some people.I read on the internet that we africans utilise less than 4% of our brains but this time around i saw someone who uses more than 5% and it seemed like a dream to me.

OK let me spill it there is a guy here in kampala who has been Nick named MR COMPUTER coz he is very good at mathematics and algebras.He was hosted on a TV show and people asked him very tough calculus questions and to their surprised he answered all of them minus a calculator.

I couldnot believe it but this guy can tell you how many minutes you have lived on earth but telling him the dates of birth.Dont you think this is amazing?

Anyways Kudos for him and i hope he gets the best out of his talents.

NEVER SAY GOOD BYE

2007-11-15T23:53:00.000-08:00

I know its always hard to say good bye especially to the people you share with a common dream.

Many times i have said good bye to my friends thinking that i will never see them again only to be shocked by how small the world is.

Back then when in my first year at the university i had a mentor who i looked up to in everything, at some point i wished i could photocopy his brilliancy,hard work and achievements.

But time came and we had to part,it was one of the saddest moments of my life coz he had to fly back to UK and being the Ugandan i was i thought i would not see him again.

Two years later on a Sunday evening i recieved a call and guess what it was him,back in UG,very anxious to meet me again.Imagine the huge smile i had on my face to be a bit specific
i was smiling up to the ears!

Same stories have been happening to me,i did not think i would see Kevin and Kristian again,so i bid my farewell to them only to meet them again in Rwanda,all on Neutral grounds (kevin from Kenya,Kristian the Neutralized Kenyan from Norway and Me,Myself and Julacris from Uganda).

From that day i never say good bye but SEE YOU THEN!

For my close friends in Rwanda who think they will never see me again;shame on you coz i am just a text,email,flying kiss and 9 hours bus drive away.

Saturday 10th of November was the day i left RWANDA and i am already missing it.

I Miss the amazing team DA USUAL SUSPECTS that i have been working with(by the way thanks for the gifts i love them especially the lipstick Ha ha ha ha!Imagine all the Galz in Kla want to kiss me).

I miss my first love in Rwanda (macedwani),the early shower and CHK (pronounced as SIASKA),Rubangura,Umujyi,not forgetting my favorite hang out places Seminar room 2 in SFB, crissy and peace's room and KIST Canteen.

And for some of you who are still day dreaming like me wake up coz i am in kla and get ready to read the next post about highlights in the city where we have CHOGM inflation,security and business.

MURAKOZE CYANE! NABAKUNDA CYANE! YEGO !

MYTHS VERSUS PROVEN FACTS AND LOGIC.

2007-11-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

To day has been eye opening and challenging due to the interesting discussions we had with Dr Femi from world vision as part of the ASK Training.

The doctor re emphasized that we are the future and we need to be very proactive and also challenge things and not to follow hear say from people especially about HIV/AIDS.

Since AIDS was discovered in Africa there have been so many myths about it and people have believed them simply because we do not have the right information or our cultures bent our thinking towards a certain direction that is contrary to the real scenario. Some of these myths have led to increased spread of the epidermic, reduced life span of the infected people and later death.

I have been affected by HIV/AIDS because I lost my dear Auntie who because of too much belief in witch craft refused to accept that she was infected .The signs and symptoms of the virus were so visible on her body but strongly believed that some one bewitched her and she never went for treatment until the day she was laid to rest. She left behind one son and daughter. May her soul rest in eternal peace.

Other Myths are;

That when you have malaria and go for HIV testing, you might come out positive even if you have the virus.

Drinking a lot of milk can prevent HIV/AIDS.

In South Africa it’s said that having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS. The younger the virgin, the more potent the cure. This has led to an epidemic of rapes by infected males, with the correspondent infection of innocent kids. Many have died in these cruel rapes.

Eating a lot of garlic cures HIV/AIDS.

Mosquito bites can cause HIV/AIDS.

ARV’s cure HIV/AIDS.

This list can be endless but the point is that lets not rely on these un proven facts and as youths and university students we should challenge the people who say such things. If we do this I believe we will save the lives of people who would have contracted the disease or died of this scourge.

For those of us who thought that know everything about HIV/AIDS, we are simply lying to ourselves and will pay dearly for being ignorant about what kills 60% of people in sub-Saharan africa.

TIA!

2007-11-06T04:56:00.001-08:00

This message is so touching for me and those who are in AIESEC Africa where we have to wait for a person to finish so that you can write a proposal that you have to drop tomorrow,its 8:00 pm,you skipped lunch to save transport for tomorrows marketing call and you have carfew at home!

Please read on below from Habib (African GN Director 2006/2007)

My dear Africanos,

I'm writing you from the riverside of the Wouri River, in my native Douala. I left Rotterdam 8 days ago. I'm now resting from the frenzy of my past seven years in AIESEC and preparing myself for other exciting challenges.

First of all I wish to apologize for not writing you before leaving office, or not replying all the emotional mails you sent me. I wanted to finish off my job and take some time to reflect on our common journey.

I believe it all started in Romania, at IPM 05, when I met some of you, newly elected MCP, disappointed by the picture Africanos were giving. There was the normal "strong" AIESEC Countries and GNs, the very ones that matter, and there was that bunch of people in the corner, singing "one Africano" at each sign of misfortune. After numerous years of underperformance, Africa was clearly an embarrassment for many generations of PAI.

The selection of a non African Director by Brodie was more like a "let's try something else", than a well thought through decision to get Africa finally back on track.

The seed of change could be perceptible in the new generation of MCPs, who had had enough of the disrespect. The years 0506 has been a breakthrough year, thanks to the energetic action of the GN board, with the introduction of the Empowering Africa program.

But Africanos were still the guys in the corner. It was not about the stereotypes-full perceptions of the others; it was about who Africans think they are. It was not about our brand, it was about our identity.

The year 0607 was about reconnection with what Africa truly is. Africa is cheerfulness, but also ambition and fighting spirit. It is commonly acknowledged that it take much more to be an AIESECer in Africa than in any other part of the world. All of us have had the stomach screaming for a meal while browsing, everyone has once gone to a business meeting with malaria symptoms, and everyone had directed scarce personal health or school-related funds to finance AIESEC. Everyone has waited hours to have access to a computer to type a proposal.

We all went through this, confident of the contribution we were making to the present and future generations of Africans. Matter of factly, there is no other chance like AIESEC for Africans. As MCPs, we have been the new Prometheus, fighting for a brighter Africa. The challenges we overcame, the tears we cried, were all part of the challenge of beating the odds.

Can I ever take out of my mind the sight of Akobe the Ivorian fighting in Dakar for Senegalese youth, Benis the Togolese in Cotonou for Beninese, Landry the Cameroonian for Gabonese, Christian the Ivorian in Freetown for Liberians, Kevin the Kenyan in Rwanda for Rwandese? No need to mention Moyo and his team, giving everything to rescue his Nigeria from the sink, Abey against all and everyone to lift South Africa up, jemimah and Phil making history for Kenya, Naoufel silently but relentlessly building a giant in Morocco, Paul growing AIESEC in a defunct country, Boi keeping Botswana beyond sea level, Gaspar raising Tanzania to greatness, Vincent cracking all records in Ghana, and Samy the team captain, brilliantly hosting the world in Egypt. What can I say about the wonderful AIESEC members there, team leaders, project directors, LCVPs, LCPs, MCEBs?

You guys are my heroes. The GN board and I did nothing but to share our passion and hunger for achievements. At the end the year, the legacy is impressive: 54% growth in a global organization that grew only 2%. In 2005, it was challenging to be an African, now it's good to be an African.

For all you that made me proud everyday of my term as Director, thank you. For all of you that ignored the challenges to make it happen, you can be proud of the pace you have set. As it takes darkness for the light to shine through, it took all these challenges for your leadership to filter through. Simply keep shining.

We all passed the torch to a team led by JC, another Africano, a team that is far more talented than ours, a team that also starts on a firmer footing. They have the ambition we had. They know the difference between the ambitious and the utopist is not how high the bar is, but how much drive is invested to reach out. They will match their ambition with the same culture of action and passion for achievement we had.

To all warriors of 0607, you can rest assured the GN is in good hands. You can proudly take the passenger seat and enjoy the show. Open your hands if asked, but your fight now is to use the light in you to brighten Africa. The time has come to make a difference outside AIESEC. For having been blasted by you this year, I have high expectations from you. Rock your future.

I will be permanently available for you on msn (ewanebane@hotmail.com), facebook, gmail (habibewane@gmail.com) or on my blog http://habibewane.myaiesec.net.

If by chance our winds blow in the same direction, I will be delighted to offer you a hug, a beer and a tap in the back.

Keep shining.

Habib

Weekend in "TARINYOTA'

2007-11-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

Its been a good Monday for me i have not done much apart from reading and replying mails,reading new vision and going out for one marketing call but some how i feel happy:)

I guess this is attributed to the weekend in Tarinyota,saturday was good it all started with Umuganda (general cleaning in Rwanda),our one bedroom and standing house had a face lift.I mean its super clean and now we can allow visitors so you are all welcome!

After Umuganda i went to KIST for pioneers preparation where i noticed that i so bad at dancing after trying out the kinyarwanda and i almost got bone dis locations coz i forced them to move in direction they had never moved before but any way its a great dance that i need to learn.

Then it was time to go home and ended up watching movies till 4:00 am on sunday and retired to my bed.Being the Julius who likes movies i woke up at 7:30 and continued from where i had stopped,i was joined by kevin and then before we knew it we had missed prayers,lunch and almost missing Dinner! We finally had dinner and continued.

Up till now i think i am still in the safe mode (chiling and sleeping and no worries) but hopefully i will wake up tomorrow.

Do you ever have enough time?

2007-11-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

The difference between people who are successful and those who are not can be described what they do with their time or how they spend their time.

Many times i have heard people say they donot have time or saying that i wish i had enough time i should have done this and that and then here comes the big question DO WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME?

I cant believe today is second November just a few days to Christmas and also it hits me hard that i have more 7 days in Rwanda.I am definately going to miss the language ( My favourite kinyarwanda word is OH YEAH or OH YA!) and the senegalese food! plus the great people and friends that i have created over time.

My First 'Home" kigali Hotel and the New Home where i dont even know my neighbours and cant talk to them coz most of them are Francophone but they like Ugandan music.

So many things have happened for the shortest time i have spent in Rwanda that i have not noticed until now which have made me believe that there is time for everything its just that we do things and not notice,we are not conscious of where we came from and also do not celebrate our little successes which may be as small as waking up every day to go attend that lecture.

I do not believe in there is no time or i wish believe in creating time and when i do i make it worth my while so no I WISH.........

SO as i count down to my last days in Rwanda for this year i will not say i make the most out of them but what i will do is to remember the good times i have had,what i have achieved,continue with my plans as usually coz i hate last minute rush.

I have to go for the MC meeting before i get late.

Mc Meeting is finished and we open another agenda.

We are seated in Peace's room having a drink celebrating coz sam has finished university.I have taken some drink i dont know, i think i am getting tipsy and i have to stop writing coz i ma not sure of what i will write next...

6 Months of Solar!

2007-11-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well today i feel so tired after a long day of walking doing marketing calls.I managed to visit 5 NGO's Congs Julio!

mean while the whole morning i had no clue where my mobile phone was Imagine! But i was not worried of loosing it coz here in kigali Mum's did anout standing good job of punishing kids who took stuff that didnot belong to them.

I am a lucky bustard again coz its the second time i am forgetting my phone some where and i get it.The first time i forget it at some eating place to describe it in luganda i would simply say kikumi kikumi'(Place where you have to mind business and business here is your food/eats,the ambiance,cleanliness is NOT YO BUSINESS) and this time around i have forgotten it at the papetterie.AKI JULIO YOU ARE A SERIOUS JOKER.YOU FORGOT THAT ITS A MOBILE PHONE NOT A LANDLINE.

The Most exciting news is that today marks six months of my internship with solarNow.

i have learnt alot in solar and i have been inspired to do big things regarding solar energy in africa.So i am now free like the wind i can be blown in any direction except the fact that the wind needs to blow me in such a way that it wont cause a sunami.

Any ways i am so damn happy of what i have been able to do in my internship.I have come out as a proactive learner,a person not afraid of trying new things and off course very adventurous but what the Heck? its been fun and challenging!

So i will retire to my humble dwelling place (Nyamirambo), a place where you can find anything from old car spare parts to third hand clothes.

Je t'aime.

Virus attack.....

2007-10-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

For those who have laptops or Desktops you should be very familiar with the pains that viruses bring to us especially after a long day of hard work on writing a proposal or your end of month report...

Yeah right i am so pissed right now i cannot do anything on my laptop coz its been attacked by viruses,i have been changing anti viruses due to their inefficiencies until a friend offered me kaspersky that had proved to be Worst enemies with viruses.

My best moments have been whenever i insert a flash that has viruses,the sound that kaspersky makes when it detects the viruses is a re confirmation that your laptop or desktop is a NO GO ZONE FOR DA DAMNED VIRUSES.

Right now i am still seated in the office downloading a trial version of kaspersky after the one i had got expired(I did not that i had a trial version, oooooouchhhhhhhh!),but exactly thats my point where can you get a full version of these anti viruses without the sun burning so hard on your pocket that it puts a huge hole in it.

OK,please wish me the luck i badly need to get the anti virus, i am so psyche-less,hungry and the same my mind is racing with all these to do's i have pending coz i have a virus infected laptop!

Hope when i retire to bed i wont have computer Virus night mares.

The search for exchanges!!!!

2007-10-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Its 7:23 pm ugandan time,6:23 pm Rwandan time and i am seated in the Great lakes Energy office over looking the beautiful night view of kigali.Wow it looks like NY city!!!!.

I have just come back after a long day of researching potential TN takers to participate in the AIESEC Global internship programme.I managed to visit 5 NGO's and i am very happy because i got some high Po's so mos def i will be raising exchanges for Rwanda.

very tired indeed just chilling for a few minutes and will head home(Nyamirambo) to meet kevin and we continue with the agenda for the night.

Am off catch you tomorrow.

Good nite.

Cyangugu XP

2007-10-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

Its 7:15 am still in the bed contemplating whether to get out of bed coz its really cold up in here, All of a sudden my phone goes off and to find that Amri is already waiting for me at great lakes where we are supposed to meet before we leave for cyangugu.

We delayed booking so we missed the comfortable bus and then we opted for a matutu where we had to be packed 4 people per seat and I was complaining until I was told that its really handy for people to seat 4 especially for the cyangugu trip.

7.45 the matutu leaves the park and we head to cyangugu thru kamonyi,gitarama.Before we reached Butare town city we branched of to the way that takes us thru gikongoro to cyangugu.

On our way 3 ladies boarded and they carried polythene bags and lemon which I later learnt that they could prevent them from throwing up because the road has many corners. It’s a 6 hours drive from Kigali to cyangugu Passed thru nyungwe forest the weather changed there and then, it’s a one and a half hours drive to the next town. The road through the forest has so many corners that makes you thin that the car will loose balance and fall off easily.At around 2 pm we had reached the city center called kamembe, a very busy center with so many commercial activities going on.

The Host.

On arrival we passed via Amri’s grand ma,s place where I tasted true Rwandese food that’s the Bugali and small fish mixed with G nuts, also had Ugali from Burundi called Rowe(really tasty and sweet, it can replace Bread).We then headed to Amris brother where I later came to learn that it was going to be my new home for the next 3-4 days. It was a really cool place I felt like home because I was eating well cooked food not the hotel type and at least had options for what to eat.

It felt being part of family life where you have people taking good care of you, I mean you eating nice, boiling water for you to shower and sleeping in a mosquito net you know it doesn’t get better than this.

More excitement came as I had a one on one with a pretty chic, we discussed various topics ranging from world issues like civil wars to technology shaping the world and we ended up in a heated religious argument and the climax of the day was the MUSLIM Wedding that we gate crashed in……………

Weekend at the shores of Lake Kivu.
From kamembe city center (cyangugu), it takes you about 10 Minutes to the DRC border on a motto (bike).That was the first place we went to, took some cool pictures in the boats which were being manned by ladies, who offered to give us a boat ride but I was so scared of my safety.Our next stop was Lake Kivu; the cool breeze welcomes you as you get close to the shores. The scenery there is breath taking, the water, island view and terrain are worthy for tourists, couples and families on vacation.

My stay at the lake was so rejuvenating I felt like I was in my wonderland, chilling listening to the sounds of the water as it hits the rocks, watching birds swim and sipping a cold “fanta”.I had a wonderful time and on Sunday I decide to stay home watching movies till 1 am.

Monday was time to leave for Kigali.In Kigali imagine I got sick of malaria even after sleeping in a mosquito net but TIA…………

catch da next post!

What a day?

2007-10-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

My day started at 11 am on thursday 18 th oct 2007,me and kevin get out of the new house and our next stop is at World vision office in Kacyiru.

The ASK project is soon starting,trainees are in the country from uganda aand being trained at world vision.We went to evaluate how they are fairing with their trainer.

At the gate it so happens the gate keeper knows luganda and was very excited to learn that i also speak luganda.This made our entrance very easy though kevin had been there for a couple of times.

Meeting was done in 15 minutes and headed back to kigali,finding taxis is as hard as finding Nsenene in owino market when its not the seaason for it.
Any ways after 20 mins of waiting we finally got one.

The day was really first coz of the many things we had to do.The highlights came when we finished the AIESEC member meetings and headed for an un known destination,it was only christine who knew the place.We later learnt that we are going to a friends place.Treated to J&B,V&A,Amarula,the night was great.

Chatted at the same time watching news and one story was showed of politicians fighting in the Nigerian parliament over what i do not know coz my kinyarwanda is not up to date.This intrigued me for the fact that these are our African leaders who cannot lead by good examples and donot understand the concept of dailogue and to them fighting is the way to go.What a big shame!

11:40 iam off to bed and as i write this i have just woken up only to realise that i cannot shower coz the tap is always locked at 8:00.

Oouch Lets see how this day will be!

Transition in between countries.

2007-10-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

Just when you think that East African countries have many similarities we tend to for get the differences even though they are minor.

Yesterday 16th oct 2007,at 5:00 am i was awake,cross checking the bags to see if i had carried everything that i needed for my next trip to Rwanda.The bus leaves at 7:00 am and i had to be on -time because unlike the buses to other East African countries the one that goes to kigali always leaves on time especially the day you decide to think that its going to be late like the others.

It takes 8-10 Hours from kampala to kigali based on the route used (Katuna or katigumba).Unlike the trips i had taken earlier on this time i decided to use the kagitumba route because my friend (kevin) tells me it has a very beautifull scenery and being the adventurous type i had to use it.

I agree with kevin that kagitumba route has a breath taking view (the landscape) and its not as scary as the katuna route because the roads are flat.

The entry points is shaddy,No directions of where to go for passport verification.At the boarder i had to help people who could donot fill in the entry cards,which was exciting for me,having people queuing so that i can help them.I could not fill all of them because the bus would leave me.

At the Uganda/Rwanda boarder almost everything that you have is checked,it was irritating because i had to unpack all the clothes in the bag yet they took me 20 Minutes to pack them.

When iam in uganda there are things i miss about Rwanda like the good roads,beautiful girls and the my internship with SolarNow.

Compared to uganda our roads were pathetic,imagine having a man hole instead of a pot hole in the middle of the high way( I mean Jinja kampala road),no wonder most of the cars are in DMC.But this is changing thanks to CHOGM and the coming of the Queen,this is definately the most outstanding advantage of CHOGM to some of us who are not 1st class Ugandans.

Its because of CHOGM that we will have good roads,hotels and improved security ( kampala has surveillance cameras on the streets) and hope these wont collapse after CHOGM is gone.To me CHOGM has manifested that local Ugandans do not need these facilities,so we have to wait for Visitors to have them.

Just like in Kigali, its a miracle to have musical shows,Local Drama and youth fun,kampala is gifted by this,you can fail to decide where to hang out on a weekend because all the places are happening.

Welcome to My blog!!

2007-10-13T00:33:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Welcome to my blog.

This is the third time i am opening up a blog,the last 2 times i forgot my passwords and everything about blogging.

This time around i am not going to disaapoint any one i will be posting loads of stories,thoughts,escapades on my blog.

Enjoy the redfings that will be posted and would love some exciting comments.

Yours,

Julio