Freda Omaswa - A Life Well Lived

I visited a funeral home for the first time to celebrate the life of a pretty girl called Freda. 

She was a doctor, a wife and a daughter but to me she was just Freda - a friend I got acquainted with in September of 2014.

I arrived early to a friend’s birthday lunch and she walked in shortly thereafter. We introduced ourselves and spent close to 45 minutes talking about life since relocating to America, about intermarriage among people of different ethnicities. We discovered we were both from Teso land. Sitting in that restaurant and waiting for the birthday girl we had a lot to talk about.

I was struck by her grace; her sweet smile and I loved the way she raised her eyebrows when she talked. There was an excitement in her spirit. She expressed her ideas with clarity and precision. Talking fondly about her husband and her parents back in Uganda.

She didn't mention she was undergoing chemotherapy. That some days were dark, that she had stage 4 colon cancer.
I didn't mention that I knew. That the birthday girl and I prayed for her often.

She was careful about her dash, you know? The little flat line that sits between the years of life: 1982 - 2016. She was careful without effort. I soon forgot that she was unwell and enjoyed good laughs with her and her humorous husband at yet another party.

I got news of her death on Monday and on Monday I found out she was a sister to a good friend. A daughter to a well-known Professor in Uganda. It seems to have slipped through the cracks. I wished I had known but I'm glad I didn't because she was large all by herself, she left a mark all by herself.
Tonight as Dr. Omaswa talked about her daughter I couldn't agree more. She was kind, selfless, graceful, elegant and confident. Large!

I met her at the end of her dash. She finished it straight.

Tonight I think of Paschal her husband of 2 years, Professor and Dr. Omaswa her parents, Mark her brother and Gloria her sister and my dear friend.

May Freda's life be celebrated always.
#WeloveFredabecause: Beauty shone from her soul and her bright smile. Her quiet spirit resounded with wisdom. Our friendship brief and sweet.

Freda's body will be laid to rest on the 10th of February 2016 in Ngora district.

Freda shares her diagnosis and battle with Colorectal Cancer

Auction - Okisoni: Market Day in Serere

Teso on my Mind: The local market -  You've got to visit the Wednesday local market in Serere. We call it "okisoni" probably from the word auction ☺️. There is nothing like it. This was my favorite market growing up. You can get almost anything here:- cups, plates, basins, food, clothes, saucepans, shoes, cows, sugarcane, bicycles, bricks, solar systems, sugar, bread, cooking oil - see? The list is endless.

Groundnuts a Source of Livelihood in Teso

Teso on my mind: Peanuts, g-nuts, ground nuts - however you choose to call them. As a little girl whenever my name was called followed by "obia aipac emaido" (come and shell the nuts) I would want to hide. Depending on the amount, it meant sitting on the veranda and shelling nuts for close to an hour. My fingers ached but as I grew I learned the right pressure points to open the shell. My aunt grabbed handfuls at a time and I watched the nuts popped out in a hurry. It was an art. Nut shelling was a communal activity, a time for team work and story telling.
Today, we have machines that crash the shells, sort the nuts and grind them to a paste. We have developed. We have saved time. We are more productive for the most part.

Here the nuts are spread on the "alaro" (veranda) to dry. Once dry they are easier to shell plus they don't rot as easily as they would if left damp.
We make groundnut sauce, peanut paste, roasted nuts, boiled nuts, oil, we even eat them raw although I was told raw nuts were not good for ladies, just the men :-). With good weather and fertile soils we should not go hungry.

Teso Huts for Teso Brothers

Teso on my Mind: 

Every son must have his own hut. 

These are my brothers huts, built in my fathers compound. When they come to visit, their families spend nights in their own space. It's a modern hut with a small bathroom and space enough to section off the kids. Mud huts require more maintenance with the walls being patched up with mud every 3 months.