“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore, “Andre Gide. Many times when you get into the lake and swim away from the shore, fear grips you because whichever side you look there seems no end. For me to be here today, I had to move from Kakuuto to faraway place to find meaningful life. I hail from the village of Kakuuto, Rakai district, 250km from Kampala. I am a son of a farmer and until 2006, I could not imagine what was beyond the horizon of Kakuuto. With a poor childhood characterized by great deprivation to the extent that I wore my first pair of shoes in P7 for my primary leaving examinations. As a young ambitious boy, I dare to dream of losing sight of the boundaries of Kakuuto to go to the big city that I had only heard of in stories. With farming as the most popular job back then, I knew that life was all about ploughing the gardens, planting, harvesting and sale of produce. My father was always travelling across the district looking for the market of his produce, such as coffee, bananas and beans. I grew up in that unceasing cycle, however I desired to go beyond the horizon in search of better life. Alas, opportunity knocked on my door. It was a time for my sister’s wedding and as an in law I could not miss the function, I could not believe I was going to Kampala since it was my first time, I rehearsed how I was to behave as a city borne however I was not fluent in English. I could not sleep that night as I was excited, enthusiastic and eager to go to Kampala.

The one and only reward a man can give to his wife, kids and family is presence. as an essential worker I come back home late from work, take a bath eat supper and sleep off, then wake up early in the morning take shower dress up and put on the already prepared clothes by my wife and set off to work. At work as we are very busy up to an extent that I can not call home to see what is going on. one day as the schedule continued I was leaving my home early morning and my wife bumped into my way. 'my love we really miss your presence' she said, I looked up and down and put my self in a freezing mode, then I realized that however much I could provide all the needs at home, my family needed my presence. I decided to find a way of revising my work schedule and am now a happy man with my family my dear parents work life balance is a key to happiness in a family. Ssuuna Joseph