A sisal rope: individual plant fibres are twisted and braided into a natural tough and durable rope.
I was given the honour and privilege and yet a most difficult task to talk about my childhood best friend on her 75th birthday. Our relationship has ebbed and flowed since 1963. We have withered hurricanes , avalanches, famines, geographical dislocations and civil wars. We have celebrated graduations, weddings, births, achievements and shared huge losses. Grounded in the spirit of our shared resilience, we soldier on relentlessly.
“Basajja ssubi: erimu lisiba linnaalyo. – A Luganda proverb
Literary meaning that like blades of grass woven together to form a strong and durable rope, true friends support and uplift one another.
Decades of being each other’s keeper, have laid down layers of memories, reflections, images and observations deep in my subconscious.
I am here struggling arduously to sweep with a broom of brevity and polish with a sponge of spontaneity as I delineate her unique personality and character while she listens. This in itself is a special gift to both of us since we are still alive and well.
Today, we celebrate a most remarkable woman who truly wears a coat of many colors.
Are you looking for:
A woman not too big to do small things or too small to do big things?
An intellectual with a wealth of skills and experience?
A walking Google or Wikipedia?
A lifetime learner, a lifetime teacher, sponsor or mentor?
A model citizen and a decent human being?
A farmer or a respected, veteran lawyer?
An advocate for girls , women and the marginalised?
A daring woman and yet respectful?
A portrait of a wife and a mother?
A most loyal friend and solid pillar to lean on ?
A champion of honesty and integrity?
An encourager and up- lifter of others?
A woman with a large heart and infectious smile?
A partner in business or mischief?
A most resilient and yet most vulnerable woman?
Look no further, she is right here in our midst celebrating her 75th Birthday today.
She is doing what she does best: being the strong thread that holds the pearls together and the glue that is tightly binding us to one another.
Just like the rare find of a genuine ,perfect, white ,smooth pearl, you were hard to find but you continue to make us very happy and blessed.
Nanziri, the last three and a half years have been fiercely tough on you.
Where many of us would have buckled and gone down, you are still standing firm, head high and stretching out a helping hand to many others in need.
Looking at you now, I can see an accomplished and resilient African woman of her time-raised in tradition and shaped by modernity.
Every line and wrinkle on your face symbolises your physical and emotional resilience. A lifetime of communicating in a rapidly changing environment.
The lines on your forehead represent decades of responsibility in the family and wider scope.
Your eyes have always seen more than many of us could see and sometimes ,your face does all the talking.
Your hands have been the main tools used to build, sustain and feed your family and community over lifetimes as you raised your own and anyone else who needed to be mothered.
The feet have walked and carried you all along and yet not grown weary.
The scars tell part of the story of your life and some of the struggles won.
Ultimately, your deeds and words continue to write your lasting legacy into the collective memory. Strongest and yet most vulnerable.
My humble and earnest prayer is that God gives you more years of good health to enjoy the fruits of the seeds of goodness which you have been sowing in all those you have engaged with.
We are all the richer and happier for having you as one of us.
Happy 75th Birthday. May you live to blow out 100 candles while surrounded by your most beloved.
You deserve the loudest applause from all of us here.
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