The Day I Became Akiiki: What Uganda Taught Me About Resilience
One of the greatest honors of my life came when I was given an Empaako name: Akiiki, meaning “one who upholds national, community, and family interests with great love, care, kindness, and honesty.” That moment changed everything. I wasn’t an outsider documenting poverty—I was family, trusted with stories that deserved to be shared with reverence and love. Before Uganda, I thought resilience was about bouncing back from hardship. Now I know it’s something deeper: the farmer who plants seeds when rains are uncertain, the refugee youth dreaming of becoming a software engineer after surviving years on the streets, the mother walking miles to fetch water because her children depend on her strength. Resilience isn’t built in isolation. It’s nurtured across generations, passed from heart to heart like a living flame of hope.
