Religion

Last semester, as we sat for our first exam, a classmate who had been experiencing episodes of depression couldn’t sit for his papers. We had prayed and hoped for his return. He didn’t make it back. Focused on this sad moment, we forgot about another student who was missing. I vividly remember the cloud of sadness that descended upon the exam room when we eventually noticed. How could we not have seen this earlier? We had forgotten about someone struggling just as much. This student, burdened with a considerable debt and having collected some money, had lost hope and switched his phone off. He was later found in his hostel, simply sleeping through the exam period, possibly praying, hurting, or trying to self-soothe. These are but some of the numerous hard times we find ourselves going through.

Read More

Njangali was ordained as the first female deacon in East Africa on September 10, 1973. This outraged a number of lay people and priests who believed it not biblical to ordain a woman. Although she was never fully priested, her ordination broke the ecclesiastical glass ceiling, paving the way for future generations of women in ministry, and in 1983, Bishop Festo Kivengere of Kigezi ordained three women as priests.

My first encounter with real, emotional pain was on the day my dad called me and my brothers together to tell us our mum was going to a private mental health hospital in Sydney to get better. Very simply put, Mum battled with feelings of depression.

Now, there is a PhD for a boy whose parents passed away before he was 12 years old and his grandmother-guardian just four years later. This is nothing short of a miracle for the youth who could hardly afford to eat. When Buule Samson and Mary Katusabe departed, the role of looking after their son rested with the latter’s grandmother who died by the time the grandson was age 16. At the time, he had just completed Senior One at Lugazi High School in central Uganda. 

Eid El-Fitr, also known as the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” is a significant religious holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world. It marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community.