The Nnaabagereka of Buganda, Sylvia Nagginda, has appealed to Ugandan diaspora to provide a very firm foundation for their children based on their cultures and values as this is the best way to equip them to face challenges in life.
The Nnaabagereka was speaking at a private dinner with members of the Deputy Kabaka’s Representative Committee (Olukiiko Lw’omukungu) in Manchester, United Kingdom and surrounding areas at Hotel Gotham Manchester over the weekend.
“For years, Buganda tradition and morals have been of great importance. Instilling morals into children is a way of preparing them to face challenges in life wherever they are, thus the saying: Prepare the children rather than preparing them,” she said at the event.
The meeting organized by Omukungu Enock Mayanja Kiyaga attended by representatives from Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool in a bid to share the good works of Nnaabagereka as well as to interest her in extending her works, specifically Ekisaakate, to Manchester and its surrounding areas.
The Queen of Buganda kingdom said that character is the bedrock of everything and that with the right values, children can never be shaken.
She added that since parents cannot go around holding their children’s hands all the time, it is always better to prepare them rather than preparing for them.
Nnabageraka was accompanied by her daughter, Princess Sarah Katrina Ssangalyambo, her Personal Assistant Mrs Catherine N Bwete and Ms. Susan Kaweesa.
She also prided in the fact that whenever she travels, she is assured that the values of Buganda are firmly rooted, evident through the involvement of young people in Buganda related activities.
Nnaabagereka implored the people of Manchester and diaspora in general to start mentorship groups for the young people that will provide them with role models.
“Communities need plans for continuity when Ekisaakaate presided over by the Nnaabagereka finishes,” she said.
Among the places that the Queen plans to launch the Ekisaakate program in the diaspora are Manchester, Boston and South Africa.
She lauded the Ugandans in Manchester and other Ugandan diaspora for the work they do in supporting and looking after their loved ones back home.
Nnaabagereka said that Ekisaakaate, which started 13 years ago is increasingly on demand and continues to attract non-Baganda mainly people from Western and other regions of Uganda, as well as non-Ugandans like Congolese and those from South Sudan.
“These people appreciate the good values Ekisaakaate instils in their children, taught through the Buganda norms and customs centred on good character (‘obuntu bulamu’)”, she said.
The annual program centres around the concept of ‘obuntu bulamu’ (integrity).
She donated a number of books and literature about Ekisaakate to the Lukiiko Lw’Omukungu in Manchester and surrounding areas to be used in the mentoring projects among others.